Letter to the Editor of SCMP - Response to a letter on waste recycling

 
Letter to the Editor of SCMP – Response to a letter on waste recycling

I refer to the letter from Ms Aly Chau entitled "Recycling needs fine-tuning" which was published in the Letters to the Editor on 29 March 2010.

Ms Chau is concerned about possible malpractice of a cleansing worker at her housing estate in Tseung Kwan O in mixing source-separated recyclables together with other refuse for disposal. We would like to request Ms Chau to call the Environmental Protection Department's (EPD) hotline at 2838 3111 and furnish us with more information so that we can investigate the case further.

To promote and enlist community participation in waste recovery and recycling, the EPD launched a territory-wide Programme on Source Separation of Waste (SSW) in January 2005. As at the end of 2009, there were about 1 250 housing estates participating in the Programme, covering 1,570,000 households and some 67% of Hong Kong's population. Under the Programme, the types of recyclables to be recovered for recycling have been broadened to cover virtually all types of recyclable materials, including paper, metals, and plastics that can be separated from waste. With technical support from the EPD and subsidy from the Environment and Conservation Fund, the management parties of the participating estates (e.g. Incorporated Owners) would provide waste separation facilities and encourage their residents to participate in waste separation. They would also make arrangement to consign the recovered recyclables to recycler firms as agreed at the time they sign up the SSW programme. Of the 44 housing estates in Tseung Kwan O, 41 estates have joined the SSW programme.

It requires the full participation from every member of the public to make the recycling programmes successful. We will continue to work closely with housing estate management, including their cleansing staff, for smooth implementation of the SSW Programme.


WONG Chuen-fai
Officer-in-Charge
Waste Reduction & EcoPark Group
Environmental Protection Department