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Restaurant owner’s view on the MSW charge

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Restaurant owner’s view on the MSW charge

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Lim Yunji 4098548

Role : Restaurant owner in Hong Kong.

View : As an owner of the restaurant,

1. Increasing financial burden: If an MSW charge is imposed, restaurant owners would experience increased financial burdens. They would have to purchase new garbage bags or find alternative methods for effective waste management, which can add to their financial expenses. Restaurants typically generate a significant amount of food waste, and in order to reduce this waste and minimize the MSW charge, owners may consider reducing portion sizes or using cheaper ingredients. However, these attempts may have a negative impact on the restaurant's operations.

2. Price increase of food: If restaurant owners feel the financial burden of the MSW charge, they may resort to increasing menu prices to cope with the additional costs. However, this could have a negative impact on customers. Higher menu prices may lead to higher customer expectations and decreased satisfaction. Consequently, customers may choose to dine out less frequently, which can have a detrimental effect on the restaurant's business.

3. Possibility of increased illegal waste disposal: The introduction of an MSW charge might lead to certain restaurants resorting to illegal waste disposal methods to avoid additional costs. They may opt to dispose of waste illegally or engage in existing illegal waste disposal activities to evade charges.

In conclusion, restaurant owners would need to explore various measures to alleviate the financial burden of the MSW charge. This could include reducing portion sizes, increasing menu prices, or using cheaper ingredients to minimize ingredient costs. However, these efforts may result in customer dissatisfaction. Therefore, restaurant owners should strive to minimize the MSW charge while maintaining customer satisfaction.

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Ng Tsz Hin 4149426

In my opinion, MSW charging can lead to a significant reduction in the overall volume of waste that needs to be collected, processed, and disposed of. This reduction can help extend the lifespan of existing landfills and reduce the need for new ones.

Also, it can increase the awareness of recycling and composting, when financial incentives encourage households and businesses to sort their waste more diligently, it can encourage people to do recycling and composting. This not only reduces the amount of waste going to landfills but also supports the recycling industry and can lead to the creation of green jobs.

In addition, MSW charging can increase our cost efficiency. By reducing the overall volume of waste, we can lower the costs associated with waste collection, transportation, and disposal. Additionally, the revenue generated from the charges can offset the costs of running waste management and recycling programs, making them more financially sustainable. Therefore, MSW charging is definitely benefits for our city.

However, MSW charging still bring some of the challenges to us. The most important part of this policy is the public. When we introducing charges for waste disposal, it can lead to public resistance. Especially if the fees are perceived as an additional financial burden without clear benefits. To mitigate this, we must ensure transparent communication about the environmental and financial rationale behind the charges and demonstrate the direct benefits to the community.

Also, to implementing and managing an MSW charging system requires significant administrative effort and infrastructure. This includes billing systems, waste tracking, and customer service to handle inquiries and complaints. Ensuring the system is efficient and user-friendly is crucial for its success.

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4115217 WANG Zixuan

As an owner of the property management, I am responsible for raising public awareness and encouraging ethical waste management techniques. This might include creating educational campaigns, disseminating instructional materials, and working with households, companies, and community groups to promote trash reduction, recycling, and correct disposal. Moreover, coordinate and interact with numerous waste management shareholders such as garbage collection companies, recycling service providers, municipal governments, and community organizations. Effective communication and involvement assist in resolving complaints, gather input, and enhance waste management services. Finally, property management is responsible for the effective and timely collection of MSW from residential, commercial, and industrial buildings within a certain region. This includes arranging garbage collection schedules, ensuring adequate waste segregation, and handling any collection-related difficulties or complaints.

Challenges:

Here are some challenges that I would encounter. Firstly, residents and tenants must be educated and engaged on a continuous basis to encourage behavioral change and promote proper waste management methods. Overcoming indifference, resistance, or lack of awareness can be difficult. Some residents may complain about the charging regulations because of the lack of the awareness as well. This may be one of the biggest challenges that I meet. What’s more, adequate financing and budget allocation for waste management operations can be difficult for property managers, particularly when waste management expenses are not entirely covered by rent or service fees. Limited financial resources may have an influence on the adoption of efficient waste management strategies. Lastly, compliance with waste management legislation and changing environmental requirements can be complicated and difficult. Property management must maintain current on applicable regulations, licenses, and reporting obligations, which may vary by jurisdiction. Failure to comply may result in penalties or legal repercussions.

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MSW charging scheme as a restaurant owner

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MSW charging scheme as a restaurant owner

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NG Hok Hin 4114134

As a restaurant owner, I truly understand the purpose of implementing the MSW charging scheme is to reduce the food waste as much as possible. I used to throw all kinds of waste such as food waste and the boxes into a huge garbage bag. After the announcement of the scheme, it reminds me the responsibility and awareness of reducing waste because food waste is one of the major waste in Hong Kong. However, there would be a lot of challenges for us to handle.

The main problem is the cost would increase rapidly. To serve with the best quality of dishes, we should throw away the bad and expired food immediately. However, we usually buy a huge amount of food to cut down the cost. Therefore, it increases the cost of producing food waste. Also, there are a lot of sharp things such as bones and scales. We need to use one more garbage bag. Therefore, the cost would be higher and unaffordable.

