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The government has paused its controversial municipal solid waste charging scheme until at least June 2027, but officials have not ruled out bringing it back in the future, the Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan announced on Saturday.
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The decision comes as the city makes progress in reducing waste, though challenges remain in achieving long-term environmental goals.
The waste charging initiative, which would have imposed fees for waste disposal, was shelved after public feedback indicated a lack of consensus on its implementation.
Despite decades of waste-reduction campaigns, efforts to significantly curb the city’s trash output have fallen short.
However, recent data offers some optimism: daily waste sent to landfills dropped by nearly 10 percent in 2024, from 11,500 tonnes in 2021 to about 10,100 tonnes in the first half of this year.
Tse stated that this reduction reflects growing public awareness of the need to cut waste, boosting confidence that Hong Kong can achieve its ambitious goal of zero landfill use by 2035.
The government views the waste charging scheme as a potential tool to be deployed if waste reduction efforts stall or if public sentiment and economic conditions align to support its reintroduction.
For now, the focus remains on alternative strategies to manage the city’s waste.
Plans are underway to build a third waste-to-energy facility in the Northern Metropolis, though officials noted that this project could be deemed unnecessary if daily waste disposal falls below 9,000 tonnes, potentially saving billions of dollars in construction costs.
Meanwhile, the city’s first waste-to-energy plant near Shek Kwu Chau is set to begin operations next year, with a second facility currently in the tendering process.
