The Young Reporter
The Dark Side of the Bright Celebrity Stage: Where does the Fan Money go?
- 2021-12-30
- The Young Reporter
- 2021-12-30
By Sunny Xuan
COVID 19: The Impact on Vulnerable Groups in Hong Kong
- 2021-12-30
- The Young Reporter
- 2021-12-30
By Clara Ip
Waste-charging Scheme: Financial Burden Hits Underprivileged Elders
- 2021-12-09
- Health & Environment
- The Young Reporter
- By: Hamish CHANEdited by: Simran Vaswani
- 2021-12-09
Liu Siu-lan, 73, lives alone in a public housing flat and makes a living by scavenging for cardboard after her retirement. Liu worked as a garment worker in a sewing factory after she fled to Hong Kong from the mainland in the 1960s. She lives alone after her husband died a few years ago. She has no children or other family. “I can still work and contribute to society by collecting cardboard from shops and sending it to the recycling stations,” said Liu. “It cannot make me a huge fortune, but can subsidise my living.” She said she can go to Yum Cha with her friends once a week with the income from recycling. “It is tiring but I think it is the right thing to do,” said Liu. “It is always good for the elders to have something to do,” said Liu. “It makes me feel like I am not a burden to society.” However, she may need to pay for domestic waste in 2023. The Legislative Council passed the waste-charging schemes, named The Waste Disposal (Charging for Municipal Solid Waste) (Amendment) Bill 2018, on 26 August. There will be a preparatory of 18 months before the implementation of charging, which means the scheme will start no sooner than early 2023, according to the Environmental Protection Department. Under the scheme, households will need to buy “designated garbage bags”, which have nine sizes for citizens to choose from. For oversized waste, such as furniture, citizens will need to buy a HK$11 “designated label” to affix with the waste. “It is not reasonable to charge us money for having rubbish,” said Liu. “Obviously not everything is recyclable.” Wu Kwok-sang, 72, lives on a government subsidy and alone in a public housing flat. “The waste charging scheme will definitely increase my financial …