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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
3.
MR. DANIEL TO BOON-MAN moved the following motion: '*RESOLVED that this Council urges the Government to implement a policy of "categorising waste for recycling purpose" so as to put into effect the concept of environmental protection and that at the same time the Urban Services Department should study the specific operational measures to keep pace with the implementation of this policy'.
He said (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, first of all, I wish to make clear that the spirit of this motion is to urge the Government to investigate and formulate policies to realise the concepts of environmental protection and to reduce the dumping of refuse to landfills and also for categorisation and recycling of waste. On the one hand, we are urging the Government to formulate a policy and we are also asking the Department to look at how the policy can be implemented.
Hong Kong is a modern international city in the Asia Pacific Rim. We should therefore not be behind other cities in terms of environmental protection. In many cities of the United States, Canada and also EU countries, they have one after the other implemented the policy of categorising waste for recycling purpose. And yet in Hong Kong we are still marking time and little progress has been made. If the Government has not got an overall policy for the categorisation of waste for recycling purpose, it is difficult for the U.S.D. to do it alone. If we can promote this concept, we will then make a milestone for Hong Kong and so, the Department should look at the feasibility of various coordination measures so that Hong Kong can take this very important step forward.
Today, we still lack a comprehensive and environment-friendly strategy to deal with our waste. We are still using landfills. In other words, we first of all find a big hole in the city and then dump all the refuse in it. These landfills may hold the waste dumped in several decades. In fact, there are a lot of valuable materials in the refuse but they are dumped as waste. Unprocessed material is in fact a waste from the angle of environmental protection and this is also an irresponsible act. Therefore, it is time to consider doing away with landfills so as not to pollute our Earth. On the other hand, useful materials, such as paper, metal cans, glass bottles and plastic bottles can be categorised for recycling. By so doing, we can reduce the amount of waste and also protect our environment. Is this not an avant-garde act?
Let me give you some figures. Take paper as an example, we imported nearly $20 billion worth of paper last year. Let us assume that half of these paper becomes refuse after use. If we can recycle half of this $20 billion worth of paper, we will be saving $10 billion for Hong Kong. This $10 billion is sufficient for building 9 hospitals of international standard (like the Eastern District Hospital) or 30 Kowloon Parks. This is really a staggering figure.
Are you aware that Hong Kong is such a small place that in twenty years' time there will be no more suitable sites that can be used as landfills? Now is the time to face the issue squarely. The Government should be far-sighted in this issue. The Environmental Protection Department has commissioned consultants to identify
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