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Press Release
ACE Members briefed on the Trial Scheme on Municipal Solid Waste Charging
Members of the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) Waste Management Subcommittee visited the Grand View Garden in Wong Tai Sin today (January 17) to see how the trial scheme on Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Charging has been working.
The Grand View Garden is one of the 20 housing estates which have taken part in the trial scheme launched by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) in November 2006 to examine the logistical arrangements for waste recovery and disposal in different housing settings for reference in the feasibility study of introducing a variable rate charging scheme.
During the three-month trial, residents of the 20 housing estates are given different sizes of "designated bags" for disposal of non-recyclable domestic waste, while 5 selected housing estates also try out "food waste bags" to separate food waste from domestic waste.
In today's visit, the ACE members, accompanied by EPD officers, visited the floor-based source separation facilities set up by the estate management of Grand View Garden to facilitate the residents to place the recyclable materials before they were collected by the cleansing staff for recycling.
They later met with the residents to listen to their views and comments on the trial scheme and the source separation of domestic waste programme.
The members were also told that for the third month of the trial period, residents in those estates that do not try out the food waste bags are provided with larger designated bags (20 litre), while those residents already given food waste bags will have 15-litre designated bags.
"We are impressed by the efforts of the property management and the Incorporated Owners in educating and encouraging the residents to participate in the source separation of waste, and to try out the designated bags and food waste bags. Useful information will be collected through questionnaire survey in the coming weeks for analysis by the EPD." said Prof Poon Chi-sun, the Chairman of the ACE Waste Management Subcommittee.
EPD spares no efforts in carrying out the publicity and educational campaign through video demonstration, display panels, posters/leaflets and guidelines. Residents are also welcome to make full use of the new round of enquiry desk service and the existing hotline service. A new poster with questions and answers has been specially designed for the trial scheme and is now posted at the lobby and common areas of the housing estates.
Ends/Wednesday, January 17, 2007
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