Sort your rubbish properly, Hong Kong’s glass recyclers tell residents amid supply and waste management woes
- Materials such as ceramics and porcelain end up in collection points meant only for glass
- Delay in waste charging law means people have less pressure to manage what they throw out
The stench of stale liquor lingers in the air at a dusty recycling yard in Hong Kong’s Lung Kwu Tan in the New Territories. Tonnes of waste glass are being pulverised into grains of sand by high-frequency shock waves, and piled neatly into high mounds.
Delvin Cheng Chung-wang, project manager at Baguio, which operates the plant, said their biggest challenge was in sifting through waste glass and sorting processable items from others.
“People think anything that looks like glass is glass, so there’s everything in here. Ceramics, porcelain, crystal, full bottles of ketchup, wine or soy sauce and, of course, just everyday trash like aluminium cans and plastics,” he said.
“If people really sort through their rubbish properly before disposal, recycling can be done so much better. Public education must really be strengthened.”
