While there has been some success encouraging people to recycle paper and some metals, the situation is deteriorating for plastics: Just five percent of plastic was sent for recycling in 2014 – compared with 25 percent in 2005, according to government figures.
Recycling is not mandatory in Hong Kong, but efforts by authorities to push the practice have been undermined by media reports revealing items separated after use by consumers have ended up being mixed up or dumped.