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Following is a question by the Hon Audrey Eu Yuet-mee and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works, Dr Sarah Liao, at the Legislative Council meeting today (February 15):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of waste separation bins of three different colours ("recovery bin") currently placed in various districts throughout the territory, and the respective quantities of different types of waste collected from such bins in each district over the past three years;
(b) whether it has drawn up any guideline regarding the distribution of recovery bins in public places; if it has, of the details; and;
(c) whether it has regularly reviewed the process and frequency of collecting wastes from the recovery bins to avoid their overflow?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) Currently, the Government has placed about 28,000 3-coloured waste separation bins at various locations throughout the territory. These waste separation bins are placed at public places, by the roadside, in parks, sports venues, leisure and cultural facilities, country parks, schools, public/private housing estates, government quarters/office buildings and hospitals/clinics. The number of waste separation bins in various districts is in Annex 1.
From 2003 to 2005, the quantities of recyclables collected from the waste separation bins at public places and schools through contractors are as follows:
Waste Aluminium Plastic
Paper Cans Bottles Total
Year (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes)
**** ******** ********* ******** ********
2003 690 10 210 910
2004 550 20 160 730
2005 323 23 142 488
Starting from April 2003, the collection service also covers schools and Government clinics; and starting from May 2005, recyclables collected include plastic materials.
For housing estates, the Environmental Campaign Committee (ECC) has organised the Waste Recycling Campaign since March 1998. The campaign aimed at raising residents' environmental awareness, encouraging them to reduce waste and form the habit of separating waste paper, aluminium cans and plastic bottles for recycling. Over 1 400 public and private housing estates have joined the Campaign. The quantities of recyclables collected from the waste separation bins placed under the Campaign in the past three years are as follows:
Waste Aluminium Plastic
Paper Cans Bottles Total
Year (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes) (tonnes)
******* ******** ********* ******** ********
2002/03 140,700 5,900 1,200 147,800
2003/04 140,100 7,800 1,000 148,900
2004/05 97,900 1,200 900 100,000
The 3-coloured waste separation bins are usually placed at the ground floor lobby of a building or at the public area of a housing estate, not particularly convenient for the residents who participate in waste separation. In view of this, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) rolled out the "Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste" in January 2005 to encourage housing estates/buildings to provide waste separation facilities on each building floor to facilitate source separation of waste by residents, and to cover more types of recyclables in addition to those collected by waste separation bins. As at the end of December 2005, a total of 223 housing estates (including 160 private housing estates, 35 public housing estates and 28 government quarters) throughout the territory have signed up for the programme (representing 350 000 households or a population of 1.1 million).
The initial results of the programme were encouraging. 42 of the estates implementing the "Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste" have achieved over 50% increase in the quantity of recyclables collected and a 3% reduction in the quantity of waste for disposal. The EPD will extend the programme to other housing estates in the territory progressively. The target is to have 80% of the population in Hong Kong participating in the programme by 2010; and to increase the domestic waste recovery rate from the present 14% to 20% by 2007 and 26% by 2012. We hope that the quantity of recyclables collected from participating estates can increase by 50% during the first year of implementation of the programme. The target number of participating housing estates are as follows:
Types
of
housing
estates 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
******* **** **** **** **** **** ****
Public 30 70 100 120 140 160
Housing
Estates
Private 150 400 600 800 1000 1200
Housing
Estates
(including
government
quarters)
Total 180 470 700 920 1140 1360*
* representing 80% of the population
(b) Government departments will increase or reduce the number of waste separation bins and their locations in the light of the actual situation and needs of the place, such as pedestrian flow, the quantity of recyclables and the holding capacity of the bins, etc. Members of the public can contact the relevant departments if they have any comments on the number and locations of the waste separation bins.
(c) Currently, the Government has contracted out the collection service of recyclables from the waste separation bins at public places and schools. According to the contractual requirements, contractors collect recyclables from various collection points at least once a week. At the same time, the Government inspects the waste separation bins at public places to see if they are overflowing, and conducts reviews and requests the contractors to increase the frequency of collection according to the situation and needs so as to prevent the bins from overflowing. For public and private housing estates, the management of the waste separation bins and the collection of recyclables are arranged by the property management companies or the cleansing service contractors of the housing estates concerned.
Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:15
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