Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan said on Saturday that a public recycling station in Kwun Tong is to be penalised, after it failed to ensure waste it collected was delivered to a recycling firm.

Between April and December last year, the Kwun Tong Community Green Station - a waste reduction facility funded by the government - handed over three tonnes recycled beverage cartons it received to contractor Baguio Green Group.

But Baguio did not deliver the recyclables to Mil Mill, the city's sole beverage carton recycling firm.

On an RTHK programme, the environmental minister said the Kwun Tong facility was the only out of some 40 recycling locations that does not directly deliver recyclables to Mil Mill.

"According to Baguio, the beverage cartons have been handed over to a third-party recycler... As for the specifics, we are still investigating," Tse told an RTHK programme.

“The Kwun Tong recycling station is also responsible for the incident. So we would issue warnings and impose penalties according to the contract."

The recycling facility, operated by a non-profit making organisation, had apologised a day earlier, saying it failed to monitor and ensure that recyclables were properly handled.

The Kwun Tong location is among many recycling stations and spots set up across Hong Kong under a government initiative to strengthen support for waste reduction.