A case study on the effectiveness of community recycling stores in Hong Kong

Abstract

Municipal solid waste (MSW) has been an emerging problem worldwide, causing environmental problems and human health concerns. The Environmental Protection Department of the Hong Kong Government (HK EPD) has established Green @ Community as a unified network for recycling and public environmental education. Limited studies have been conducted to evaluate and validate the work done by the Green @ Community. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness, economic incentives and public awareness of community recycling stores in Hong Kong. Local questionnaire surveys were conducted between March 2022 to May 2022 with a sample size of 200 to achieve the aims of the study. Further to this, secondary data from the number of recyclables at the recycling stores (RSs) were analysed to evaluate the effectiveness of RSs in Hong Kong. The presented study found that there was an increasing trend in collected recyclables and visitors in RSs, but there was a large deficit between the amount of waste generated and the quantity of recyclables. Respondents have a weak recognition of the recycling networks, public awareness of community recycling networks and recycling behaviour. This study provided baseline data for the government and suggested more promotions are needed to further develop Green @ Community.