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Awards presented at Source Separation of Waste Forum
The Forum on Source Separation of Waste and Award Presentation was held today (August 20) jointly by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies Ltd and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.
Officiating at the opening of the award ceremony, Deputy Director of Environmental Protection Dr Michael Chiu said he was pleased to see the active support and participation by property management companies, housing estates, industrial and commercial buildings in the Source Separation of Waste Programme.
Since its territory-wide launch in January, 2005, more than 940 housing estates have signed up to join the programme, covering 1.14 million households and a population of 3.4 million, representing half of Hong Kong's population.
The EPD extended the programme last October to cover industrial and commercial buildings, and up to June this year, 400 of these joined the programme.
Dr Chiu said the programme brought increasing public participation in recycling. The recycling rate of domestic waste reached about 23% in 2007. During the same period, landfill disposal of domestic waste continued to drop, with a decrease of 4% from 2006 to 2007.
The Buildings (Refuse Storage and Material Recovery Chambers and Refuse Chutes) Regulation recently approved by the Legislative Council imposes a mandatory requirement for provision of a refuse storage and material recovery room on every floor of new domestic buildings from December 1,2008. "It is aimed at providing sufficient space on every floor for installation of recycling facilities which will enable residents to enjoy more convenience in recycling," Dr Chiu said.
"The Government is now looking at offering financial assistance through the Environment and Conservation Fund to industrial and commercial buildings for the procurement of recycling facilities on the floors," he said.
The EPD will organise the "Source Separation of Waste: The Model Family Competition" next month (September) which will extend a territory-wide invitation to households in Hong Kong to share their experiences in source separation of waste and waste reduction. The campaign is aimed at publicising the message of waste reduction and recycling to Hong Kong households.
Dr Chiu also announced the launch of the annual report 2007 for the Source Separation of Domestic Waste Programme. He commended the award winning property management companies, housing estates, industrial and commercial buildings for contributing their efforts in waste reduction over the past year.
The annual report 2007 and the award list have been uploaded onto the EPD’s Hong Kong Waste Reduction Website (www.wastereduction.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, August 20, 2008
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