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Hong Kong environmental issues
OpinionLetters

Letters | Hong Kong shouldn’t water down its producer responsibility scheme

Readers discuss the city’s plan to encourage recycling of drink containers, the financial secretary’s attempt to reduce the budget deficit, and the need to reconsider local agriculture

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People buy drinks at convenience store in Tsim Sha Tsui on February 18. Photo: Jelly Tse
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The Hong Kong government recently released details about the producer responsibility scheme for single-use plastic drink containers and sought approval for a common legislative framework for the efficient management of different products.

While I fully support the framework, I am disappointed by the weakness of the proposal compared to the one released in 2021.

Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan has said the scheme would adopt a market-led approach. As such, there is no need to specify which approach the industry should take but simply to set targets and timelines.

I’m not sure which studies Tse was referring to when he said the rebate of 10 HK cents (1.3 US cents) was “attractive enough” after lawmakers raised doubts about the effectiveness of such a rebate. Why not use a deposit approach in light of successful cases around the world, some of which have achieved a recovery rate of more than 90 per cent?

Adopting the deposit approach means using consumers’ money as an incentive. Retailers would temporarily keep the deposit until the consumer redeems it. In contrast, the rebate approach uses producer’s profits to incentivise consumers. I’m sure most producers don’t prefer this.

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