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Following is a question by the Hon Tanya Chan and an oral reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (March 18):
Question:
In response to a Member's question on November 7, 2007, the Government advised that it had been encouraging schools to reduce the use of disposable lunch boxes through adopting a series of measures. In connection with the implementation of such measures and the target to promote further reduction in, and even completely stop, the use of disposable lunch boxes and cutlery in schools, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has reviewed the effectiveness of the various measures to promote green lunch in all primary schools in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details of the review outcome and follow-up actions; if it has not, whether it has any plan at present to conduct such a review; if it has plans, of the details; if it has no plan, the reasons for that;
(b) it has set an ultimate target for all aided schools (in particular primary schools) to completely stop using disposable lunch boxes and cutlery; if it has, of the specific plan and timetable for implementing such a target; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) it will expeditiously take new concrete measures to encourage schools to reduce the use of disposable lunch boxes and cutlery immediately, such as allocating more resources to schools, so that schools can use reusable cutlery or adopt the practice of centralised lunch distribution, or requiring schools to take into account green considerations in choosing meal suppliers; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) All along the Government has promoted green lunch in schools territory-wide and encouraged schools to reduce the use of disposable lunch boxes by formulating guidelines, holding talks, releasing promotional videos as well as funding environmental organisations to carry out promotional activities. Our rough estimate, based on data gathered from schools, lunch box suppliers and recyclers, is that the percentage of schools using disposable lunch boxes dropped from about 70% in 2004 to about 40% in 2007. To obtain more comprehensive data for further analysis on how schools were implementing green lunch, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) conducted a thorough survey in mid-2008 covering over 1,200 primary and secondary schools across the territory. On the basis of the survey findings, we estimated that about 550,000 students lunched in schools in the territory. Among these students, 51% used reusable lunch boxes, 30% used recyclable lunch boxes, while only 19% used disposable lunch boxes. Moreover, the 2008 survey indicated that out of the 52 suppliers identified, 38 (i.e. 73%) offered lunch in reusable lunch boxes and 11 provided the more environmentally friendly central portioning for about 70 schools, as compared with only two lunch box suppliers providing reusable lunch boxes or central portioning in 2004.
As for the current practice with cutlery, lunch box suppliers usually provide a set of washable and reusable cutlery to every student at the beginning of a school term to reduce the use of disposable cutlery.
All in all, the Government's measures to promote green lunch in schools have begun to deliver results. The Government will keep under review the progress of related work. It will also collect updates from schools, lunch suppliers and recyclers, and assist schools to implement green lunch. The information in this connection has been uploaded to the Hong Kong Waste Reduction Website of the EPD.
(b) & (c)The Government has issued guidelines to all primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong, including the EPD's "Guideline on How to Promote Green Lunch in Schools" and the Education Bureau's "Guidelines on Meal Arrangements in Schools", to recommend schools to implement green lunch, incorporate green considerations into the criteria of selecting lunch suppliers, and include appropriate conditions in the contracts.
For a school to adopt central portioning or use recyclable lunch boxes, it may have to make special arrangements in distribution of lunch. In some cases, it may also need to pay a slightly higher price. Therefore the practice of green lunch must be approved and supported by the school management and parents before it can be implemented. The Government has through talks and promotional videos etc to highlight in detail the benefits of central portioning and reusable lunch boxes as well as the drawbacks of disposable lunch boxes, so that schools could make their choice in the light of their circumstances and the parents' needs.
The number of schools adopting central portioning is increasing. That said, we understand that schools adopting this practice may need to invest more on renovation works, canteen facilities, kitchen equipment, scullery and kitchenware. The Government is currently exploring the scope of the Environment and Conservation Fund in subsidising such works. We hope that the subsidy can further encourage schools to adopt central portioning.
Schools can also apply to the Fund for subsidy to purchase electrical composters so that leftovers can be turned into soil conditioner to be used in school horticultural activities. So far 15 applications to the Fund have been received and 13 of them approved.
Ends/Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 16:06
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