The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, chaired the seventh meeting of the Steering Group on the Modification of Recycling and Refuse Collection Facilities in Public Places (the Steering Group) today (December 10) to discuss the improved designs for recycling bins (RBs) and litter containers (LCs) in public places and related work plan to consult relevant stakeholders.
The Stage 2 consultancy study commissioned by the Steering Group is being conducted to review the designs of RBs and LCs in public places. After endorsing the conceptual designs proposed by the consultant at its last meeting, the Steering Group set up a working group comprising some members of the Steering Group, representatives of frontline staff and relevant departments to study and discuss the design details. Taking into account the comments from the Steering Group and the working group, the consultant has made further improvements to the conceptual designs, and produced prototypes for the Steering Group's reference and for use in future consultation.
Mr Wong said, "At today's meeting, members discussed the improved designs and tried out the prototypes. The designs of RBs and LCs will follow ergonomic principles to facilitate frontline operation and use by the public. With the refinements, the design of the RBs and LCs is now more coherent to enable easy identification by the public. Members also agreed to conduct trials for RBs and LCs designed with a transparent feature at suitable indoor venues, to test whether transparency could improve the public's recognition of the types of recyclables being collected by the bins and encourage source separation.
"With reference to the experiences of other cities, the implementation of waste charging is usually complemented by adjustments to the design of RBs and LCs in public places. We anticipate that the improved designs of RBs and LCs could facilitate waste reduction and recycling, and will consult relevant stakeholders on the new designs shortly with a view to further improving them having regard to the views received."
The consultant will seek the views of frontline staff, the design industry, the academia and relevant stakeholders on the operation and design details of the new RBs and LCs in 2019. After collating and considering views received, the consultant will report and submit recommendations to the Steering Group.
To support the implementation of municipal solid waste charging, the Steering Group was set up in February 2016 to review the design and distribution of recycling and refuse collection facilities in public places, and recommend modifications to facilitate waste reduction and resource recovery in the community. Chaired by the Secretary for the Environment, the Steering Group comprises members from the design, architectural, planning, academia and business sectors, non-profit making groups, district personalities and relevant government departments. In respect of adjustments to the number and distribution of RBs and LCs, having regard to a set of general planning parameters recommended by a consultancy study, relevant government departments have put forward an adjustment plan. It is expected that the number of RBs will be increased by 45 per cent to 4 000, and the number of LCs will be reduced by 40 per cent to 24 300 when municipal solid waste charging is implemented, enhancing the RB to LC ratio from 1:14 to 1:6.
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