A Hong Kong government move to distribute designated garbage bags to public housing tenants after shelving a controversial waste-charging scheme has sparked questions about its effectiveness, with residents saying it will not encourage them to reduce waste. A green group said on Tuesday that giving out designated bags for free with no strings attached was merely a move for authorities to clear the stock of the 170 million bags it produced for the pay-as-you-throw scheme. The government on Monday suspended the scheme, which was due to take effect on August 1, citing public opposition.
Some residents at Oi Man Estate in Ho Man Tin, one of Hong Kong’s oldest public housing estates, said on Monday that they were sceptical about the government mitigation measures. Housewife Mary Wong, 69, called the distribution “useless”, adding that she would use the designated bags instead of her own to save money. “I will have to use rubbish bags to throw my trash, if they give me some, it will mean that I will use less of my own, the most important thing is that they are free,” she said.
Wong also said the elderly were already buying less than young people and that receiving bags would not suddenly force her to purchase or consume less. Murphy Law, an estate resident of more than 40 years, stressed that he would not mind the government distributing bags, but said he believed that its efficacy would be limited as it would not shift the ingrained habits of the elderly. “I think if t.
