Press Release

Drink Without Waste and Octopus Cards Limited join forces to revolutionise recycling rewards with E-Payment solutions providing instant rebates to the Octopus cards of cleaners

Drink Without Waste Limited is partnering with Octopus Cards Limited (Octopus) to enable mobile payments to the many cleaners and frontline collectors involved in recycling.

A test has successfully commenced with payments being made from handheld devices directly to the registered Octopus cards of cleaners who return used plastic beverage bottles to recycling partners in Tin Shui Wai. Octopus cards offer significant advantages over cash rebates as they provide a complete chain of custody, allowing accurate tracking of the cost, quantity, and source of used plastic bottles. This not only ensures flexibility but also guarantees traceability and system security.

Under Drink Without Waste’s Community Plastic Beverage Bottle Recycling Program, used plastic beverage bottles are collected by cleaners at housing estates, residential buildings and shopping malls in Tin Shui Wai. Cleaners who fill a designated transparent plastic bag with 200 bottles and return these to designated recycling points will receive HK$20 – equivalent to 10 cents per bottle - on their registered Octopus card. Leveraging the ubiquitous card, cleaners can efficiently collect and redeem subsidies for recycled plastic beverage bottles, providing an additional income stream.

Octopus payment opens a flexible channel for paying incentives for the collection of used plastic bottles. This channel complements the GREEN@Community facilities which reward the return of plastic bottles with 80 green points (GREEN$) per kg, as well as the Environmental Protection Department funded return vending machines in retail areas which pay 10 cents per bottle to Octopus cards.

Paul Zimmerman, General Manager of Drink Without Waste said: “Octopus offers innovative e-payment solutions allowing us to pay electronically directly to cleaners, significantly improving transparency, traceability and security. Proof of successful implementation will change the recycling industry. We also would like to express our sincere gratitude to the residents of Tin Shui Wai for supporting us, along with the cooperation of the cleaners and the property management companies, which has led to recovery of 100 tonnes of plastic beverage bottles. These bottles will be processed into new raw materials by New Life Plastics Ltd in Tuen Mun, and used to produce new beverage bottles.”

Sammy Kam, Chief Operations Officer of Octopus said: “Octopus has always been at the forefront of promoting sustainable practices. The partnership with Drink Without Waste helps incentivise our community to recycle. E-payment will make it easier, more rewarding, and more efficient for cleaners and residents to participate in the plastic beverage bottle recycling program. We can all play an active part in reducing plastic waste and promote a circular economy in Hong Kong.”

The use of Octopus cards not only benefits the cleaners but also represents a significant step forward in transforming Hong Kong’s recycling process, offering greater visibility of payments. Octopus offering transparency of subsidies paid for recyclables removes barriers in paying cleaners. Other than the 2,897 scavengers who collect wastepaper and other materials in neighbourhoods, there are 13,200 street cleaners, 72,700 property cleaners, and 338,189 foreign domestic workers, totalling more than 10% of Hong Kong’s workforce, who participate in separating and handling recyclable materials. Payment to individual Octopus cards facilitates active and secure participation by frontline cleaners in the recycling process. In turn, this vast network of individuals is uniquely positioned to make a tangible difference in Hong Kong’s recycling rates.

 

Photo Caption

Photo 1: Sammy Kam, the Chief Operations Officer of Octopus, and Paul Zimmerman, the General Manager of Drink Without Waste, interacted with the frontline cleaners working in Tin Shui Wai who are involved in the plastic beverage bottle recycling program.

Photos 2 and 3: Sammy Kam and Paul Zimmerman visiting Tin Shui Wai to witness plastic bottle collection. They spoke with the cleaners and residents who returned plastic beverage bottles and received rebates using their Octopus cards. Positive feedback was received. It is convenient to redeem the rebate through Octopus card by just one tap, and there is immediately a receipt with clear information such as the rebate deposited and the remaining balance on the card.

Photo 4 and 5: Cleaners who fill a designated transparent plastic bag with 200 bottles and return these to designated recycling partners in Tin Shui Wai will receive HK$20 – equivalent to 10 cents per bottle - on their registered Octopus card. Since March 2024, more than 1.1 million used plastic beverage bottles (about 28,000 kg) have been collected with rebates paid via Octopus card.

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