The department is seeking to build on our wide-ranging community programmes, which have successfully helped raise awareness of environmental protection, and focus on those areas where individuals can make the biggest difference. Reducing waste and conserving energy are within everyone’s abilities and circumstances. The EPD concentrated its community-based activities on these two areas in 2005 in the expectation that individual actions will, collectively, help reduce waste and energy consumption.

Our landfills are rapidly depleting and wider community participation in waste reduction is urgently needed. In 2005 the EPD sought to increase the opportunities for recycling waste. The "three-bin" collection scheme, in which waste paper, aluminium cans and plastic bottles are collected in bins scattered around housing estates, is giving way to a domestic waste source separation programme. This will provide more convenient facilities for sorting waste and enable more types of waste to be collected for recycling (see Chapter 8 for details).

Housing estate residents participate in a road show promoting the Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste.	Television programmes explain Hong Kong’s waste problem and show how to practise waste reduction at home.

At the same time, the department is striving to make people more aware of how to reduce their waste. We are doing this in three ways. First, general awareness is being promoted through the local media, including television, radio stations and local newspapers. Ten one-minute television programmes were produced in 2005 explaining Hong Kong’s waste problem and showing how to practise waste reduction at home. A separate half-hour programme on the Government’s waste management policy was also broadcast. We also produced APIs (announcements of public interest) on a variety of waste issues, as well as disseminated waste reduction messages through the printed media.

Our second awareness-raising measure involves sending people into the community to deliver talks, answer questions and give practical demonstrations of waste separation. In 2005 our Community Green Network Programme mainly focused on waste issues. Green Desk was set up in housing estates and public places at times convenient to residents and roving exhibitions, workshops and other activities were organised to promote waste separation during the year. The Mobile Environmental Resource Centre, which also demonstrated waste recycling, had made about 110 community visits, attracting over 11 500 visitors.

Apart from raising awareness and know-how, our third initiative is to build up the capacity of property managers to implement green management and organise waste reduction activities in their estates. Training was provided through the Environmental Protection Ambassador Scheme for Property Management and the response has been overwhelming. More than 500 property managers joined in 2005 reflecting the enthusiasm with which this sector regards waste reduction.

The Mobile Environmental Resource Centre draws the interest of students on the Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste.

The crowning touch to our waste awareness activities in 2005 was the Environmental Protection Festival. This annual event has been organised by the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) for 15 years. This year, participants were exhorted to "Reduce and Avoid Waste". Officials from Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Macao also participated in the event to symbolise the joint efforts of the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao in reducing waste.

Dr Sarah LIAO, Secretary for the Environment, Transport & Works (centre), and guests from various Mainland Environmental Protection Bureaux and the Environment Council of Macao launch the "Zero Waste" walk at the Environmental Protection Festival 2005.

The festival was kicked off on December 4 with a "Zero Waste" walk from Siu Sai Wan Mini-Soccer Pitch to Big Wave Bay. More than 2 000 participants were encouraged to bring their own water, use handkerchiefs instead of tissues and leave only footprints behind. The launch also featured a four-metre Christmas tree made of recycled CDs, a demonstration on electronic waste recycling and green performances. It also marked the beginning of a series of waste reduction activities organised by green groups, community groups and District Councils, which will run until March 2006.

Around 2 000 participants join the "Zero Waste" walk from Siu Sai Wan to Big Wave Bay.	The Champions of the Environmental Story Telling Competition perform in the opening ceremony of the Environmental Protection Festival 2005.

Another highlight of the festival was the territory-wide Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Recycling Day held on December 11. Residents could bring their WEEE to about 200 collection points in the community, thus ensuring wide coverage of the waste reduction message. The aim was to encourage people to think beyond the three-bin waste of paper, metals and plastics, and bring in old computers, electrical and electronic appliances such as AV appliances and televisions, and accessories such as CDs, batteries and cassette tapes. About 101 tonnes of WEEE were collected on the day. Two community groups, Caritas Hong Kong and St James’ Settlement, repaired or dismantled the equipment. The repaired equipment was distributed to the needy and the rest recovered for re-use or recycling.

Although waste reduction has a high profile in our community work, energy conservation is an emerging concern. In 2005 the EPD took several steps to improve energy conservation, as described in Chapter 10. Of interest in terms of community awareness is an initiative to promote more efficient use of air-conditioners.

Air-conditioners consume one-third of Hong Kong’s total power needs and a one-degree increase in temperature can save about three per cent of the electricity used for air-conditioning. The Government has decided to lead the way and set air-conditioning temperatures at 25.5 degrees Celsius during summer months in government premises. From April to September 2005, government offices consumed two per cent less electricity over the same period in 2004. We are keen to see the public follow suit. The 25.5-degree initiative was promoted through a television API launched on June 5, the date designated as World Environment Day by the United Nations. A second API on energy conservation in general will also be launched in early 2006 to keep the issue in the public eye.

Our messages for both energy and waste are focused on reduction. Like any wealthy society, Hong Kong has become increasingly wasteful, throwing away useful materials and setting air-conditioners to uncomfortably chilly temperatures, often all year round. Clearly this is no longer sustainable. Each individual in the community should recognise that they have a responsibility to help achieve solutions.