Community Recycling Centres | Hong Kong

For years, recycling in Hong Kong has been languishing with a poor image and a low level of receptiveness among city residents. It is either associated with the ubiquitous tri-coloured recycling bins found across the city but often unattended and overflowing, or poorly maintained as they were mistakenly used as rubbish bins; or it will conjure images of elderly workers pushing cartfuls of cardboard and other recyclables to dingy and foul-smelling recycling stores. Neither of these phenomena are helpful in encouraging and making recycling a part of everyone’s sustainable lifestyles.  

After testing various forms of domestic waste separation options to gauge the level of flexibility, convenience, and cost-effectiveness, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) finally launched a new community recycling network in 2020, dubbed GREEN @ COMMUNITY. It wants to change everyone’s reception of recycling by creating a fresh unified visual language for the recycling stores, an attractive logo and branding direction, as well as a resident loyalty programme called GREEN$ to attract and encourage the public to use the community recycling facilities.  

Onebite took on the role as interior designer for 22 Community Recycling Stores in the first phase of the programme, and subsequently another 10 stores for the second phrase, creating a clean, polished look for the network of recycling stores across the city run by non-profit organisations engaged by EPD. The minimalist and refined interior design brings out the message behind the pictograms and infographics used in each store, It aims to simplify the entire recycling experience and put the user at ease throughout the process of weighing and depositing their recyclables, as well as collecting and redeeming their GREEN$ for small household items and food products as reward. 

There are fibreglass cabinets with easily identifiable colors marked for each of the eight categories of recyclables, including plastics, glass bottles, small electrical appliances, regulated electronic and electrical equipment, compact fluorescent lamps/tubes, rechargeable batteries as well as the common recyclables such as waste paper and metals. Users can also enjoy caring facilities such as the reception area, sorting table, hand-washing area, and other facilities that serve as a convenient door-step recycling hub for everyday use.