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The following is issued on behalf of the Housing Authority:
The Housing Authority (HA) and three major local green groups - Green Power, the Conservancy Association and Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong) - are co-organising the fourth phase of "Green Delight in Estates" to foster environmental awareness among public rental housing (PRH) tenants and promote waste reduction and energy saving in all housing estates.
Officiating at a kick-off ceremony today (June 12), the Permanent Secretary for Transport and Housing (Housing), Mr Thomas Chan, expressed his satisfaction with the effectiveness of the programme. More than 6,000 tenants have become "Green Estate Ambassadors" under the programme and have helped spread green messages.
Findings from a survey by the Chinese University of Hong Kong on PRH tenants' environmental attitudes, commissioned by the three green groups, suggest that more and more tenants have been practising green living over the past three years. Around 70% of the tenants had the habit of separating recyclables in the waste before disposal. Over 70% of tenants had the habit of bringing their own bags for shopping which is 15% higher than before the programme was launched. Furthermore, the Energy Saving Day held last year was widely supported by estate frontline staff and tenants, with an encouraging result of over 440,000 hours of electricity conserved by participating estates on that day.
The theme of this year's "Green Delight in Estates" programme will be "Reduction in Use of Plastic Bags". In the coming year, the co-organising groups will launch a series of activities, including carnivals, exhibitions, a quiz competition and recruitment of "Estate Plastic Bags Reduction Ambassadors", to encourage tenants to reduce the use of plastic bags in their daily life, said Mr Chan. Each of the three green groups will also carry out in-depth education activities for a total of 31 selected housing estates to strengthen tenants' awareness of environmental protection.
After the launch ceremony, workshops on forthcoming activities were arranged for estate staff and tenant representatives who will be involved in this year's programme. Participants in the third phase of the programme also shared their experiences in promoting environmental protection and green living in PRH estates.
Also officiating at today's event were the Director of Friends of the Earth (HK), Mr Edwin Lau; the Chief Executive Officer of Green Power, Dr Man Chi-sum; and the Acting Chief Executive of the Conservancy Association, Mr Rico Wong.
Ends/Friday, June 12, 2009
Issued at HKT 18:11
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