HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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The Council has an important role to play in this regard because the Council is responsible for collecting and transporting most of the waste from the streets. If we can sort the waste during the refuse collection process, we will be moving one large step forward towards recycling. The Department can also cooperate with private companies which are already doing quite well in metal and paper recycling. Although environmental protection cannot achieve significant results within a short time, a far-sighted Government should have vision and should be committed to protect the Earth and the environment.
With these remarks, I support Mr. To's motion.
Ms. JENNIFER Chow Kit-BING (in Cantonese): Although the message of environmental protection and anti-pollution has been generally accepted by Hong Kong people as a result of publicity for many years, this concept has not yet taken root in Hong Kong, and the people, though 'knowing' about the message, yet are not taking action. Apart from the fact that it is difficult for the people to change their habits, the lack of supporting facilities and coordinating measures in the community is another hindering factor. Even if the people want to return papers, glass bottles, plastic bags and plastic bottles for recycling, there is no channel for them to do so. So I support Mr. To's motion and considered that the Urban Council should take the lead. Moreover, I wish to point out that Hong Kong is facing difficulty in respect of rubbish dumping because, in early next century, we may not have any site in Hong Kong suitable for landfills. In the next 2 or 3 decades, all our landfills will be full in the absence of a definite policy on waste disposal and recycling. So, I am in favour of categorising and recycling of waste and in pushing this forward, we should make everybody understand that it will benefit all of us, our families and next generations. Recycling of wastes can save resources and also reduce the amount of rubbish produced and hence is more environment-friendly. So, within our ambit we should try to work out a comprehensive policy, for example, in new refuse collection points, can we have some trial points for rubbish to be categorised and can we consider working hand-in-hand with other Government bodies and non-government bodies for recycling? For example, we may ask the Housing Department to carry out recycling in the housing estates or perhaps subsidise district organisations for any recycling work to be done.
With these words, I support Mr. To's motion.
MR. TIM S. Manuel Chan (in Cantonese): In comparison with the views expressed by my fellow Councillors who have just spoken, my views are much more positive. After many years of promotion and education, I understand that at least in my constituency, many people have an enhanced consciousness about protecting the environment. They take part actively in environmental protection by using environment-friendly carrier bags and also recycled goods. As regards categorisation of rubbish, there are often residents and non-government organizations asking if trial schemes could be conducted. The problem is that while the citizens have accepted this concept, we find difficulties when we discuss
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