Construction waste management policies and their effectiveness in Hong Kong: A longitudinal review

Solid waste arisen from construction activities is grave concern in many economies. Given its negative impacts to the natural environment as a public good, construction waste is often heavily regulated by authorities. Hong Kong is no exception to this; over the past decades, a series of construction waste management (CWM) policies including regulations, codes, and initiatives have been introduced by the Government and her executive arms. It comes to an opportune time to retrospectively examine the effectiveness of these policies with a view to providing insights for further improvement. The aim of this paper is thus to examine CWM policies and their effectiveness in Hong Kong by conducting a longitudinal study. The evaluation of the policy effectiveness is derived by triangulating empirical data collected from various sources including Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department, Civil Engineering and Development Department, Environment Protection Department, and Hong Kong Construction Association with the qualitative data gleaned from interviews and case studies in construction sites, waste sorting facilities, and landfills. It is found that Hong Kong is actively trying new CWM policies based on latest waste management philosophies available (e.g. reduce, reuse, and recycle principle, and polluter pays principle). These policies have formed an interlocking, and relatively effective policy framework for CWM in Hong Kong. However, new initiatives are desired if aiming to change the gloomy situation since 2006 when the construction waste disposal charging scheme was effectively implemented. This research provides insightful understanding of CWM policies and their effectiveness, which is often concerned policies makers, researchers, and the like.