Broken-down air-conditioners, television sets and computers can all be recycled into valuable resources by next year, but the cost is likely to be passed on to customers.
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Broken-down air-conditioners, television sets and computers can all be recycled into valuable resources by next year, but the cost is likely to be passed on to customers.
Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing made the somber prediction yesterday at the start of construction of the HK$530 million Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Treatment and Recycling Facility at the EcoPark in Tuen Mun.
The facility, which is expected to be completed in mid-2017, will be able to handle 30,000 tonnes of electronic waste per year less than half of the 70,000 tonnes thrown away by Hong Kong households and companies.
Eight types of home electrical appliances would be taken to the facility for inspection. They will be repaired if found useful and donated to charities while those beyond repair will be broken down into small parts and recycled after removing harmful substances.
Other usable components and materials will be recovered for reuse and recycling.
Wong said the project is a significant step in the implementation of the producer responsibility scheme, which will require suppliers of these products to follow the “polluter pays” principle and pay an extra recycling fee for the electrical equipment they sell.
Manufacturers and importers of eight kinds of e-products air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, television sets, computers, printers, scanners and monitors will also need to arrange a free removal service for consumers to deliver the old equipment to a competent recycler.
Wong is aware that the new cost could make it more expensive for Hong Kong citizens.
“The extra cost, if incurred, will be somehow shared among the related stakeholders that means the manufacturers, the retailers and the consumers. So it is not solely borne by the manufacturers, but throughout the process. There will be a commercial process that will somehow distribute the additional cost among them,” he said.
The government is looking to fully implement the scheme next year if the bill can be passed by the Legislative Council.
Wong said the Environmental Protection Department enhanced the mobile collection vehicle service last October to collect computers, rechargeable batteries, compact fluorescent lamps and fluorescent tubes in all 18 districts.