The second problem is the difficulty of the staff management and the training. In order to reduce the food waste, we would provide some instruction for the staff in classifying the types of waste. The monitoring and the training would increase the cost. Also, part time staff is less responsible than full time staff as they get less paid. It's difficult to monitor them to follow such instructions.

Lastly, it's difficult to find solution in reducing the cost. The customers would be unsatisfied when the price of the dishes increases. The part time staff would be less responsible when the working hours are cut. The price would be higher if we cannot buy the food in bulk. Therefore, the financial burden would be more serious to the restaurant owners.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of cleaning company

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Opinion of MSW in the role of cleaning company

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Cheng Hoi Wai (4109335)

I am a manager of a cleaning company. Cleaning companies are divided into three types, residential cleaning, commercial cleaning and specialized cleaning. Our company specialize in commercial cleaning, which is the type that the cleaners goes to clean the commissioned housing estates, schools and different offices. Being the manager, I am able to direct the company culture and encourage my employees to clean in a more sustainable way. We require our employees to recycle the recyclables found in the cleaning process such as big plastic distilled water bottles from water dispenser in office.

In my opinion, the MSW charging scheme helps to fasten the cleaning process of my employees. Under the MSW charging scheme, there will be more offices and schools tend to practice recycling. There are more offices and schools make up corners for collecting recyclable materials after the announcement of the MSW charging scheme as the awareness and need of recycling to cut costs increases. It is easier for us to pick up them and put them to nearby recycling spots. Also, the bottles of cleaning products have a place to put before we take all the recyclables away with us after cleaning.

The challenges are that the cost of the bags for discarding rubbish increases and there are punishments of non-complaint waste, which increases our production cost. The designated bag are more expensive than the original bags that we use to discard rubbish, as the waste cleaned in the cleaning process will be discarded by bags bought by us, the production cost increases. Moreover, if there are sharp waste for us to discard such as tree branches fallen on the ground, it is hard to avoid it to pierce the bags. The punishments will increase our financial burden.

Furthermore, we might find out that there are non-compliant waste when we collect the waste from our clients. It is hard for us to tell them to fix it before we clean them away, especially for housing estates with the large amount of rubbish. We wonder whether the punishment should paid by the owner of the waste or the last one who discard them which means by our company. We wish to have more guidance from the government as we have questions about whose responsibility it is for discarding these waste.

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property management’s opinion on the MSW charging

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property management’s opinion on the MSW charging

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4150686 CHEN Beiyin

I am the owner of a property management company which take control of a lot of private estates. Our duty includes security, environment management, handling repairs and maintenance and responding the questions from the residents.

Our role is to cooperate with neighbourhood committee and clearing company in the MSW charging program. We need to set up a detailed process to dispose household rubbish

MSW charging brings a plenty of benefits for the environment, but causes a lot of problems for our property management.

We need to set up a detailed process of disposing rubbish for the residents.  Apart from that, we need to decide the place for more recycling bins and place for collecting Bulk wastes.

It is important for us to make a good communication with residents before the charging program starts. The important information about the waste charging need to be provide to the residents. Staff need to know how to answer related inquiries and provide helps during the process.

Challenges

Firstly, all the staff need to be trained before the policy starts. The charging program is complicated We need to teach and train our staff about the process of waste charging and how to answers resident’s questions. However, many of our staff in this industry are middle age who are difficult to understand the complicated knowledge in a short time. It may cause the outflow of talent because they are not willing to go through all the training. The program also increases their workload significantly.

Secondly, it hard to prevent the littering problem. After the charging policy begins, some of residents may throw their rubbish in the street rubbish bin or throw it without using the charging bag. It is hard for us to trace the source and it uses a lot of manpower. Moreover, littering bring negative effect to the environment of the estate such as garden. People may throw more rubbish in the public area of the estate so as to avoid paying more fee for domestic waste. We have to maintain the environment more frequently.

Thirdly, it may causes conflict between property management company and residents. The company need to charge residents for waste bags and increasing management fee. Some residents may unwilling to pay for it and lead to a conflict with the management staff. Furthermore, there will be potential disputes over the explanation of the waste charging policy. It decreases the effectiveness of waste charging.

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Xu zongqing 4036045  MSW charging scheme as a general public

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Xu zongqing 4036045  MSW charging scheme as a general public

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Even though the polluter-pays principle applies to industrial manufacturers trying to reduce their industrial pollution, it might not be suitable for the general public under certain circumstances, and supplementary acts are required.

The MSW charging scheme provides benefits that cost people for their waste produced, as a result making them produce less waste and creating an income source for the government to improve the city organization (Hopefully).

However, it requires citizens to purchase designated trash bags and dump them at designated places. This may cause inconvenience if the designated trash bag increases their daily expense and the inaccessibility to those bags as well as for the deployment of the disposal site designed for the MSW charging scheme. Moreover, said scheme could possibly create chaos in gathering the trash. Since each gram of their garbage will be counted for a bill to pay, those who would like to save money but keep producing plenty of waste will seek for a concealed place to dump their waste. Causing the trash too hard to locate and eventually worse off the environment with tons of stinky, rotted waste, also, if people avoid such expense by dumping the trash into the ocean, thousands of marine animals will face a direct life threat.

