| Press
Release
Source
separation of waste in Eastern District launched
The Secretary for
the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, today (August
28) urged members of the public to join hands with the Government
to reduce waste and turn Hong Kong into a beautiful green city.
Officiating at the Opening Ceremony of the Pilot Programme on Source
Separation of Waste, Dr Liao said waste was an imminent problem
in Hong Kong as the three landfills would be filled up in the next
decade. She called on the public to face the problem squarely.
The one-year pilot programme on source separation is launched in
Eastern District with a view to identifying cost-effective waste
recovery modes.
Some 120 000 residents from 13 housing estates participate in the
trial. Each estate will adopt the best waste separation and recovery
mode tailored to their individual characteristics.
The objective of the programme is to facilitate residents to separate
waste at source by providing waste separation facilities on each
floor.
It also broadens the types of recyclables recovered in a bid to
further enhance the waste recovery rate and reduce waste.
For buildings with sufficient space, waste separation facilities
for different recyclables will be put in place in refuse room of
each floor.
For those with insufficient space, mixed recyclables will be collected
in designated containers or areas. Cleansing workers will then separate
the recyclables at central refuse collection points on-site.
Apart from paper, aluminium cans and plastic bottles, recovered
recyclables will include other types of metal cans, mixed metal
items, plastic bags and mixed plastics.
Regular collection programmes for specific recyclables such as clothing,
electrical and electronic appliances, and computers will be organised
in these estates.
Recyclables are separated in the estates and sold to recyclers direct
without having to transport them to a centralised location for further
processing.
A win-win-win situation could be achieved whereby recyclers got
recyclables at lower costs through economy of scale; property management
companies or cleansing contractors had additional income which would
in turn be beneficial to residents; and the waste problem could
be relieved to a further extent.
Dr Liao said that different recovery modes would be introduced to
other housing estates by their property management companies if
the results of the pilot programme were satisfactory.
Since the Government
introduced the three-colour waste separation mode in 1998, some
400 000 tonnes of waste paper, 12 000 tonnes of aluminium cans and
3 000 tonnes of plastic bottles have been recovered with a market
value of $300 million. As a result, landfilling cost of $50 million
is also saved.
Dr Liao said that as the public became more and more environmentally
conscious, there was ample potential to turn domestic waste recovery
into profitable businesses.
The Environmental Protection Department will present awards to participating
housing estates achieving the highest average recovery quantities
per household per month.
A new mascot "Dorothy" has been designed to demonstrate the proper
way to separate waste at source.
Ends/Saturday, August 28, 2004
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