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Smart domestic helpers equipped with good housekeeping habits not only save their employer's money but also contribute to a greener living environment.
To help spread the green living message among domestic helpers, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has partnered with designated training institutions and consulates to launch special training programmes.
"Small lifestyle changes can generate a huge positive impact on the environment. More than 220,000 households in Hong Kong employ domestic helpers, and each of them plays an important role in making our city greener," an EPD spokesman said today (December 25).
The EPD has rolled out two collaborative training projects with Employees Retraining Board (ERB) and consulates targeting local and foreign domestic helpers respectively. These programmes can enhance awareness of their responsibilities as green housekeepers, and also equip them with knowledge and skills to reduce the amount of waste going to landfills or into the environment as greenhouse gas emissions.
"No small action will go unnoticed and every little bit can help in so many ways. Those domestic helpers with green housekeeping practices can also influence their employers' habits and behaviour," the spokesman said.
The EPD has collaborated with ERB to develop training materials covering the 3R principles (reduce, reuse and recycle), waste reduction and separation, energy saving, water conservation and green tips. These principles have been incorporated in ERB's existing training course entitled "Certificate in Domestic Helper Training", which is one of the largest pre-employment training programmes for local domestic helpers in Hong Kong. The course has around 5,000 graduates each year.
Another initiative, the Green Induction Programme, targets foreign domestic helpers. The EPD has reached out to the HKSAR consulates of the Philippines and Indonesia to request the introduction of green content in domestic helpers' induction programmes. The Consulate General of the Philippines, which organises a welcome programme and training for Filipinos arriving as new domestic helpers, will include a green session in their training programme. Nearly 200 participants will attend such induction programmes quarterly. A similar arrangement is being planned by the Consulate General of Indonesia.
Meanwhile, the EPD has developed a lively flash animation with voice-over in three languages, namely English, Indonesian and Chinese. It will be for use by instructors in conjunction with a detailed training manual on green facts.
"The EPD will continue to work with domestic helper training associations and the consulates, and hopefully more and more agencies of domestic helpers will commit themselves to taking up the role of green messengers in the future," the spokesman said.
The above training programmes are two key components of the "Minimising Waste, Maximising the Future" campaign organised by the EPD. The campaign, launched in May this year, aims to promote a greener lifestyle and conserve resources.
Ends/Saturday, December 25, 2010
Issued at HKT 10:01
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