Therefore, MSW charging scheme contains potential inconveniences to local residents and threats to the global environment, it would be effective in reducing the pressure for dumpsters, but if we want it to happen in a good way, the scheme shall not standout alone.

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Opinion of MSW in the Role of Profit- making Recycling Company

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Opinion of MSW in the Role of Profit- making Recycling Company

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GAO Wentan (4177227)

I am a general manager in a profit-making recycling company based in Hong Kong, providing recycling solutions for large manufacturing operation companies that need to outsource cardboard, plastic, metal, and electronic materials recycling services and make the most of the waste for customers.

The MSW charging would accelerate the recycling industry in Hong Kong. Fortunately, our company has linked the whole recycling supply chain. And we are glad to see the implementation of MSW charging. The large amount of manufacturing waste has put on a price that increases the cost of manufacturing operations. As the cost of direct disposal becomes higher, the cost of recycling waste in our company becomes reasonable, and it is also conducive to the company's ESG image construction. Therefore, the demand for our recycling service would increase, which is more accessible to establish partnerships.

Nevertheless, the challenge and opportunity coexist:

1. Our adaptation to the recycling market change: The new policy on MSW charging will cause market fluctuations in the demand and value of recyclables. As the demand for our service gradually increases, the volume of recyclable materials will also increase, which leads to higher processing costs and investment in additional equipment, labor, and infrastructure to handle the increased demand. Managing and processing larger quantities of recyclables can be logistically challenging and may require adjustments to existing operations. More importantly, in the long run, the revenue of waste among the whole society may decrease due to process manipulation leading to waste reduction. Eventually, the sharp development of our scale in the initial stage of MSW charging may not sustainably develop our own recycling business. We need to adapt to these market dynamics and ensure their operations remain financially viable.

2. Scanning the potential recycling market, our business scope is only limited to a small range. We might face more classifications of recyclable waste in cooperation with the broader industry, which we do not link the supply chain and are not familiar with Hong Kong's recycling policy for specific waste. Also, as the tendency to mix recyclable materials with general waste to avoid higher charges, the B to C business mode could be developed to provide recycling services to individuals and households before other companies seize market share.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of recycling company

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Opinion of MSW in the role of recycling company

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Man Yan Wai (4103123)

I am the manager of a recycling company. Our two main job is to collect the recyclable materials from various sources and monitor the recycling process such as the separation.

We are very glad about the implementation of MSW, since it showed Government’s determination to foster the sustainable development of Hong Kong, which shared the same vision with us. Also, the policy may bring some positive influence on us. To give an example, public would more prefer to do recycle in order to reduce the fees. Due to this situation, the supply of recyclables and demand of recycling would be largely increased. According to Baguio Green Group limit(碧瑤), the measures will stimulate a significant increase in the volume of recycling, and that the business opportunities of the recycler market will be huge, with an expected annual revenue of $300 million to $500 million. Moreover, with the provision of stable development and income, more people will join the relevant industries, thus avoiding the problem of manpower shortage.

However, we are still having many concerns on this large-scale waste levy measures. The most worth mentioned problem is that the public may try to put a large amount of waste unsuitable for recycling into the recycling bins in order to avoid the charges. By then it would cost us more money and time to sort the waste, and the fee of the waste is shifted from the public to us, which would indirectly affect the entire MSW process. Moreover, the rapid growth of this industry would stimulate competition which may enhance our burden if we can’t monopoly most of the opportunities.

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Restarurant owner's view on the MSW charge

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Restarurant owner's view on the MSW charge

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Role:

My role is a restaurant owner in Hong Kong.

View:

As an owner of the restaurant, the implementation of the MSW charge brings many bad effects to the restaurant, it may cause challenges that are hard to tackle. The problems will mainly focus on the financial burden and efficiency as the MSW charge has a serious punishment and complex recycling process.

1. Facing the risk of amercement

The MSW charge policy in Hong Kong states that people should recycle the waste and ensure the waste doesn’t pierce the bag. We might get charged once the restaurant is discovered to have violated the policy. However, as a fast-paced business like a restaurant, there is a lot of waste to deal with every day, it is difficult for us to check every pack of trash because it is inefficient. Given that it is hard to ensure the status of the trash bag, the restaurant has a huge risk of facing amercement which causes a financial burden.

2. Financial challenges

If the MSW is implemented, the restaurant will have to pay more money to buy the new trash bag in order to avoid getting charged. The restaurant usually produces a lot of food waste and the amount usually depends on how many customers the restaurant has. It means that the cost is unstable, and there may be a huge cost if the business is good.

3. Affecting customers’ flow

If the MSW charge is implemented, the restaurant might have to alleviate the financial burden by increasing the service fee. It means that the charge fee will move to the customers and they will be dissatisfied with the restaurant and refuse to come again. It brings loss to the restaurant and I have to pay still pay the rent under this bad situation which finally causes the collapse of the restaurant.

