EnvironmentHealth
Only about 20 per cent of residents in one housing block taking part in Hong Kong’s waste charge trial were using the government’s pay-as-you-throw bags to dispose of waste, the estate’s property manager has said. Hong Kong is set to implement a waste charging scheme on August 1 after multiple delays. But the scheme has sparked controversy over its feasibility and enforcement, as opinion polls suggest a majority oppose introducing it as scheduled. Stephen Poon, the chairperson of the Hong Kong Association of Property Services Agents, said on Thursday that authorities should consider further po...
Hong Kong Free Press
Almost 70 per cent of Hong Kong’s small- and medium-sized restaurants are still offering disposable utensils for free, the government has said as the city marked one month of its single-use plastics ban. The Environment and Ecology Bureau (EEB) said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that while most major chain restaurants had adopted non-plastic alternatives, smaller eateries had yet to make the switch. Most small- and medium-sized restaurants still provided disposable utensils for free. Others charged HK$1 or HK$2 for plastic cutlery, the bureau said. “The restaurants that have not made the swi...
Hong Kong Free Press
A 28-year-old Hong Kong man who donated HK$800,000 to a children’s cancer fund while he was himself battling terminal cancer has died, his family announced on Thursday. Gabriel Yeung, who was diagnosed with stomach and liver cancer last year, announced his donation to the Children’s Cancer Foundation Hong Kong last October. “I would like to leave what I can’t take away to the children who are bravely fighting against cancer,” Yeung said in a Facebook post last year. “Because they are supposed to be enjoying a carefree childhood, but they have to face the hardship of going through cancer, that’...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s legislature has passed a bill that will raise the maximum penalty for feeding wild animals to a HK$100,000 fine and imprisonment for one year and expanded the ban to cover feral pigeons. The new law will take effect on August 1. The new penalty would better reflect the adverse impact and serious consequences of illegal feeding on wildlife, ecology and the public, Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan told lawmakers on Wednesday, when the Wild Animals Protection (Amendment) Bill 2023 was tabled for approval. Under the newly passed bill, the city’s ban on feeding wild an...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s environmental authorities have conditionally approved an ecological report into a planned technology hub near the city’s border with mainland China, giving the project the go ahead despite green groups’ concerns. Director of Environmental Protection Samuel Chui on Friday defended the environmental impact assessment report for the San Tin Technopole project as “scientific, professional and comprehensive,” adding that the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) had proposed additional ecological mitigation measures on top of the eight suggested in the report. One of the main measur...
Hong Kong Free Press
Pro-establishment lawmaker Rebecca Chan has urged the government to postpone the waste charging scheme for a second time, citing a survey conducted by the legislator which showed a large percentage of interviewees supported a delay. The online survey, conducted from April 30 to May 6, collected 959 effective responses. Chan said at a press conference on Thursday that, while 58 per cent of people supported recycling and waste reduction, 78.1 per cent said they “agreed” or “highly agreed” to postpone the official roll-out of the waste tax. The waste tax, a policy to encourage recycling by asking...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong officials have warned against thrill-seeking activities such as chasing storms and searching for big ocean waves during extreme weather, saying offenders could face jail time and a fine. Undersecretary for Security Michael Cheuk said on Thursday authorities are considering invoking legislation that would close beaches and country parks under extreme weather. Violators could face a HK$2,000 fine and 14 days in jail. “Do not attempt to defy nature for the sake of thrill-seeking or satisfaction, because you will not succeed,” Cheuk told reporters in Cantonese. Cheuk added that the lives...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s public hospitals expect to hire 250 non-locally trained doctors this year, a senior official said as he expressed confidence in addressing a manpower shortage in the sector through overseas recruitment. Hospital Authority (HA) chairperson Henry Fan said there are currently around 150 non-locally trained doctors working in the city after authorities stepped up international recruitment efforts last year, local media reported. Speaking at the annual Hospital Authority Convention which opened on Thursday at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Fan said the authority planned...
Hong Kong Free Press
Nobody is offering any official results, but it seems the first test of the proposed solid waste charging regime was not a success. The scheme, under which we will all have to buy bags from the government in which to dispose of household waste, has never attracted a warm welcome. Following a trial run it is now in so much trouble that politicians who have rarely seen a government proposal they didn’t like are suggesting politely that it might be postponed… possibly forever. This is not surprising. The government has a genuine problem in finding places to dispose of the mountains of refuse whic...
Hong Kong Free Press
A 61-year-old man has been taken to hospital with second-degree burns after a fire broke out at a plastics warehouse in Yuen Long where he worked. The blaze broke out at 12:39 am on Friday at Wing Ning Tsuen in Yuen Long, and was upgraded to a third alarm fire some 20 minutes later. It was largely extinguished within three hours. The authorities advised residents affected by the smoke and any unusual odours to close their doors and windows and stay calm. New Territories North Division Officer Samuel Wong said the department deployed 161 paramedics and firefighters with three hoses and 38 fire ...
Hong Kong Free Press
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