A forum on source separation, collection and recycling of household waste has attracted over 500 attendees from property management companies, housing estates and commercial and industrial in Hong Kong.
According to the Permanent Secretary for the Environment and director of Environmental Protection, Ms Anissa Wong The domestic recycling rate in Hong Kong has increased from 14% in 2004 to 35% in 2009. Over the same period, domestic waste disposed of at landfills decreased by 15%.
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) claims that since the launch of the Source Separation of Waste Programme in January 2005, over 1700 housing estates and 700 rural villages have signed up to join it, covering over 80% of Hong Kong’s population.
In October 2007, the EPD extended the programme to industrial and commercial buildings, and so far over 700 such buildings have joined the programme.
In January this year, the government launched its recycling strategy and updated action plan to tackle the waste problem in Hong Kong using a multi-pronged approach. The promotion of waste reduction and recycling is one of the core elements of the waste management strategy.
To further enhance public awareness and raise the municipal solid waste recovery rate to 55% by 2015, the EPD says that it will continue to work with other government departments, the property management sector, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, green groups, schools and non-governmental organisations to develop a wider recycling network at the community level to encourage and facilitate the collection of recyclables in the community.