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Opinion of MSW charge in the role of General public/ Citizens

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Opinion of MSW charge in the role of General public/ Citizens

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Although the government must alarm the citizens about the overproducing waste that may cause pollution and endanger our earth. However, the way of controlling waste production by paying money is more like a form of punishment. The way of using punishment to control is and will never end the way they expected. In my opinion, punishment is closely connected with the revolt. It will end up a day when the MSW charge will rise and even for a price that some people will have an objective voice. It is somehow similar to gas fuel nowadays, where it's getting more and more expensive and people choose to purchase electronic cars instead of fuel cars. However, when speaking of waste, it won't be able to get rid of it.

I think even if the MSG charge is now implemented, it still has problems such as effectively reducing the amount of waste created or encouraging citizens to do so. In a way of paying money, it will affect some people such as the lower class, but it wont affect the middle class or the upper class.

If the government is trying to reduce waste as their purpose, they can choose to promote awards and punishment together. In the way of awarding citizens who are reducing their waste is more effective than punishing them only, with award will affect all citizens.

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Restaurant Owner's Opinion on MSW charge 

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Restaurant Owner's Opinion on MSW charge 

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CHEN Qianyu 4128898

Implementing the MSW charge presents a unique set of challenges and considerations. Here's an in-depth exploration of the potential impacts and strategies involved:

Financial Influence:

Challenge: The immediate concern for most restaurants would be the financial burden introduced by the MSW charge. This cost comes on top of existing expenses such as rent, utilities, labour, and food costs.

For example, If the MSW charge is calculated based on the volume or weight of waste generated, restaurants that produce a significant amount of waste due to high customer turnover or extensive menu offerings might face substantial fees. Additionally, a busy urban restaurant might generate several large bins of waste daily, significantly increasing operating costs.

Waste Management Practices

Challenge: Restaurants will need to adopt more efficient waste management practices. This might involve training staff, investing in waste sorting facilities, and negotiating with waste management services for better terms.

For instance, a restaurant might start separating organic waste for composting, recyclables for proper disposal, and non-recyclables. This requires staff training and possibly remodelling the waste disposal area to accommodate different bins. The initial setup and ongoing management entail both time and money.

However, we can implement strategies to reduce overall waste generation, such as revising the menu to minimize food waste, using reusable tableware, and optimizing inventory to avoid spoilage.

In terms of Customer Perception and Participation

Challenge: Engaging customers in waste reduction efforts can be challenging. Customers might not be inclined to participate in waste sorting or reduction initiatives, potentially impacting the dining experience. e.g. introducing a policy where customers are encouraged to return their trays and sort their waste could lead to inconvenience. Some might view these measures as detracting from the service quality, especially in a fine dining setting.

But we are able to Educate and involve customers in waste reduction efforts, which can turn challenges into opportunities for building community and loyalty. For example, offering incentives for customers who opt for minimal packaging or participate in recycling programs.

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Role:

Representing Low-income Families

MSW adds to the financial burden of low-income families, especially those living in sub-divided units.

Challenges:

1. MSW is sold according to the capacity of rubbish bags. Citizens may want to save money by accumulating more rubbish before taking it out for disposal. This may result in poor living environment, e.g. hygiene problems such as cockroaches and odour.

2. Some old housing estates lack managers, so people may throw rubbish directly into the building, seriously endangering hygiene and fire safety.

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Representing Low-income Families

MSW adds to the financial burden of low-income families, especially those living in sub-divided units.

Challenges:

1. Garbage collection is sold according to the capacity of rubbish bags. Citizens may want to save money by accumulating more rubbish before taking it out for disposal. This may result in poor living environment, e.g. hygiene problems such as cockroaches and odour.

2. Some old housing estates lack managers, so people may throw rubbish directly into the building, seriously endangering hygiene and fire safety.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of property management

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Opinion of MSW in the role of property management

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We are the groups of private residential property management. We know that our residents produce lots of municipal solid waste, and this brings huge pressure on the landfill systems. Also, our residents have a low recycling rate, which makes the government hard to get a better job on sustainable development. Therefore, we support the government the publishing the MSW charging in Hong Kong. However, we have the responsibility to maintain our interests. and maintain residents’ interests, so we have some views and opinions on the MSW charging.

Views:

Applying the MSW charging in Hong Kong allows us to have efficient waste management. Municipal solid trash is often untidy and large. As a result, we need to spend more time on cleaning and organizing municipal solid garbage. For example, our cleaners need to spend lots of time tidying up the municipal solid waste. We believe that with the implementation of MSW pricing, municipal solid waste will be more neat and transparent. It has the potential to relieve some of the burden of municipal solid waste management in our buildings.

We think that the MSW charging can target our residents’ habits of wasting because they need to spend more money on buying the designated bags and labels if they want to throw away their waste. If they don’t use the designated bags, they will breach the law. There is a sufficient deterrent effect on the residents to regulate their daily wasting habits. At the same time, our inhabitants have more power to afford the cost of the specified bags, so their responsiveness to the rule will not be too negative. As a result, they can raise their correct waste habits.

