Chief Executive John Lee on Tuesday repeated his call for the public to have patience and give officials more time as they test-run the pay-as-you-throw waste charging scheme.

Lee made the appeal after the former vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, Lo Man-tuen, described the waste charging initiative as "an impossible mission" and urged the government to consider postponing or scrapping the scheme after the trial.

Speaking to reporters at his weekly media briefing, the CE said it had only been a week since the test started, and that authorities would collect useful data including the participation rate at the 14 locations where the trial was being carried out.

Lee said the administration would also listen to people's views to decide on how to take the policy forward.

"Everybody has their own opinions. But the government position remains clear. We want to ensure that we apprehend and comprehend the real situation fully, so that we [can] decide the way forward," he said.

"We will announce our decision once we have come to that stage. We have already indicated that by maybe May or June we will be making that decision and making an announcement, so I think we should give time to this trial scheme."

Lee said the government had to think of a proper way to implement the waste charging scheme since it is already the law.