The Kwun Tong Community Green Station (CGS) was officially opened today (February 21) to provide full services to the public.

     Officiating at today's opening ceremony, the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, said that the Kwun Tong CGS is the third CGS project commissioned after the opening of the Sha Tin CGS and the Eastern CGS. The smooth implementation of the CGS projects strengthens the Government's support for waste reduction and recycling at the district level and will also help facilitate the upcoming implementation of the quantity-based municipal solid waste charging.
 
     Following an open tender by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the Christian Family Service Centre (CFSC) was awarded a three-year service contract for operating the Kwun Tong CGS in September 2016. Mr Wong said that the CFSC has more than 60 years of experience in providing local community services in Kwun Tong. He is confident that the CFSC is capable of running the new CGS smoothly.
 
     Located at the junction of Sheung Yee Road and Kai Fuk Road in Kowloon Bay, the Kwun Tong CGS is open to the public from 8am to 8pm on a daily basis, except for specified closed days. Before the official opening, the Kwun Tong CGS had already provided support for the Chinese New Year Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Collection programme for participating estates in the district, which collected over seven tonnes of WEEE for reuse or recycling. The Kwun Tong CGS, together with other CGSs, also supported the handling of reusable materials recovered from various Lunar New Year fairs by providing temporary storage for the salvaged materials and assisting in their re-distribution to the needy. Following the official opening, the EPD expects that the Kwun Tong CGS would soon reach the level of effectiveness as the Sha Tin CGS and the Eastern CGS in promoting the messages of "Use Less, Waste Less" and "Clean Recycling", thereby enabling the concept of green living to take root at the community level.
 
     The Sha Tin CGS and the Eastern CGS commenced operation in May and August 2015 respectively. Both projects have been running smoothly and making good progress in providing support for recycling at the local community. More than 430 tonnes and 330 tonnes of recyclables have been collected by the Sha Tin CGS and the Eastern CGS respectively since their opening. In the last quarter, about 80 tonnes of recyclables were collected by each CGS, equivalent to an annualised throughput of over 320 tonnes. Both CGSs have established extensive service networks, covering around 90 per cent of the population in the respective districts, to collect low-value recyclables including electrical appliances, glass containers, compact fluorescent lamps and tubes and rechargeable batteries, as well as small amounts of waste paper, waste plastic and waste metal.
 
     In addition to the regular recyclables collection service for the community, the CGS operators also hold featured green events from time to time to promote waste reduction at source. Among these, the bi-monthly swap events, which facilitate the exchange of reusable resources like used clothing, books and other reusable items, are well received by the public. Both CGSs have also been progressively stepping up support for the clean recycling of plastic bottles to meet increasing community demand.
 
     Meanwhile, the Yuen Long CGS, which commenced service in January 2017, will be officially opened in early March. The EPD has also awarded the service contract for the Sham Shui Po CGS, which will commence operation in mid-2017. Information on the latest progress of the CGS projects is available on the EPD website at www.wastereduction.gov.hk/en/community/cgs_intro.htm. Members of the public could also learn more about the green events organised by the CGSs and their effectiveness through the dedicated Facebook pages of the CGSs.

Ends/Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Issued at HKT 17:25

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