Challenges:

We think that the residents lack awareness of being environmentally friendly. The government lacks enough promotion and education on the MSW charging law to the public. Therefore, there are still lots of residents who don’t know the purpose of the MSW charging law. Considering the long-term effects, it can’t change the habits of wasting if the residents only obey the MSW charging law without knowing the purpose.

We also think that it might be challenging for us to monitor the waste problems of all residents after the establishment of the law. Some residents may refuse to participate in the program, and they may waste their garbage illegally. For example, using other plastic bags and not using any bags to package the waste. Monitoring and regulating personal municipal solid waste can be challenging, especially in large residential areas with diverse populations.

Moreover, we need to spend more extra cost on this program. In order to regulate and monitor the residents, we need to spend extra human resources and capital on hiring more people and training our staff to fulfill the procedures and standards of MSW charging. Our management office staff need to spend more time communicating with the residents and handling the violation cases. Therefore, the MSW charging will increase our pressure significantly.

Last but not least, we will have some challenges with the supporting strategies of the MSW charging. We believe that we need to have better recycling systems to support the MSW charging. However, the recycling system is not well-developed in Hong Kong, and it may bring some negative impact to the effectiveness of MSW charging.

To have corporations with MSW charging, we would like to provide several strategies. Firstly, we should provide more education and activities to raise the awareness of residents of being environmentally friendly. Therefore, the residents should get a better understanding of the purpose, rules, and the publishment of the MSW charging law. Secondly, we will try to help the residents purchase the designated bags and divide them to sure every resident participates in the program. The cost will be added to the management cost. Thirdly, we will provide more, different types of recycling bins in the buildings to raise the awareness of recycling.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of people who live in old building and sub-divided flat

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Opinion of MSW in the role of people who live in old building and sub-divided flat

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In 2016, there were two hundred thousand people living in the subdivided flats in the old building, mainly low-income individuals. People are given fifty feet of space to live in. The median rent is $4500HKD, and rent is a significant financial burden for them. According to estimates, the majority of the population is waiting for public housing to be built.

Challenges:

1. People who live in subdivided houses may not have enough money to afford MSW plastic bags. According to some of them, the building management department increased the building management fee by 30%. In this way, they can dispose of garbage unified. This caused financial hardship for them. It seems unfair that the amount of waste they generate varies. However, the managing department of the old building has to pay the same fee regardless of how much waste they generate.

2. Due to the desire to avoid the garbage levy, people may not dispose of their waste in the proper way. They want to avoid the garbage levy. There is another old building where they can throw their rubbish.

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Ramiz Arif 4148936

I am a small retail business owner in a busy part in Hong Kong. In my opinion the MSW charges ordinance will have a very significant impact on my business. The ordinance aims the people to pay for the waste that they produce. Some challenges that I might face due to this ordinance are:

Increased costs: The MSW charges ordinance will increase the costs of waste disposal for my business. This will put pressure on my already tight profit margins and may lead to a decrease in revenue.

Competition: I may face competition from larger businesses that can afford to invest in more efficient waste management systems

Compliance: I may struggle to comply with the new regulations and may face penalties for non-compliance. So I may need to invest in new waste management systems that will require me to spend more money

Customer perception: The MSW charges ordinance may affect the perception of customers towards the business. Customers may prefer to shop at businesses that are environmentally more responsible and generate less waste.

Administrative burden: The MSW charges ordinance will require me to keep detailed records of the waste disposal. This will increase the administrative burden on my business, taking away time and resources from my core business activities.

Overall, the MSW charges ordinance will present significant challenges to my business and other small retail business owners in Hong Kong. However, with careful planning and investment in waste management systems, businesses can turn this challenge into an opportunity to promote themselves as environmentally responsible and gain a competitive edge.

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Although the goals of waste reduction and recycling sound great, the timing of this policy is questionable. I have serious concerns and reservations about implementing the Municipal Solid Waste charge.

First, the introduction of this disruptive charge adds to the burden and financial strain that the lower-income population currently bears. For those already facing financial challenges, such as rising rents, utility bills, and transportation costs, the additional charge will further strain their limited budgets.

Secondly, it has a sizable impact on our quality of life. In general, Hong Kong people have a fast-paced lifestyle. Under MSW charging, we need to change our waste disposal habits and adapt to new routines. This may require additional effort and time, potentially causing inconvenience and frustration. Also, some people may use improper waste disposal methods to avoid paying the fees. Increased illegal dumping and littering may exacerbate existing environmental problems. Hence, our city's overall cleanliness and aesthetics will decline, such as attracting rats and flies.

Thirdly, the effectiveness of this policy is in doubt. In fact, effective waste management depends on public awareness and education. Many people remain unaware of proper waste separation practices and the importance of recycling. A comprehensive and sustained effort is required to achieve the policy's goal. Instead of solely relying on a punitive charge, emphasis should be placed on educating the public about waste management practices.

Besides, recycling services are not well-developed in Hong Kong. The current recycling infrastructures are inadequate to handle the increased demand resulting from the MSW charging. The lack of recycling facilities and collection points makes it challenging for us to properly dispose of recyclable materials. Also, limited recycling options will create confusion and reduce our motivation to recycle. For example, many plastic items are not accepted for recycling.

