Government Tightens Food Waste Oversight After Audit Criticism
Bastillepost · 2 SOURCES1 day ago2 MIN
Summary
The Hong Kong government said the Environmental Protection Department has been following up on recommendations from the Audit Commission and the Legislative Council Public Accounts Committee over shortcomings in food waste management. Chief Secretary Chan Kwok-ki said the department drew up a set of monitoring guidelines in April and applied improved tender budgeting and assessment procedures to service contracts tendered from July. The administration also said it would keep expanding the recycling network, strengthen public education and improve screening of unwanted materials mixed into food waste.
Key Points
- The Public Accounts Committee issued a report in July criticising the Environmental Protection Department’s food waste management, including that 90% of Hong Kong’s food waste went to landfills in 2024.
- Chan Kwok-ki said the department set out monitoring guidelines in April, covering inspection standards, procedures, breach assessment and follow-up on overdue reports.
- The Environmental Protection Department is also trialling artificial intelligence to review tender documents, aiming to ensure procurement work complies with government purchasing guidelines.
- Officials said tender budget estimation methods and assessment criteria for food waste collection service contracts were improved, with the revised procedures already used for contracts tendered in July.
- The government said it will continue seeking suitable sites for more recycling points, review existing points’ performance and adjust locations and service hours when needed.
Why It Matters
Food waste collection has become a practical test of whether Hong Kong can turn recycling policy into reliable daily services for public housing estates, markets and neighbourhood collection points. Better contract controls and clearer monitoring could affect service quality, public confidence and how much waste is diverted from landfills.