Public says hold off on waste charging scheme: govt
Authorities on Friday said a number of people who trialled the pay-as-you-throw scheme think the government should hold off on rolling out the plan to everyone in August, believing the measure was causing a nuisance to the public.  But in a paper submitted to the Legislative Council, the Environment and Ecology Bureau gave no indication of what would be next for the municipal solid waste charging scheme.  Officials began trialling the scheme at 14 locations from April, including at public and private residential blocks, and people involved in the trial were provided with free designated garbage bags. The bureau said the bags were used 70 percent of the time at shopping malls participating in the test run, but there were fewer residents who used them.  "The average usage rate [of designated bags] at public and private housing buildings ranged from only about 20 percent to more than 50 percent, and only around 20 percent at 'three-nil' buildings," the paper said. A "three-nil" building is one which does not have an owners' corporation or any form of residents' organisation, nor does it employ a property management company to manage the building.  Officials said many residents thought charging for disposed waste was causing a nuisance and complained the bags would be too expensive, while voicing concerns that littering would happen more often once the measure took effect.  Some also believed it was difficult to understand how to dispose of items larger than the designated bags, the bureau said.  "[Residents polled] suggested to scrap waste charging or let society fully understand and prepare for it, thus it is not appropriate to introduce the scheme as scheduled on August 1," the paper said.  The bureau noted that frontline cleaning staff had seen their workload increase from handling trash that was not thrown out properly.  Some expressed a concern about conflicts with residents when the policy was introduced or even breaking the law unknowingly, with certain individuals planning to quit because of the scheme, officials said.  For restaurants, shops and care homes, they pointed to a rise in operating costs and recommended improving the design of larger garbage bags.  The administration said certain locations, such as residential blocks, care homes, restaurants and government premises, saw a 10 to 20 percent decrease in the amount of garbage disposed during the test run.  It added there was a rise in the type and amount of recyclables collected.