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Public rental housing resident’s opinions

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Public rental housing resident’s opinions

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Views:

When personal interests are affected, environmental protection is no longer a choice which depends only on promotion and education, but a responsibility and burden for everyone. As a public rental housing resident, it is unwilling the government to apply the MSW charging scheme.

This scheme mainly harms the interest on money and time cost, convenience of life and environmental hygiene.

Challenges:

It is unwilling the government to apply the MSW charging due to 5 reasons and challenges.

1. It is annoying for a normal resident who doesn't have the recycling habit in their daily life, but now they immediately have to cooperate with this scheme if they don’t want to pay a high amount of money to buy the plastic bag. Time and knowledge is required to get ready for it.

2. As an ethical resident, although having a good cooperation with the scheme, cannot others behave. For example, unethical residents may throw the rubbish outside their house and it causes unhygienic problems and affects the living environment.

3. For low income groups who live in public rental housing, it may be an extra burden to pay more money to buy plastic bags every month.

4. When the government applies the charging scheme, restaurants may have a high possibility to increase the price of meals since they produce large amounts of waste and transfer the cost to the consumers, so it indirectly increases the living cost.

5.  The facilities provided from the government may not fulfill the needs for people who want to recycle. For example, every estate only has one food waste processor, so when more residents want to use it, we have to queue for some time to wait. Time cost will increase.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of Supermarket

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Opinion of MSW in the role of Supermarket

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ROLE: My character is the manager of a supermarket in Hong Kong.

VIEWS: A municipal solid waste (MSW) charging policy in Hong Kong is necessary for supermarkets, which are significant waste generators due to their size and the nature of their operations. But of course, implementing the MSW charging policy will also bring many challenges to supermarket operations.

CHALLENGES:

1. Increased operating costs:

The MSW fee policy will increase waste disposal costs. These increased costs could impact profit margins or result in higher consumer prices.

2. Supply chain adjustments:

To reduce waste, supermarkets may need to renegotiate with suppliers to reduce packaging or switch to products with less or more sustainable packaging.

3. Customer behavior and expectations:

Educating and encouraging customers to adopt waste-reducing practices, such as bringing their own bags or containers, can be challenging.

4. Compliance and administration: Ensuring compliance with municipal waste charging policies increases the administrative burden.

To meet these challenges, Hong Kong's supermarkets must innovate and rethink every aspect of their operations, from supply chain management to customer engagement. Collaboration with the government, waste management services, and other stakeholders will be vital to finding practical and sustainable solutions.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of NGO/ Green Group

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Opinion of MSW in the role of NGO/ Green Group

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As a NGO, we are responsible for addressing environmental issues as well as raising the public awareness in the society. Therefore, for the MSW charging, we are playing an important role to advocate for policy to support this environmentally responsible waste scheme, such as works collaboratively with the local communities and government authorities to undertake projects leading to more effective waste management initiatives and organize awareness campaigns as well as using different communication channels to educate the public thus driving policy change.

We are concerned about the waste crisis and the worsening environmental issues. The per capita daily disposal rate in Hong Kong is 1.36 kilograms, which is higher than other major cities, placing a heavy burden on landfills. There are some successful cases from foreign countries such as European countries that can reduce the amount of rate effectively. Therefore, we understand waste reduction and recycling are significant to the local waste management framework and support this implementation that can conserve the environment.

There are several challenges we might encounter and need to improve the scheme. We may struggle with limited funding. As a charitable organization, we rely on donations and fundraising efforts and lack substantial financial resources compared with the government or other stakeholders. Therefore, it may limit our scope and reach of awareness of the outreach activities, struggling to conduct extensive public campaigns and educational programs towards this sustainable practice in the society. We also need help from the government and diverse stakeholders and have a joint effort so that we collaborate and communicate effectively.

Also, since the MSW charging still hasn't been implemented and is postponed. This scheme still does not have very clear guidelines and detailed instruction for the public. We need to wait for the government update. People may get confused about some parts and have many questions. For example, disposal of specific furniture. We may find it difficult while promoting this scheme before the implementation and make it not effective. After that, changing the behaviors to adopt sustainable practices can be challenging and may lead to illegal or incorrect throwing. It is important to have effective education programs.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of General Pubilc 

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Opinion of MSW in the role of General Pubilc 

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General public: for people who live in sub-divided unit tenants, old building owners, and "three-nil buildings"

View: Low-income families may have a greater financial burden on MSW charging.

They are unfamiliar with appropriate waste separation procedures and lack of knowledge about recycling.

Challenges:

There are inadequate food waste recycling bins and refuse collection points for "three-nil buildings".

It is inconvenient to carry out recycling and participate in sustainable waste reduction.

Due to the poor waste management facilities, people are less incentive to take part in waste reduction.

As a consequence, there are serious littering issues and poor hygiene problems.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of cleaning/recycling company

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Opinion of MSW in the role of cleaning/recycling company

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The cleaning and recycling company is an enterprise dedicated to recycling and reusing waste. In today's environmental protection and sustainable development, the waste recycling company not only achieves its own profits but also contributes to society.

