Only one-fifth of residents use designated trash bags in Chai Wan waste charge trial

Only one-fifth of residents at a Chai Wan building had used designated trash bags to dispose of their trash in the first month of a test run of the waste charging scheme, according to an Eastern District Councilor.

The government began testing its postponed pay-as-you-throw scheme in April with a trial at more than a dozen premises. One of the selected locations was Lin Tsui Estate in Chai Wan, a single-block building with about 300 households. Participants were provided with designated garbage bags for free.

Eastern District Councilor Elaine Chik Kit-ling said on Thursday that her office had collected feedback of the test run from residents of the building, with the results already submitted to authorities.

Chik said over 90 percent of residents living in Lin Tsui Estate had collected the free designated trash bags, yet only 20 percent of them use the bags in disposing of their trash.

She also noted that a majority of people in Hong Kong are of the view that August is still not a perfect time for authorities to push forward with the pay-as-you-throw scheme.