Waste-charging trial to continue this month: govt
Environment minister Tse Chin-wan on Thursday said the pay-as-you-throw trial would continue this month as planned, despite feedback that cleaners and participants are having a hard time with the scheme. The government selected 14 buildings and premises to test the waste-charging scheme, which began last month, with participants using designated garbage bags and tags to dispose of their rubbish. The government had earlier delayed the scheme's full rollout from April to August. On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration, Warner Cheuk, said that there were still many problems with the trial, and that there must be "public consensus and favourable conditions" to roll out the scheme smoothly. Tse said officials were aware the scheme had increased the workload of cleaners and that some participants found it troublesome, adding the government would carefully look into these matters. He said they would faithfully report these issues to lawmakers at a meeting planned before the end of this month. "The waste charging scheme really affects the whole population," the minister said after attending an event. "How can we implement it so that everyone can accept it, and people won’t find it too much of a disruption, so the scheme can run smoothly -- these are all things we need to think about."  Separately, the minister said a six-month grace period for restaurants to continue giving out single-use plastic utensils should be long enough. From April 22, eateries had to switch to alternative utensils, but they can still give out plastic containers for takeaways. Tse said those who had yet to switch had told officials they were trying to clear their plastic stock, or were waiting for the alternatives to arrive. He said officials would visit smaller eateries in the coming months to see if they need any help.