Still many problems with waste charging scheme: govt

Deputy Chief Secretary Warner Cheuk on Wednesday said a trial has shown that there are still many problems with the government's long-delayed waste charging programme. The pay-as-you-throw scheme was tested at 14 locations from last month, covering homes, shops and restaurants, but only about half of the households participated by using designated bags to dispose of trash. Cheuk said a working group had been meeting every week to discuss the plan. "According to our initial observations, there are many problems. We think that if we introduce the waste charging scheme, we must have a consensus and support from Hong Kong people," he said. "That's because this policy directly affects the seven million people in Hong Kong. There must be favourable conditions in various areas in order to roll the scheme out smoothly." Officials had earlier said it remained to be seen whether a full rollout would go ahead on August 1 as planned.