Hong Kong says YES to waste charging scheme

Establishing a proper waste management system has always been a challenging task for the Hong Kong government to implement. Back in 1995, the government has proposed to introduce a waste charging scheme to provide a financial incentive for the public to reduce waste generation. However, this proposal has been staying in the research and discussion stage until Jan 2012, when the Environment Bureau has launched the public consultation on the introduction of waste charging to reduce the generation of municipal solid waste.

Four suggested approaches have been included In the consultation document, including quantity-based system, proxy system, fixed charge system, and partial charging system. The result of the consultation revealed that over 60% of written comments received support waste charging scheme and over 50% is in favour of the quantity-based system. In Dec 2012, the government has outlined the initial framework of the waste charging scheme. The preliminary proposal goes in line with what the majority in favour of: quantity-based system to be established in 2016.

Yet, details including charging standards and methods have not yet been confirmed. Using the case of Taipei as a reference, it is predicted approximately HK$40 will be charged monthly for a family of three. However, with the effort of source reduction and recycling, the cost can be reduced to $30/month.

MSW collection services in Hong Kong are delivered with an emphasis on efficiency and high hygiene standards. Our waste collection system and network have not been operated in a way that can facilitate the collection of a quantity-based waste charge; neither does it facilitate waste tracing. In the event that the implementation of charging is unsatisfactory, illegal dumping might arise and could have an impact on environmental hygiene.

When Taipei first launched the waste charging scheme, its adherence rate was over 99.5% and illegal dumping still existed. Once establishing the waste charging scheme, fewer garbage bills will be placed on the public areas and increasing illegal dumping is expected. The second phase of consultation will be launched in the near future to address the consequences of waste charging scheme and to identify possible solutions to avoid illegal dumping.

In fact, there has been voices pointing out there are excessive quantity of garbage bins in Hong Kong. In one way, it provides a convenient way for our citizens but also spoiling them. In some urban districts, the ratio of garbage bin to recycling bin is 1:20. To tackle the root factor, it is suggested that more recycling bins and fewer garbage bins should be placed along the public areas to help the Hong Kong citizens to develop a good recycling habit.

廢物徵費獲接納

建立一個完善妥當的廢物管理系統一直是香港政府需要實施的一項艱鉅任務。早在1995年，政府已經提出引入廢物徵費計劃，鼓勵市民減少製造廢物。可惜，這項提議一直停留在研究和討論的階段，直到2012年1月，環境局才再次就減少都市固體廢物及相關廢物徵費展開公眾諮詢。

是次諮詢文件中包含四個建議的徵費方案，包括按量、定額、按水費及分階段實施。諮詢結果顯示，超過60％的書面意見表示讚成廢物處置收費，而超過50％則認為應該按量收費為基礎。2012年12月，政府已就廢物收費計劃勾劃出初步框架。初步的建議與諮詢結果相符，於2016年以按量收費為基礎推行廢物處置收費計畫。

然而，詳細資料如收費的標準和方法都未有定案。以台北作為參考，政府預計一個一家三口的家庭每月約要付40港元的廢物處置費用。而透過源頭減量和分類回收，這個費用很有可能可降低至30元。

香港的垃圾收集及處理服務一向都擁有高效率和高衛生標準。可是，我們的廢物處理系統及手法卻還未能配合按量收費的基準集，也不方能追踪廢物的源頭。在不理想或遇到不配合的情況下，非法棄置廢物便會發生，影響附近環境的衛生。

台北於剛剛推出廢物收費計劃時，服從率雖然高達99.5％，可惜非法棄置的問題仍然存在。當實施廢物徵費計劃後，街上將會減少放置垃圾箱，所以預計有可能會增加非法棄置廢物的問題。第二階段的諮詢即將展開，尋求社會大眾對有關廢物徵費所帶來的後果的意見及共識，並定立解決方案，有效地打擊非法棄置的問題。

事實上，社會上亦有意見指出，香港政府在街頭放置過多垃圾箱。某程度上雖方便了市民，卻也寵壞了他們。一些地區的垃圾桶及回收箱比例更高達1:20。要有效地解決廢物的根本問題，建議應在公共場所放置更多的回收箱，同時減少的垃圾箱的數量，以幫助市民大眾養成一個良好的回收習慣，妥善地處理廢物。 

為何要回收廢棄電池

跟世界各地許多城市一樣，香港也正面對如何妥善地處理廢棄電池這個問題。電池內的化學物質不僅會危害環境，也會影響我們的健康。然而，隨著我們對物質慾望的增加，電子儀器的需求在不斷上升，越來越多的廢電池因而產生。不正確和不負責任地丟棄廢電池及將它們與生活垃圾一起處理都會對生態系統造成惡性影響，因為電池中含有大量有害化學物質，如鎘、鉛、汞和鎳等重金屬。

以香港的情況為例，如果我們將廢電池與都市固體廢物一同棄置，這些廢物將被放置在三個策略性堆填區，若電池內的重金屬流出，便會釋放有毒化學物，增加堆填區的毒性水平。這些重金屬會污染地下土壤和水層，進入生態食物鏈後，更會產生生物蓄積性和生物放大作用等影響，即有毒化學物質在生物體內累積並產生越來越高的濃度，直接影響人體健康。

妥善地處理廢舊電池可以有效地減少電池內重金屬洩漏對環境產生的污染及影響。此外，廢電池內含的金屬屬可再生資源，經提取後更可重用。一般的廢電池處理程序包括預審、翻新、拆解、回收和處置等步驟。

為確保處理過程中化學品不會洩漏對環境及工作人員的安全做成影響，過程中需特別注意防漏程序的監控，包括檢查殘餘電荷以防止觸電、防止電解質和電極的洩漏控制等，以免在運輸和拆除過程中漏出有害物質，影響環境及危害工作人員的健康。

在處理過程中，用過的廢棄電池將會被拆開，並依據其內裡的物質如金屬，塑料和電解質分拆開，並分別運送至各種物料的回收商。每個處理程序及步驟都以環境和安全為首要考慮點而進行，亦附合香港環境保護署廢物處置條例和國際巴塞爾公約的規定。