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Letter to the Editor of SCMP - Response to commentary entitled "We must have the bottle to recycle waste" (June 10)
I write in response to the letter headlined "We must have the bottle to recycle waste" on 10 June 2007 from Mr J. R. Henderson of Sai Kung regarding the recycling of glass bottles.
At present, glass recycling is being carried out on a very small scale in Hong Kong. The crux of the problem is that there are very limited local outlets for waste glass. Other places or countries where waste glass recovery and recycling can successfully operate tend to have their own glass manufacturing industries which can absorb significant quantities of waste glass. In the absence of such local glass manufacturing industry in Hong Kong, the recycling of glass on a large scale is inevitably difficult.
On the other hand, exporting waste glass from Hong Kong to other places for recycling as we do for paper, metals and plastics is not commercially viable. Unlike metals and plastics, the energy consumption in making glass from recycled glass is only marginally lower than that required from virgin materials. As the economic advantage in using recycled glass when compared with virgin materials is very small, the price offered by overseas markets are very low and this can hardly cover the transport cost.
In the policy document "A Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (2005-2014)" published in December 2005, the Government proposes to introduce producer responsibility schemes, under which manufacturers, importers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers, etc will be held responsible for the management of specific products (including beverage containers) from cradle to grave, with a view to minimizing their environmental impact. Subject to public support and consensus, we intend to introduce the Product Eco-responsibility Bill to the Legislative Council within 2007 to provide a legal framework for implementing the producer responsibility schemes.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Mr Henderson for his interest in the waste problem in Hong Kong.
Warren Wong
Senior Environmental Protection Officer
Environmental Protection Department
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