{
  "id": 14626588,
  "title": "Spirit of Hong Kong Awards: start-up turns to tech to tackle urban waste",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/spirit-of-hong-kong-awards-start-up-turns-to-tech-to-tackle-urban",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-15T06:15:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
    "slug": "south-china-morning-post-hong-kong",
    "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3370913/spirit-hong-kong-awards-start-turns-tech-tackle-urban-waste"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In a bid to make recycling more convenient, Hongkonger Jorch Wong Ching-hei abandoned his advertising career in 2019 to establish The Loops Hong Kong. The company addresses the inconvenience that prevents people from recycling, a common barrier that led Wong to create a one-stop service where customers can place various recyclables together. Initially, Wong taught himself coding, spending a year learning online to develop an early version of the platform used to arrange collections.\n\nThe Loops now accepts over 40 categories of recyclable materials, tackling waste that is harder to handle. Hong Kong's shift towards waste-to-energy treatment has opened a new business area for The Loops. Liquid-heavy waste, which can reduce incineration efficiency, prompts The Loops to separate liquids from packaging before disposal. The company cleans the packaging and returns it to recycling channels, reducing overall incineration volume. It also processes drinks, dairy products, cosmetics, and other liquid-filled goods.\n\nTechnology plays a significant role in The Loops' approach to another major challenge businesses face. Many firms know they generate large amounts of rubbish but lack detailed information about what is being thrown away. The company's newest service uses cameras and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse clients' waste streams, categorising rubbish, estimating recyclable proportions, and tracking when and where specific waste is generated. This helps companies determine where recycling points are needed most.\n\nCorporate clients can access collection records and reports through The Loops' system, and service packages and prices are set out in advance. Although the government scrapped a waste-charging scheme in 2024 due to insufficient social support, Wong remains optimistic about its eventual implementation. He believes that such a policy could make recycling more attractive to households and businesses, despite Hong Kong being behind several Asian cities in using charging to encourage waste reduction.\n\nThe Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, established in 2013, recognize unsung heroes and organisations whose work might go unnoticed. The Loops' innovative approach to recycling has been nominated for this year's award, highlighting the importance of addressing urban waste. Wong's willingness to learn new skills, from machinery and software to repairs and sales, has been crucial to the company's success.",
  "summary": "Inconvenience is one of the biggest obstacles to recycling, a challenge that prompted a Hongkonger to establish a one-stop recycling service. Jorch Wong Ching-hei left advertising in 2019 and started The Loops Hong Kong after finding that recycling different materials often required travelling to different collection points. With no prior background in the industry, he contacted recycling…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "South China Morning Post - Hong Kong",
        "title": "5 Guangdong-registered yachts to sail into Hong Kong as southbound scheme launches",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/5-guangdong-registered-yachts-to-sail-into-hong-kong-as-southbound",
        "published": "2026-10-15T03:51:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Hong Kong bus operators seek fare increases, citing increased fuel prices due to Middle East war",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/15/hong-kong-bus-operators-seek-fare-increases-citing-increased-fuel",
        "published": "2026-10-15T04:58:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}