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Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, at the ceremony to launch the pilot programme on source separation of glass bottles in housing estates today (January 15):
Reporter: Mr Yau, can you please explain about this pilot scheme and why you are doing it?
Secretary for the Environment: This is a pilot project that we have launched in the East Kowloon area where six public housing estates have joined us today in which collection boxes are provided for bottles, be they beer bottles or any kind of glass bottles, to be collected and then channeled to some brick producers. This is also partly a scheme we rolled out last year in which some Government departments such as the Highways Department and the Housing Department would give priority consideration to procure bricks that have recycled glass content for their pavements. So when we put the two together, it is a good combination – people would think twice before they throw away a bottle and bottles collected through this scheme would also be used to make our pavements and therefore reinforcing the idea of a green Hong Kong.
Reporter: How does it help relieve the pressure on landfills?
Secretary for the Environment: Although bottles account for a small percentage, about three per cent of our municipal solid waste, it is a good reminder that some of the waste like a bottle can be reused to make constructive materials (and products) that can help our daily lives. So I think the scheme is not just to reduce the size of the waste in our landfills. It is also a very good reminder that we can all contribute in our daily way of living.
Reporter: How many bins will be provided?
Secretary for the Environment: They will be provided in addition to the three coloured recycling bins in these estates. As you know, nowadays, almost all the public housing estates would have the recycling bins either in the common areas or sometimes on every floor of the housing estate. We are now adding one more so that people can carry the bottles and place them safely in these bins so that they can be collected for making useful materials.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript)
Ends/Saturday, January 15, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:54
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