Hong Kong’s municipal solid waste levels at landfills fell to 3.85 million tonnes in 2024, marking three straight years of declines, but green groups have warned the trend could be short-lived following the shelving of a controversial waste-charging scheme last year.
The latest figures from authorities on Monday also showed the average daily quantity of waste going to landfills was 10,510 tonnes, representing a 3.4 per cent decrease from 10,884 tonnes in 2023.
The amount of plastic waste declined by 11.1 per cent year on year, according to the government.
Advertisement
The recovery rate of municipal solid waste rose from 33 per cent in 2023 to 34 per cent last year, which authorities attributed to the “persistent effort in promoting waste reduction and recovery”.
Steven Chan Wing-kit, assistant environmental affairs manager at The Green Earth, a local NGO, said the drop was probably due to public awareness generated by the controversy last year over the now-shelved “pay-as-you-throw” scheme.
Advertisement
“Comparing these figures with those from the pandemic era is not reasonable, and the drop [in 2024] likely reflects a temporary spike in public awareness triggered by the debate over the waste-charging scheme,” he said.
Chan added that the government needed to find ways to sustain public awareness and motivate residents to reduce their waste.