Govt says multiple approaches considered for designated garbage bag distribution

The Environmental Protection Department said on Tuesday that multiple approaches were considered in distributing the designated garbage bags used under the city’s waste-charging scheme.

The SAR government previously said the waste charging scheme will take effect on April 1 next year, with Hong Kong households required to put their waste in government-designated bags.

There will be nine bag sizes, from the smallest three liters to the largest 100 liters. The charge is 11 cents a liter, meaning the price of a 10-liter bag will be HK$1.10.

Speaking at LegCo today, Deputy Director of Environmental Protection Bruno Luk Kar-kin, said free bags will be handed out to residents living in public housing, three-nil buildings and villages in the first six months.

He said authorities are mulling distributing the free bags in two ways, one is to contract a courier company and distribute the bags door-to-door, while another way is to mail collection cards to the households for them to collect the bags at designated places.

Luk said the method of mailing collection cards would be simpler, but some residents living in certain districts may be sharing their mailboxes with others, making the other method - sending couriers to distribute the bags - a more direct approach.

Those who do not answer the door will be left with a note asking them to collect the bags from the courier’s collection points, he said.

The government official also said the six-month preparation period may be further extended by six months if required. Rule-breakers will be verbally warned in the initial stage while repeated offenders will be punished according to law.