The
government’s Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) provides
grants to non-government organisations to promote waste recovery
in the community, including a pilot scheme on wet/dry waste separation.
Since 2001, $13.82 million has been given to 24 green groups and
community groups to organise 40 waste recovery projects. The ECF
has also granted about $1.23 million to community groups and non-profit
making organisations since April 2000 for implementing environmental
education and community action projects on waste reduction and recovery.
A waste campaign is also being run in schools (see below).
Annual
events
Two major events
are organised each year by the ECC, the World Environment Day festivities
in June and the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Festival in the
latter part of the year.
|
Guests
holding up their "green wishes" at World Environment
Day 2003 celebrations. |
The United Nations has designated June 5 as World
Environment Day and each year the day is celebrated in Hong Kong.
In 2003 events were affected by the outbreak of severe acute respiratory
syndrome (SARS). To minimise the risk of infection, celebrations
were held outdoors and later in the month, on June 22. The theme
was “Walking for a Green and Healthy Hong Kong”. More
than 100 000 people participated in walks in 18 districts of Hong
Kong, including 31 green walks organised by the EPD and green
groups on that day. As in past years, a joint celebration was
organised with the Environmental Protection Bureaux of Dongguan,
Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhongshan and Zhuhai and the Macau Environment
Council.
The Hong Kong Environmental Protection Festival
was held in November. A one-day event featuring a “Forum
on Business Opportunities for SMEs in Environmental Protection
Industry” was held to promote the waste recovery and recycling
industry. 17 seminar sessions were organised and a trade show
on waste recovery ran alongside the event. More than 8 000
people attended the seminars and exhibition. The forum and trade
show were jointly organised by the ECC and EPD. Co-organisers
included the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong
Women Professionals & Entrepreneurs Association.
Schools
Schools
are a high priority in the EPD’s community work. A number
of programmes have been organised for pre-schools, primary and secondary
schools, universities and vocational institutions.
Waste
Separation and Recycling Scheme in Schools
This programme
places bins in schools for collecting waste paper, aluminium cans
and plastic bottles for recycling. The bins are funded by the Hong
Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust. By the end of 2003, 1 199
schools had bins. The remaining 100 or so schools are not participating
mainly due to lack of space for the bins. In April the Food and
Environmental Hygiene Department started to arrange the collection
of recyclable materials from schools. Pre-schools also have a recycling
scheme in which miniature bins are provided as a teaching tool.
The bins are funded by the Zonta Club of the New Territories and
870 pre-schools participated in 2003.
|
Pre-school
pupils learn to use the waste recycling bins. |
SEAS
cum SEPAS
The Schools Environmental
Award Scheme (SEAS) cum Student Environmental Protection Ambassador
Scheme (SEPAS) has been running since 1995 to cultivate a sense
of responsibility for the environment among schools and students.
In 2003 more than 11 000 SEPAs participated and organised activities
for more than 400 000 students. The environmental protection ambassador
programme has also been extended to the Scouts, Girl Guides, Junior
Police Call, Lion’s Club, Rotary Club, Zonta Club, the elderly
and housing estate residents and property management staff. In 2003
an ambassador programme was set up to train staff of the Hang Seng
Bank.
|
Number
of Schools Participating in the Schools Environmental Award
Scheme since 1995 |
|
Number
of Student Environmental Protection Ambassadors since 1995 |
Hong
Kong Green School Award
The Hong Kong
Green School Award was launched in 2000 to encourage school managers
to introduce environmental management systems into their schools
and involve the entire school community in green efforts. In 2003
186 schools participated. A green schools website was also set up
with a helpdesk. The first Hong Kong Green Pre-School Award was
launched and over 110 pre-schools participated.
Business
Partners
Various award
schemes have been introduced for young people, organised jointly
by the ECC and business partners. The MTR Corporation has sponsored
an environmental leadership programme for 72 SEPAs and ambassadors
from Scouts, Girl Guides and Junior Police Call. 10 outstanding
SEPAs were invited to join the Bangkok environmental study visit
in summer 2003 with sponsorship from the AEON Education and Environment
Fund. The ECC and Shell Hong Kong Limited have jointly organised
an award scheme to recognise the environmental efforts of tertiary
students in Hong Kong and youths in the Mainland since 1997-98.
