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Over 500 representatives from property management companies, housing estates and commercial and industrial buildings joined a forum on source separation of waste and award presentation ceremony today (August 17). The event saw an enthusiastic response from those in attendance.
Officiating at today's event, the Permanent Secretary for the Environment/Director of Environmental Protection, Ms Anissa Wong, thanked the property management trade and the general public for their support for waste recycling and recovery, which had helped boost the domestic waste recovery rate from 14 per cent in 2004 to 35 per cent in 2009. Over the same period, domestic waste disposed of at landfills decreased by 15 per cent.
During the event, participants with outstanding performance in source separation last year were presented with awards and commendation certificates, and the representative from the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) shared with participants the latest developments in food waste recycling at housing estates. There was also a preview of the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre's environmental education drama, which will be staged in primary and secondary schools in the coming school year.
Since the launch of the Source Separation of Waste Programme in January 2005, over 1 700 housing estates and 700 rural villages have signed up to join it, covering over 80 per cent of Hong Kong's population. In October 2007, the EPD extended the programme to industrial and commercial buildings, and so far over 700 such buildings have joined the programme.
In January this year, the Government announced its comprehensive and complete strategy and updated action plan to tackle the waste problem in Hong Kong using a multi-pronged approach. The promotion of waste reduction and recycling is one of the core elements of the waste management strategy. To further enhance public awareness and raise the municipal solid waste recovery rate to 55 per cent by 2015, the EPD will continue to work with other government departments, the property management sector, the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, green groups, schools and non-governmental organisations to develop a wider recycling network at the community level to encourage and facilitate the collection of recyclables in the community.
The Forum on Source Separation of Waste and award presentation ceremony was held jointly by the EPD, the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. More details of the programme are available on the EPD's Hong Kong waste reduction website (www.wastereduction.gov.hk).
Ends/Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Issued at HKT 17:16
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