Those who live in Hong Kong probably understand the frustrations of recycling and trying to be more eco-friendly here. Luckily it seems like the tides are slowly changing and I’ve noticed more eco-friendly initiatives in town! Even though there is some progress, it is still pretty disappointing to see how far behind Hong Kong is in terms of recycling. Taiwan has an impressive recycling rate of 55% and has tactics such as easily available collection routes and policies (involving fines or public humiliation LOL) to motivate the public. Read more about Taiwan’s awesome system here.

Hong Kong apparently recycles 35% of it’s waste, which sounds pretty decent but this is not an accurate statistic. According to the government, 44% of that 35% recycled waste is paper, but Hong Kong does not have any local recycling plants. Therefore this paper is sent to other countries and there lacks any stringent regulations to check whether it actually is being recycled. It could easily be dumped somewhere. Hong Kongers are also misusing the recycling bins. An investigation by Greener’s Action found that less than 40% of the content in recycling bins were actually recyclable items. Finding these bins is already difficult, there is only one recycling bin for every 14 rubbish bins in Hong Kong, but to know that people aren’t even using it properly is infuriating. This reveals a dire need for government involvement and public education.

According to the website of the Hong Kong Government’s Environment Protection Department, these are the types of items that can be recycled (there are other categories also, see the full list here):

The range is pretty limited, particularly in the plastics section. How could this be it?! There’s so much more that can be recycled. Jerry has been trying to speak to his building’s management to get some recycling bins in our building but no one would give him the time of day. We started searching around and found Hong Kong Recycles. It is a recycling service that comes by every month to pick up your items. The website does not give too much information (which is annoying and I think they could vastly improve on that), but according to the email correspondence Jerry had with them, they are able to recycle more types of plastic and they work with reliable recycling partners to ensure items are not tossed into the landfill. While I think there are some gaps of information and I would like to be more certain of the effectiveness of this service, this is the best that we have found for now. We pay $350 per month and they provide bags for us to put our items in (plastic, paper, glass, aluminum). Another thing that we liked about this service is that they work with Caritas to provide jobs for socially disadvantaged people.

After one month of using this service… this was what we had (I put a roll of paper towel next to them for scale… we also use reusable towels now but this is leftover). Please note that I went on a boat trip and took back all the plastic bottles, so that took up a good chunk of our plastic bag since we usually never use plastic bottles. We also had some drink cans from the boat trip.

You might think that this isn’t a lot or be surprised by how much there is. I personally was the latter. Please also remember that these are only the things that are being recycled… there are still other items being thrown out that cannot be recycled! Jerry and I are also only two people and people who are trying really hard to be conscientious about single use plastics and waste. We always use sports plastic bottles, bring our own lunch box (even when we buy food from outside, we bring an empty one), and order take out maybe once a month, if ever. I hope that this makes you think about how much stuff you could accumulate in a month and how much of that will end up in a landfill. There are 7.4 million people in Hong Kong… if we all don’t give a shit and keep doing what we are doing we are going to have a HUGE problem. This article sums it up nicely…

Everything little thing can have a huge impact. We should never think that our individual actions won’t amount to much. Think about it this way, if you stopped buying your daily plastic bottle of water and invested in a reusable one, that’s saving 365 bottles a year! Imagine if all (that’s super optimistic) or a few thousand of people did that… that’s a LOT OF BOTTLES! You can make a difference! Also don’t forget about the power of advocacy. I don’t want to be overly pushy but I do love to tell my friends and colleagues about my eco initiatives and am super happy that my friends have been really supportive and made some lifestyle changes also. They are also super cooperative and help me collect bottles and cans at social events so I can bring it home to recycle. I also take back the plastic takeout box of my colleagues to bring home.

It is upsetting to see people not caring about the planet and to continue to be so irresponsible and wasteful. The trash doesn’t just disappear into thin air when we toss it out… it’s not something we can just say “it’s not my problem now”. We all have a responsibility in protecting our planet and to make it a better place for others and future generations. I am far from perfect and have so much more to improve on, but I am so excited that I have had this realization and to have a partner who shares these ideals with me. This planet is our beautiful home and we have done so much damage… it’s time to reflect on our lifestyle and make some changes.