Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, at a media session after the briefing on "Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035" this afternoon (February 8):
Reporter: What is the exact target for this blueprint? Is it you hope to cut the waste by 2035 by how many per cent, and secondly, what are the new measures in this blueprint in order to achieve that target? Thirdly, about the waste charging scheme, do you have any plans when it could be really passed by the LegCo and implemented?
Secretary for the Environment: The medium-term target is to reduce per capita waste disposal by 40-45 per cent, and to increase the recovery level to about 55 per cent. The long-term target is to get away from the over-reliance on landfills in the long run. There are different methods to let us get close to the target, as included in the new blueprint. There are six major areas, covering Waste Reduction, Waste Separation, Resources Circulation, Industry Support, Innovation and Co-operation, and Education and Publicity. There are many new measures, for instance, we are going to consult the public about the PRS, the Producer Responsibility Scheme, on plastic beverage container, which would be launched very soon. There would be other consultations or measures to deal with the disposable single-use plastic tableware and other single-use plastics. And there are many measures included in the blueprint. Municipal solid waste (MSW) charging is a very key measure to drive behavourial change in Hong Kong and also give value to different recyclables to support the industry and also push more people to do clean recycling. Thank you.
Reporter: Any timetable when that can be happened because there has been procrastinated for sometime?
Secretary for the Environment: Especially in the blueprint, we set it as a medium term. As mentioned in the latest Policy Address, it is to ask the current LegCo to consider the MSW charging bill as soon as possible. And we hope that if it could be passed within this term, the current term, that would help Hong Kong get closer to the target.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
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