SCOOP: FAKE NUMBERS CAST DOUBT ON EPD'S RUBBISH "FIELD TEST"
A government video aiming to combat fake news gets its numbers very wrong
The government is fighting fake news with fake news, mis-stating the weights of foodstuff used in its fact-checking garbage bag video by as much as 20% and casting doubt not only on the veracity of the test but also the department’s understanding of weights and measures.
In a video released last night, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) filled a new 15 litre mandatory waste charging bag with common groceries to rebut online claims of poor bag quality.
But in the video, the EPD stated the weight of a tin of Ayam Brand baked bins used in the field test was 425g when in fact the actual weight of the can is 508g, a difference of 83g or almost 20% of the stated weight.
While the error doesn’t hurt EPD’s argument, in terms of proving the bag is sufficiently strong, it raises questions on the quality of the test and whether the department understands the difference between net and gross weight as used on common household items. While other items were not available in the local supermarket for checking, it’s likely from the stated weights that EPD used net weights for all items.
EPD did not respond to questions on the weighing errors in the video, nor did it respond to repeated questions on the garbage bag scheme or what “international standards” are in play for the new bags.
It has also refused to supply samples of the bags to this writer, despite an offer to pay for them.
EPD earlier said it “strongly condemned” the original “fake news” video, in which a merchant used an older pre-production bag and sloppy editing to give a poor impression of the new designated bag system.
In April 2019, before the waste charging bill was even approved by LegCo, EPD paid HK$3.2 million to Health Billion Development Ltd for a supply of “mock designated garbage bags”. Shortly after the August 2021 signing of the bill, EPD signed another $7.3 million contract with Nan Sing Plastics for more “mock” bags.
It is not known how many bags were produced under those contracts or what happened to them – but all those bags were reported to be weak and poor quality and are likely to be the source of the bag used in the viral online video.
In August last year, EPD settled on a better quality design and contracted for over HK$1 billion worth of new-style designated garbage bags from four different vendors: Chun Hing Plastic Packaging Manufactory Limited, Enviro-Sense GreenTech Co. Limited, Nicole Universal Company Limited and Liveability Limited.
The government itself will be the first customer of the new bags from 1 April this year, while consumers and businesses now have until August to prepare. The scheme aims to help reduce per capita disposal of solid waste by 40-45% by 2035 and move away from reliance on landfills.
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