How should household food waste be sorted?
家居廚餘應該怎樣分類？
Separating food waste is the first step to recycling it. This guide follows common recycling requirements; arrangements differ between estates and collection points, so always follow the instructions on the bin.
YesCAN BE RECYCLED
- Grains: leftover rice, noodles, oats
- Fruit and vegetables: trimmings, peel, spoiled produce
- Meat and seafood: scraps, fat, offal, fish scales, small bones
- Other: eggshells, tea leaves, coffee grounds, soup dregs, Chinese herbal dregs, cake, bread
NoKEEP OUT
- Not food waste: plastic bags, cutlery, containers, tissues, packaging
- Not food: flowers and other plants
- Hard or large bones and shells: bones bigger or longer than a fist, lobster shells, clam shells, durian husks
- Liquids: soup and other liquids should not go in the bin
At homeSTEPS
- 01SortAfter cooking and eating, keep food waste apart from other rubbish.
- 02DrainDrain off as much water as you can; deal with soup separately.
- 03StoreIf you can’t take it out straight away, keep it in the fridge to stop smells.
- 04RecycleEmpty it into a purple food waste bin; some bins don’t accept plastic bags, so check the instructions.
Where to recycleWHERE
By February 2026 there were 453 smart food waste recycling bins in public and private housing estates. 115 private estates had joined the pilot scheme, covering more than 270,000 households. Using a smart bin earns GREEN$ points, which can be exchanged for daily necessities or supermarket vouchers. Since October 2025, estates with 200 or more households can apply for bins.
At school, our Food Waste Vocabulary Cards teach students to describe and sort food waste, then practise at home.
SourcesREFERENCES
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