Recycling Crisis: Paper Jam in Hong Kong

Hello,

It’s reported that Mainland China has tightened the waste imports, recycling business in Hong Kong will therefore be retarded, leading to increasing tons of paper waste turning Hong Kong into a Garbage City.

It all sounds serious that it looks like we must do something RIGHT NOW.

According to the information, the main issue is due to classification of waste on the recycling business. The recycling rule in China requires the foreign paper waste to be further classified into different kinds of paper. However, the present way Hong Kong companies now doing is just collecting and packing the waste paper, & then exporting it to Mainland China.
And the side issue is that many people in Hong Kong ignore the sign of the recycling paper collection boxes and put other kinds of garbage inside, making the recycling business have extra cost in filtering and separating for the reusable waste paper.

The Hong Kong Government expressed they can provide help, like providing temporary storage for the waste paper, etc.

Now that’s the question! What help should be needed in the recycling industry?
Only temporary storage space? Or educating the public to behave well? ← This sounds beautiful and may take long time.

In my point of view, the blockage of recycling waste export channel to China can be the missing middle processing for the recycling waste, like filtering, classifying, trimming…etc to fulfill the requirements for import to Mainland China.

Therefor the help we must now invest is to build or subsidize the recycling companies to build a efficient Scrap Handling System, where the paper scrap can capture, convey, trimming, & separate the scrap from paper waste to make it into exporting quality.

Examples of Scrap Handling System in the world

REES
Protected content

Scrap and Paper Trim Collection System
Protected content

For the suggestions, like providing storage space or beautiful words on education, actually are not too realistic, or however they sound very comforting at all by the way. ^ ^

Clean Hong Kong, We like Hong Kong!

Best Wishes,

Jonathan, an original from Hong Kong (^_−)−☆

---------------------------------- Protected content
Related News Link

South China Morning Post (6-Sep- Protected content
Protected content

Hong Kong Standard (6-Sep- Protected content

Recyclers are threatening to stop collecting the paper in industrial action from Next Monday Protected content
Protected content

Update

Hong Kong Standard 8-Sep Protected content

Recyclers put strike on hold till coming Friday Protected content
Protected content