Hong Kong’s Sole Carton Recycler Factory Space to be Seized and Shut Down

Mil Mill, Hong Kong’s one and only beverage carton recycler and pulp mill education centre, has been told to leave its factory space in Yuen Long, RTHK reports. The firm warns that up to 13 tonnes of used beverage cartons and paper wastage it processes on the daily will be diverted to the landfill if it shutters. 

Established in 2019 on the basis of a three-year lease which did not get renewed, the recycling plant has been ordered by Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation to leave the industrial estate it occupies so that the venue can be converted into a high-tech park.

“At that time we were the first beverage cartons recycling facility and also a green tech, quite innovative,” Mil Mill’s founder Harold Yip told RTHK, “but then in 2020, they got a new strategy to develop this location for high-tech, particularly micro-electronics. That's why they changed the strategy and don't want us here."

As of December 2021, Mil Mill has managed to recycle 300 tonnes of beverage cartons, reducing around 1,440 tonnes worth of carbon emissions. The firm has also been responsible for installing near 600 community recycling points all over Hong Kong’s commercial and residential premises.

The Environmental Protection Department suggested Yip try for one of three government sites in the upcoming round of tenders. Though setup costs and the uncertainty of the plot’s suitability for the factory needs renders him hesitant.

Singapore has also extended a welcome to the firm as a potential relocation site, The Standard reports. However, Yip points to his attachment to the city, stating: “I was born and [grew] up in Hong Kong, I have a greater sense of belonging to the city after doing recycling.”