An exchange programme is part of the scheme and Hong Kong winners
go to the Mainland on study visits and Mainland winners come to
Hong Kong for the same purpose. In 2003 the ECC, EPD and Hong Kong
Disneyland launched the Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality
Challenge for primary schools.
Other
Community Activities
Environmental
Resource Centres
Environmental Resource Centres have been established in the community
to provide people with easy access to information on environmental
protection. The first centre opened in Wan Chai in December 1993.
For its 10th anniversary, special sessions for visitors were organised
and a guidebook was produced on the nearby Wan Chai Green Trail.
There is also a centre in Tsuen Wan and a Mobile Environmental Resource
Centre which made 112 visits to different parts of Hong Kong in
2003.
The
largest Environmental Resource Centre opened in Fanling in August
2003. The 400-square-metre centre hosted more than 12 000 visitors
in the first three months of operation.
Community
Green Network
The network involves EPD staff going into housing estates in the
early evening to deliver talks and discuss environmental issues
with residents and owners’ Corporations. A “green desk”
may also be brought along at which residents can drop by to ask
about any environmental topic. (A green desk also accompanies the
Mobile Environmental Resource Centre.) In 2003, 106 talks were held
and 126 green desks set up.
Green
Leaders
The Green Leader Programme involves training trainers from among
10 groups of stakeholders. It was completed in March 2003. The programme
trained about 10 000 leaders from the transport industry, District
Councils, non-government organisations, community and youth groups,
teachers and principals, women’s associations, the commercial,
industrial and business sectors, local green groups and members
of Owners' Incorporations and Mutual Aid Committees of housing estates.
Hong
Kong Eco-Business Awards
The Hong Kong Eco-Business Awards honour businesses that have demonstrated
a commitment to environmental management. In 2003 entries were received
from 139 organisations in the award categories of Green Property
Management (Private Housing), Green Office and Best Environmental
Reporting. The awards are jointly organised by the ECC, The Chinese
General Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce
and Hong Kong Productivity Council.
|
(Top
Left) |
|
Display
panels being brought to housing estates, featuring tips
on green living. |
(Bottom
Left) |
|
Mutual
aid committee members of a housing estate attend a talk
on environmental protection. |
(Top
Right) |
|
The
Mobile Environmental Resource Centre. |
(Bottom
Right) |
|
Children
enjoying the facilities aboard the Mobile Environmental
Resource Centre. |
|
Press
Releases and Publications
The EPD aims to make environmental information widely available
to the general public. Press releases are issued regularly and the
Internet is increasingly being used to disseminate information.
- |
Weekly press releases on water quality at gazetted bathing
beaches are issued to the media. The press releases and reports
on beach water quality are uploaded on the EPD website. |
- |
Hourly Air Pollution Indexes (API) have been issued since
July 1999 via the EPD website and a telephone hotline. Daily
API forecasts and hourly API reports are issued to the media. |
- |
Statistics on environmental prosecutions brought by the EPD
are released to the media on a monthly basis. This information
has also been made available to the general public through
the EPD website since August 2003. |
- |
A list of environmental impact assessments (EIAs) that are
either in progress or about to start is released quarterly
to the media. The EIA reports, and the Director of Environmental
Protection's decisions on the reports, are placed on the EPD
website. |
- |
Monitoring data for rivers and streams and marine waters are
published in separate annual reports, as are air and beach
water monitoring data. |
- |
An Environmental Protection Interactive Centre was set up
on the website in 2003, where the public can set parameters
for the information they are seeking. |
In
addition, the EPD produced 49 publications in 2003 ranging from
publicity and training materials to guidelines on new services and
initiatives. Most publications and other information from the department
can be viewed on the EPD website http://www.epd.gov.hk/.
During the year, seven media visits were organised to the following
sites: the Air Quality Monitoring Services Laboratory; a scientific
vessel for monitoring water quality, the Dr Catherine Lam;
the Island West Transfer Station; the Southeast New Territories
Landfill; the West New Territories Landfill; and two workshops for
the Trial Recovery Programme for Computers and Electrical Appliances.
The EPD also handled 7 323 press enquiries during the year, issued
108 press releases, organised eight press conferences and briefings,
and arranged 68 press interviews.
|