The Recycling Crisis: Why Hong Kong Must Prioritise Reducing over Recycling

Group picture at New Life Plastics Facility!

Nestled in the heart of Hong Kong’s Eco-Park, New Life Plastics (NLP) is Hong Kong’s first dedicated polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE) Recycling facility. This state of the art facility represents a joint venture between Baguio Green Group, ALBA, and Swire Coca-Cola. With its impressive capacity to process up to 4000 tonnes recycled beverage bottles per month, NLP is set to be a change-maker in Hong Kong’s approach to waste management. 

The tour of NLP was an eye-opening experience, offering a glimpse into Hong Kong’s recycling industry and its vast infrastructure!

The New Life Plastics Facility located in EcoPark in Hong Kong

Presentation by Jennifer – the sustainability manager at NLP!

The tour began with an informative presentation by Jennifer, as she unveiled the aims and the daily operations of the recycling plant. An engaging dialogue gradually emerged between the attendees during the presentation. Not only was it a rich learning experience allowing us to gain insights into the recycling processes at NLP, but it also opened the gates for a hearty discussion regarding the recycling framework in Hong Kong and its subsequent limitations.

As someone discussed the efficiency of waste separation bins in Hong Kong, others inquired about the specificity of bottles that can be recycled at this facility (i.e. does it need to be transparent, clean, have the label or cap removed?). Curiosity truly transpired through the entire room. 

A Circular Economy

Afterwards, Jennifer further explained the ‘circular economy’ concept associated with plastic recycling. She outlined the journey of a plastic bottle from disposal to rebirth as a new product. NLP’s facilities transform Hong Kong’s PET beverage bottles to food-grade ready rPET flakes. Afterwards, these flakes are delivered to local manufacturers to produce recycled PET products for  companies like Vitasoy. Furthermore, by using cutting-edge recycling technology from Germany and France that is entirely dependent on solar energy, New Life Plastics provides a sustainable alternative to Hong Kong’s striking plastic bottle usage, averaging at 5.2 million bottles every day. 

Jennifer presenting on plastic bottle circular economy

Let’s not forget about sustainability!

Jennifer’s presentation concluded with her reinstating the key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that NLP focuses on: affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, industry, innovation, and infrastructure, sustainable cities, climate action, and partnerships for the goals. 

Key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at New Life Plastics

Tour of the facility!

The most engaging part of the tour was to see the machinery at work, processing 160k bottles per hour. Unfortunately, we were not able to take pictures of the facility, but here is a brief outline of the entire process of the recycling plant: 

1. Starting off with the preparation, they conducted a feedstock quality check and separated all the plastic bottles to ensure only PET and HDPE bottles continue to the next process. 
2. The second step was the separation, which involved removing ferrous metals, screening bottle size, and removing the label (which is also later recycled). It was at this stage where we saw that out of all the plastic bottles consumed in Hong Kong, only those abiding by a very specific standard (i.e. colour, PET/HDPE, transparency, and level of cleanliness) can be recycled further. The rest are sent to another recycling facility in Hong Kong. Many of them still end up in landfills because they fail to meet any basic recycling standards. 
3. The third step focussed on processing of the bottles – washing and drying them, and grinding them into flakes. 
4. The last step involves performing a quality control on the flakes – screening their size and final check by types and colours which is performed at the laboratory. 
5. The output is sent to manufacturers across Hong Kong!

A process that is indeed riddled with many complexities, but thrives because of its efficiency and systematisation. 

PET flakes and plastic bottles made from recycled materials with the help of New Life Plastics!

Reduce first! 

Lastly, one of the key takeaways from the tour was that the best solution to prevent waste is to reduce our reliance on single-use plastics in the first place. The guiding principle to waste management should be: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, with reduce being the most important step we can take. 

While NLP was a truly remarkable facility, it revealed a rather disturbing truth about the recycling industry as a whole. As mentioned earlier, out of the millions of plastic bottles that enter this facility, very few are actually recycled. Many of them are sent to other recycling facilities, and some are even sent to landfills. Out of the 5.2 million bottles consumed by Hong Kong every day, only 11% of this is recycled. Henceforth, it is actually reducing that helps to address waste at its source, conserving energy and resources while preventing pollution and landfill overflow. 

Though recycling plays a vital role prioritising reduction allows us to tackle environmental challenges more effectively and efficiently! 

So let’s not just rely entirely on recycling, but start by making a change in our consumption habits. Avoid plastic bottles in the first place or only use those made up of recycled materials.

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