“There is a considerable gap in their opinions,” Tse said on a television programme. “A few of them thought it was a good thing for us to sort garbage and reduce waste. But we have seen that a majority feel this is a nuisance, perhaps because they need to buy [designated] bags and do other things.”

The pilot run launched earlier this month, covering 14 premises including private and public housing estates, restaurants, retailers and care homes.

The initiative aims to gauge preparedness for the scheme’s citywide roll-out in August.

The environment minister also said the participation rate at managed private housing estates was more than 50 per cent, and higher for businesses.

Authorities initially planned to launch the wider scheme last December, but opted to postpone after the cleaning services sector warned of a possible build-up in waste over festive periods.

Plans to launch on April 1 were later amended amid growing concerns about whether the scheme had been effectively promoted to the public.

Tse said on Saturday authorities would decide how to proceed after reviewing feedback from the trial run in around May or June.

The government-issued rubbish bags could also be tweaked after authorities received complaints from participating care homes during the trial run.

The pay-as-you-throw scheme was initially proposed in 2005 during then leader Donald Tsang Yam-kuen’s administration, but a bill only cleared the Legislative Council in 2021 after many delays.

Wong Kam-sing, a former environment minister, earlier this month urged the public to support the scheme by “facing up and overcoming the challenges”.

Environment concern groups, cleaners’ unions, and NGOs serving low-income groups held a joint forum on Saturday to voice concerns from frontline workers, who were worried they would fall foul of the law if they handled garbage which was left on the street and not wrapped in designated bags.

Leung Tsz-yan, organiser of the Cleaning Workers Union, said workers were confused by the need to place an extra designated bag over the original plastic bag, which would only increase their workload.

“The government has passed the buck to residents, as well as workers, who are expected to take care of all that poorly handled garbage,” she said.

Workers and property management companies could face a HK$1,500 fine if they breached the law.

‘Smart’ food waste bin scheme may cover smaller Hong Kong private estates from June

The new regulation set out six statutory defences for workers to prove that they have taken all precautions and should be exempted from punishment.

Lawmaker Lam Chun-sing urged the authorities to be “less harsh” on the frontline workers by expanding the coverage of the defence, such as adding situations when they were were required to handle non-properly bagged garbage in emergencies.

“We hope the officers of the Environmental Protection Department will be more lenient in law enforcement,” the chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions said, adding property management companies also should bear the responsibility to help workers obey the law.

Tse told the TV show that while authorities would grapple with the challenges of promoting recycling and waste reduction, “we will not go against the views of the public”.

But the minister also noted the proposal to introduce waste charging had garnered widespread support in a public engagement exercise held a decade ago.

“I believe when people are talking about just an idea, everyone will agree with it. When we talk about environmental protection, people support environmental protection,” Tse said.

“But when it actually becomes mandatory law and it is about to be implemented, people may feel differently. I think there are many factors contributing to that.”

Tse also said authorities were unlikely to be able to install enough food waste bins at all residential buildings before August, noting the public might need to walk a little to dispose of their leftovers.

Additional reporting by Fiona Chow