The role of cleaning and recycling companies is to sort garbage, classify garbage, recycle useful garbage, clean it, and process it again.

The cleaning/recycling may have both pros and cons if the MSW charges are implemented.

First, if garbage charging is implemented, people will sort their garbage into different categories in their daily lives, which will reduce the workload of these companies and make it easier to obtain or clean recyclables.

Second, people may reduce the sum of waste due to the MSW. That will reduce the revenue of the cleaning and recycling company.

The challenges may faced by cleaning/recycling companies:

1. The source of useful garbage. Since garbage classification is not well implemented, it is also extremely difficult to sort out useful garbage. Companies need a way to get this garbage. This cannot be done without the support of the government and citizens.

2. There are certain safety hazards in waste recycling, such as fire, explosion, and other risks during waste processing.

3. For some low-value waste products, companies have certain cost pressures and insufficient profit margins in recycling and cleaning them.

4. Technological innovation.

In order to make better use of waste products, waste recycling companies need to continue to try technological innovations, such as using high-tech equipment to classify, compress, and process waste products to improve recycling efficiency. At the same time, some waste recycling companies have also begun to pay attention to innovative green and environmentally friendly technologies such as renewable resources and waste removal.

The further development of the waste cleaning and recycling companies also requires strengthening policy support and supervision, improving the standardization level and safety of the industry, and strengthening waste recycling technology innovation and system construction. In addition, it is also necessary to strengthen international cooperation and exchanges, give full play to the role of the international market, and promote the sustainable development of the waste recycling industry.

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View:

My role is an executive officer from an NGO or Green Group. My view for this Municipal Solid Waste Charging Scheme (Hong Kong) is that I generally agree with its principles and future implementations.

Before carrying out MSW charging plan in August 2024, government has done lots of research and referred to many previous cases such as Seoul and Taipei. Then in the year of 2018, they also launched trial projects in different places in HK including PRH estates, rural villages, shopping malls, catering trade and government premises to get hands-on real-life experiences to direct future policy making and implementation. By now, they have finished trial projects in about 2900 premises. The policy is not made in one day, instead they referred to literature and also own practical trial experiences. As an NGO officer, I can understand the intention and rationale behind this scheme, thus I agree with it for it promote an ecological reserve environment and decrease the ecological footprint.

Challenges:

Everyone needs to pay without considering the low-income families’ financial situations. Families with a disabled person, or a single parent, or seriously ill patient are all on the list of needing goverment supplement and benefits. At the same time, NGO should also try our best to assist these low-income families.

The Monitering process need more personnel. The plan has been already delayed due to more details on implementation should be discussed. What role should the cleaners be responsible for? Merely cleaning work or cleaning and monitoring at the same time. More details should be disclosed. Our NGO will do anything to facilitate the plan carrying out smoothly.

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When the waste charging scheme is implemented in Hong Kong, restaurants will encounter several challenges.

The main challenge is that we will face increased operating costs. Since we generate large amounts of food waste every day, we need to pay high waste disposal fees. In addition, waste management practices require staff training and operational adjustments. For example, how to sort waste and dispose properly. This requirement will also increase our operating costs.

If we want to reduce the waste disposal fees, we could purchase food waste machines to handle the food waste. Yet, this will still increase our operating costs.

Faced with the rising operating costs, we might pass the costs on to consumers. For instance, charge customers for their food waste. This policy could encourage customers to finish all ordered foods or take away leftovers. Also, this approach reduces our disposal costs and lets customers bear the cost of food waste.

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Opinion of MSW in the role of Property Management

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Opinion of MSW in the role of Property Management

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Hu Tim Wa(4152681)

Role of Property Management Companies:

1. Education and Awareness:

Property management companies can play a critical role in informing people about the importance of reducing waste, recycling and correct waste disposal methods. They can hold seminars, give away manuals to educate community members and take part in community outreach programs to promote responsible waste management behaviors.

2. Infrastructure Development:

Waste collection facilities are provided and maintained by property management companies within residential as well as commercial properties. They may work together with waste management service providers to ensure that there are enough bins, recycling points and other infrastructures required for effective separation and disposal of wastes.

3. Collaboration with Service Providers:

By collaborating with waste management service providers, property management companies can ensure that garbage collection, recycling and disposal are done efficiently. Estate managers can negotiate agreements, appraise the service quality and give feedback to improve rubbish handling. When estate managers join hands with service providers they end up coming up with custom made ways of managing waste in particular estates and communities.

Challenges Faced by Property Management Companies:

1. Resident Engagement:

It is difficult to get people living in properties to start using waste management practices that are eco-friendly and sustainable. The solid waste charging policy has led to a number of people changing their behaviour, nevertheless some may need the education and assistance. Property management firms could be confronted with such difficulties as denying tenants, lodged complaints or even noncompliance due to these reasons it calls for proper communication skills and continued community engagement exercises.

