The Government’s recycling bins spread all over our district are no more than a facade, Friends of Sai Kung Chairman John Wright has told BUZZ. It is all a pretense, he said. The Government does not do recycling and the waste ends up in landfills. Progressive solutions are ignored; officials’ minds are closed. Some residents are getting angry about this.
HO CHUNG RESIDENT CAROL BIDDELL WRITES:
I am absolutely furious.
Why are FEHD taking away items that are clearly meant for RECYCLING.
I have spoken to FEHD and EPD about this several times over the last few years and have been assured that FEHD (and subcontractors) are instructed NOT to take items that are clearly left for recycling. Unfortunately as the bins are so small items have to be left in boxes and bags next to or on top of the recycling bins.
On Wednesday we left a large bag of clean plastic on top of our (full) recycling bins. There were boxes of paper and cans there too (all neat and tidy in boxes and bags). When I returned an hour later all the recycling items had been taken by FEHD and will now go to a landfill …… WHY!
This is happening in many villages and I would like to know how you will be resolving this matter.
I and many residents, sort and wash plastic, glass and cans at home and take them to the bins when we have a full bag . It is incredibly disheartening to have all our efforts sent to a landfill.
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN OF FRIENDS OF SAI KUNG GUY SHIRRA WRITES:
The person responsible for this continuing farce is the misguided individual who approved the replacement of the perfectly adequate and inexpensive large plastic recycling bins with the totally inadequate and very expensive small stainless steel bins at significant taxpayer expense.The only person happy with this ridiculous decision is the manufacturer and supplier of the replacement bins who is laughing all the way to the bank.Large numbers of the plastic bins, many never used, are to be found stored in FEHD facilities all over HK while many refuse collection points have no recycling bins at all.The Commissioner for Audit (if not another Commissioner) should be examining this whole sorry fiasco.
EUAN BARTY’S COMMENTS:
I completely agree. The recycling bins at Hing Keng Shek village are absurdly inadequate for their purpose. They are always full when I take recycling material down to the refuse collection point. Often I have to take large bags of waste paper and plastic back home, to try another day, because the bins are already overflowing.
Furthermore, several of the plastic bins inside the steel containers are broken from having too much material forced down them by frustrated householders … yet they are never replaced.
Why don’t we just have marked skips for recycling materials? Such a simple solution, but seemingly no one in government has thought of it.
Also, why are there so few containers for recycling glass? We have to drive two miles into Sai Kung town, park the car, then walk to Lakeside Garden with our glass waste. This is absolutely ridiculous.
When I lived in Italy, even small villages had big skips for multiple different types of recycling material. Everyone recycled carefully. Containers were emptied regularly and never overflowed.
Surely Hong Kong can do better than the current mess.
No need to walk to Lakeside, there are two glass recycling bins, one near the “duckponds” on the waterfront, and one at the entrance to the squash courts.