An evaluation of recycling performance of household waste in Hong Kong public housing estates

Abstract

This study investigated and evaluated the household waste recycling performance of the Public Rental Housing Sector in Hong Kong. It is worth studying in view of the foreseeable waste crisis facing Hong Kong especially in the era of consumerism and the fact that a significant proportion (i.e. 29.3%) of Hong Kong residents live in Public Rental Housing. The performance of household waste recycling in Public Rental Housing Sector was evaluated at sectoral level and individual level through the use of questionnaire surveys, desktop research, interviews and site observations. This study found that education attainment and level of awareness were significant predictors of recycling behaviour of the residents. Accessibility and proximity of the recycling bins also encouraged residents to recycle regardless of the types of recycler they were. Barriers of recycling were identified, which were limited range of recyclables accepted, condition of the recycling facilities and the common perception that recycling is a time-consuming act. There was also potential that municipal solid waste charging could act as both political and economic drives to shape residents’ recycling behaviour. Aggregate data showed that the recovery rate of paper, plastic and aluminium has been surging while the waste generation per capita has been dropping; yet the trend of the total waste generation was still on the rise. This study concluded that there was room for improvement for the performance of waste recycling in Public Rental Housing. This was due to the residents’ somewhat low level of awareness towards recycling and the continuous growth of total waste generation in the estates. Recommendations regarding the barriers of household waste recycling were suggested to improve the design of the recycling scheme in Public Rental Housing; waste management-related policies were also suggested to create a favourable environment for household waste recycling in Public Rental Housing.