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protection was carried in the past. Further back in the past, a former Urban Councillor Mr. MA moved a similar motion and it was carried too.
Speaking of the work of the Environmental Protection Department up to now, as far as I can see, there are several waste recovery collection bins at the Star Ferry and some more at Victoria Park with a sign put up nearby. I have not seen any actual work to assist, promote or recover waste. This Council is the main collector of urban waste, if we provide the facilities and coordinate better, we can do much more for waste recycling. Why is it that we have not moved forward?
Obviously, we can always say that waste recycling is not the role of the Urban Council, but that of the Environmental Protection Department under the law. However, on waste collection, we can consider actively facilitating recycling operators. In respect of domestic waste, may be we can draw in the economic incentive like they do in San Francisco. When we visited there, we saw some waste recovery stations offering small sums of money to people bringing in recyclable waste and then forwarding the waste to recycling operators.
In fact, if we can implement the measures mentioned before and do more on the part of the Urban Council in recovery and collection, we will, along with the implementation of Mr. Chan Choi-hi's motion, have success in waste reduction.
On the contrary, if we take the line of Government by procrastinating in waste reduction work, there will be the day when Hong Kong is like Taiwan where the streets are a big dumping ground. We don't want to see that. Therefore, in addition to urging the Government to do more in waste management, we should devise policies on environmental protection to go in line. We must also urge government to do more in terms of education, promotion of green awareness and changing of people's consumption behaviour.
As parts of Mr. CHAN's motion fall in line with the idea of the Democratic Party, we support it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Grace Au YUK-HAR (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, from the contents of the Draft Paper on Waste Reduction published by the Planning, Environment and Lands Branch, we can see that the Government is concerned about the pressure on the community posed by the increase of waste. Apart from collecting domestic waste in the urban area, this Council throws in a lot of funds each year in the Clean Hong Kong Campaign and other promotion drives on using fewer plastic bags, the green campaign etc. The Council is duty bound to take up on Government's call for waste reduction. Regrettably, neither the Government nor this Council can come up with concrete plans on waste categorisation. I believe the strategy of waste recycling starting from waste segregation is the most basic way to reduce waste.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
139
protection was carried in the past. Further back in the past, a former Urban Councillor Mr. MA moved a similar motion and it was carried too.
Speaking of the work of the Environmental Protection Department up to now, as far as I can see, there are several waste recovery collection bins at the Star Ferry and some more at Victoria Park with a sign put up nearby. I have not seen any actual work to assist, promote or recover waste. This Council is the main collector of urban waste, if we provide the facilities and coordinate better, we can do much more for waste recycling. Why is it that we have not moved forward?
Obviously, we can always say that waste recycling is not the role of the Urban Council, but that of the Environmental Protection Department under the law. However, on waste collection, we can consider actively facilitating recycling operators. In respect of domestic waste, may be we can draw in the economic incentive like they do in San Francisco. When we visited there, we saw some waste recovery stations offering small sums of money to people bringing in recyclable waste and then forwarding the waste to recycling operators.
In fact, if we can implement the measures mentioned before and do more on the part of the Urban Council in recovery and collection, we will, along with the implementation of Mr. Chan Choi-hi's motion, have success in waste reduction.
On the contrary, if we take the line of Government by procrastinating in waste reduction work, there will be the day when Hong Kong is like Taiwan where the streets are a big dumping ground. We don't want to see that. Therefore, in addition to urging the Government to do more in waste management, we should devise policies on environmental protection to go in line. We must also urge government to do more in terms of education, promotion of green awareness and changing of people's consumption behaviour.
As parts of Mr. CHAN's motion fall in line with the idea of the Democratic Party, we support it. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Ms. Grace Au YUK-HAR (in Cantonese):—Mr. Chairman, from the contents of the Draft Paper on Waste Reduction published by the Planning, Environment and Lands Branch, we can see that the Government is concerned about the pressure on the community posed by the increase of waste. Apart from collecting domestic waste in the urban area, this Council throws in a lot of funds each year in the Clean Hong Kong Campaign and other promotion drives on using fewer plastic bags, the green campaign etc. The Council is duty bound to take up on Government's call for waste reduction. Regrettably, neither the Government nor this Council can come up with concrete plans on waste categorisation. I believe the strategy of waste reclying starting from waste segregation is the most basic way to reduce waste.
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