The Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipment (WPRS) was put into practice on 1 August 2018 and the Environmental Protection Department showed satisfaction towards the implementation of the scheme at a review meeting on 10 August. Under the scheme, different stakeholders have to take up different responsibility in order to tackle the E-waste problem in Hong Kong, but that of sellers and recyclers may attract more public attention at the moment due to the difficulties in arranging removal services.
According to the scheme, sellers of electrical and electronic equipment are required to provide free removal service to consumers who have purchased regulated equipment in accordance to the formulated removal service plan approved by the Environmental Protection Department, such as arranging recyclers to collect the equipment from consumers’ home. However, the problem is that currently there are only 3 qualified recyclers who have received waste disposal licence which may not be enough for satisfying the public need in removal service since consumers have to wait for recyclers’ arrangement regarding the collection date and time while the process may take up some time due to the huge demand in removal service.
Some consumers are worried that they may have to keep two equipment at home at the same time if the recyclers are unable to arrange the removal service before the new equipment is sent to their home, which would cause great inconvenience to them. Still, consumers can also dispose of their old equipment in Community Green Stations or E-waste Collection Vehicle, but the latter might also take a while as the vehicles are on schedule and consumers need to wait for them to arrive at their estates or nearby places. If consumers would like to get rid of the old electrical equipment as soon as possible, they may have to pay extra fees as some sellers offer to collect the old equipment and put it in their store or warehouse until the licensed recyclers come to collect it. Moreover, other methods which are not encouraged and supported by the Environmental Protection Department include asking unlicensed recyclers to collect the old equipment and disposing of it in random recycling bin.
The Secretary for the Environment, Mr. Wong Kam-sing, has discussed this problem in a public event and he claimed that the department is processing new applications and there will soon be more recyclers in helping the recycling and removal services, thus allowing the scheme to run smoothly and deal with the E-waste problem in Hong Kong.
Photo source: https://www.weee.gov.hk/?lang=1
