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Following is a question by the Hon Leung Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, JP in the Legislative Council today (24 October):
Question:
Regarding the environmental protection measures implemented in public housing estates ("PHEs") and government premises, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective names of PHEs in which there are both used clothing recycling bins and rechargeable batteries recycling bins, used clothing recycling bins only, rechargeable batteries recycling bins only, and none of such bins;
(b) whether the authorities will consider providing the above two types of recycling bins in PHEs in which such bins are not yet available, so as to support environmental protection; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of each of the existing energy saving measures implemented in all government premises; if it has, of the outcome of the review, and whether it will implement new energy saving measures; if it will, of the details of such measures; if it will not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
My reply to the three-part question is as follows:
(a) & (b) Used clothing recycling in the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA)¡¦s PHEs is undertaken by approved charitable organisations. The HA has put in place a mechanism for managing used clothing recycling activities in PHEs. Any organisation intending to hold such recycling activities is subject to qualification vetting by the Housing Department (HD). Only those confirmed as charitable organisations would be included in the list of eligible organisations. The listed organisations may apply to the offices of the estates concerned for holding used clothing recycling activities. Subject to the agreement of the Estate Management Advisory Committee, the HD would give approval for the organisations concerned to place recycling bins at designated points in the PHEs during specified time for collection of used clothing. As the HD has all along been receiving a large number of applications, used clothing recycling bins placed by different organisations are always found in all PHEs.
As regards rechargeable battery recycling, to tie in with the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme launched by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), the HD has placed rechargeable batteries recycling bins in all PHEs. The EPD is responsible for coordinating the collection and recycling.
(c) The Government has been promoting energy conservation. In the past several years, the Government has implemented a host of measures to achieve energy conservation. They include housekeeping measures such as reducing and switching off unnecessary electrical appliances and lights, promoting dressing down at workplace and raising the air-conditioned room temperature to 25.5¢XC in summer months; using more energy-efficient equipment; and incorporating energy-efficient features in new Government premises and retrofit projects where practicable. With the concerted efforts of bureaux and departments, the Government has already reduced electricity consumption by 6.9% from 2003/04 to 2006/07. The electricity consumption of major Government office buildings in 2006 has also been reduced by 2.9% compared with 2005.
The Government will continue to promote energy conservation, including stepping up the implementation of housekeeping measures, increasing the energy efficiency of Government premises and facilities, and conducting regular energy audits at major Government premises, with a view to further reducing energy consumption. Moreover, the Government will continue to incorporate renewable energy features in public works projects wherever practicable. In this connection, the Government already has plans to complete more than ten renewable energy projects within the next three years.
Ends/Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:55
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