Lawmakers mostly support suspension of waste scheme
Lawmakers on Monday were largely sympathetic towards the decision to suspend the pay-as-you-throw scheme. Speaking to reporters after a meeting at the Legislative Council, Roundtable lawmaker Michael Tien said the ultimate goal of the scheme was to promote recycling and reduce waste, but he acknowledged the public had misconceptions about the plan. "The public misunderstood that this whole thing is actually tantamount to a poll tax, which means that everyone has to start paying more taxes because everyone needs to generate garbage," he explained. "Most people are not aware of the fact that, no - that is not the end game. The end game is to reduce wastage generation. To do that, you need to do the wastage collection, the separation, so that some can be recycled. The whole world is doing that, and I cannot believe Hong Kong should just surrender and forget it." Third Side lawmaker Tik Chi-yuen said authorities shouldn’t abandon the waste charging scheme altogether. "We insist the policy should be carried out because it is environmental protection. We feel disappointed that [over] the last two years the government [had inadequate] preparation to implement the policy," he added. However, DAB lawmaker Elizabeth Quat supported the government's move to postpone the scheme, which she called "impractical”. Quat urged the government to continue educating the public and to provide support for the city's recycling industry. "I think now is a very good timing for the government to promote recycling and the reduction of waste. Because going through all this education process, a lot of citizens think that they support environmental protection and they want to participate in waste reduction," she added. Quat also suggested the government introduce additional incentives, such as a rewards scheme, to encourage people to adopt an environmentally friendly lifestyle.