2. Infrastructure Limitations:

To implement the mass solid waste charging policy and introduce it in Hong Kong, property management companies would be required to make improvements on their existing waste management infrastructure as well as put up new facilities. In order for these changes to take place as fast as possible there may be a need of space shortage, lack of funds or technological hurdles. The solution to these challenges may involve careful planning, allocation of resources, and working together with other parties who are affected.

3. Regulatory Compliance:

Property management firms must keep pace with the changing standards and guidelines governing the mass waste charging policy. The task of complying with reporting requirements, fee collection as well as documentations can be challenging when there are amendments or revisions to the policy. Therefore, it is important that property managers develop effective internal systems that allow them to comply with the set policy terms.

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Opinion of MSW Charging by NGO/ Green Group

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Opinion of MSW Charging by NGO/ Green Group

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The role of NGOs or Green Groups is to promote, improve and assist the policy. However, here are some problems which will need all stakeholders to solve together.

Having waste charging policies, the charging fee can be a factor in reducing waste. When they don’t want to have more expense in arranging the waste, they will try to have some behaviors to reduce the waste, such as recycling activities. However, some people may do illegal actions in this situation. People may litter and throw the rubbish in the public area. Moreover, people can buy the wrong or illegal plastic bags in the online shop.

We also believe that the NGOs and green groups have an important role in helping the issues from waste charging policy. When people are not familiar with the policy or they cannot receive the information from the internet, the NGOs can provide them the information through community talks, workshops, and activities. Community engagement in waste charging policy is very significant because the public is the major stakeholder after the policy release. Moreover, by understanding more public opinions of the policy, the NGOs and Green Groups can organize the research as the references for the government.

One of the functions of NGOs and green groups in waste charging policy is policy advocacy. They can advocate the policy in society due to the benefits of the policy, so more people will know and promote it. It can help to encourage more residents to join the policy legally. Moreover, the role of NGOs and Green Groups also monitor the situation of policy, for example, whether people follow the rule of using plastic bags and pay for their waste.

Although NGOs and Green Groups can do many activities to promote and enhance the benefits of waste charging policy, they still face many challenges. Firstly, NGOs and green groups have limited resources, so they can only provide limited activities and serve limited areas and people. The design of activities in how to attract the public will be also difficult with limited resources, too. The government and different stakeholders should provide funding and cooperate with NGOs and Green Groups.

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Name: Li Lam Lam (4003397)

The Environmental Protection Department is responsible for the implementation of governmental policies and its planning, also their supervision and public education.

According to the climate action plan 2050, the target of our city is to reduce half of the total carbon emissions compared to 2005 in 2035 and reach carbon neutral in 2050.

In this case, reducing the waste sent to the landfill is a measure of cutting carbon emissions. From the view of EPD, our wanting is citizen can reduce their waste production under financial disincentives of MSW in ways of using less or recycling more.

However, it is not easy to change the lifestyle of people, comparing to the inconvenience caused by reducing waste, people may tend to pay instead of adapting to new routines.

It is hard to measure whether the charge is affordable and enough to encourage citizens to produce less waste, especially since we are charging the same amount of fees among all residents with different backgrounds.

To encounter it, excluding strict implementation and supervision of the MSW, what we can do is educate and lessen the inconvenience of recycling to citizens, so people no longer only produce less waste due to monetary stress but spontaneity, and they can practice recycling without too much time cost.

To this extent, MSW acts as an intermediate for citizens to get in touch with new lifestyle and further change their mindsets.

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Restarurant owner's opinion on the MSW charging scheme.

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Restarurant owner's opinion on the MSW charging scheme.

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Student name: Chau Ka Yee (4198130)

According to the waste charging scheme, as a small restaurant owner, there are several challenges:

Increse the costs

Simply, i need to spend an additional money on buying plastic bags or charge for certain amount of waste. Apart from it, according to government instructions, it is mentioned that it is our responsibility to train our workers to be responsible for following the WCS. However, for these workers, it is believed that they would be more willing to undergo training if they can receive incentives, such as overtime fees and bonuses. These factors will increase our operational costs, whether it's the purchase of plastic bags, weighting the waste, or the training fees for the workers.

Storage problem

As a small restaurant, we have limited space for storing and recycling these waste. Therefore, it is difficult for us to separate the waste properly because we don't have enough space to store many types of waste, such as plastic, paper, food waste, metal, and so on.

Lower the competitive

As the operational costs increase, the costs will be passed on to the customers. This price increase may affect the customers' perspective on whether consume at our restaurant or not. If they perceive the price increase as inappropriate, we may lose customers, reduce our competitiveness, and impact our income. Therefore, we may be significantly affected, as there is a possibility of losing a considerable number of customers when we pass on the increased costs to them.

Consequnetly, as a small restaurant owner, we are seriously influenced after following the waste charge scheme, since there is increasing operational cost, facing the storage problem, and even lowering our competitiveness.

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Government officers' opinion on the MSW charging

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Government officers' opinion on the MSW charging

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In my opinion, this is a beneficial policy for government officers. The first is that it can reduce the financial burden. Garbage disposal requires a lot of time and cost. Charging residents can reduce the financial burden on the government and improve efficiency. At the same time, this policy can also help reduce waste production. Use charging as a way to limit citizens' waste production and avoid unnecessary waste.