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The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the Hong Kong Hotels Association (HKHA) together held a ceremony at Discovery Park, Tsuen Wan, this afternoon (January 5) to celebrate the Glass Container Recycling Programme (GCRP) for the Hotel Sector entering its fifth year and commend the participating hotels for their support for the recycling programme.
"The GCRP for the Hotel Sector is a forerunner in glass recycling in Hong Kong. We are pleased to have the support of the HKHA to pioneer the voluntary recycling programme in the hotel industry and deliver all the waste glass bottles generated in their businesses to recyclers for the production of eco-pavers," the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, said in the ceremony.
Mr Wong indicated that recovery of waste glass to produce eco-pavers has made good use of the results of local research into construction materials. The application has overcome the constraints of the diminishing beverage industry in Hong Kong and helps to build a complete local circular economy model for waste glass, turning waste into resources. He thanked the hotel sector for its effort, which neatly demonstrates the commitment of the industry to share in eco-responsibility. It also provides valuable experience to serve as a good reference for other recycling programmes.
The GCRP for the Hotel Sector, launched in November 2008 with the support of the EPD and the HKHA, is a voluntary recycling programme, funded and administered by the industry, which helps the hotel industry to manage its waste glass bottles in an environmentally sound manner. Currently there are 27 hotels participating in the programme, namely:
・Conrad Hong Kong;
・The Cityview;
・Courtyard by Marriott Hong Kong;
・EAST, Hong Kong;
・Eaton Smart, Hong Kong;
・The Excelsior, Hong Kong;
・Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong;
・Grand Hyatt Hong Kong;
・Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong;
・Hotel ICON;
・Hotel Nikko Hongkong;
・Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui;
・InterContinental Hong Kong;
・Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong;
・JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong;
・The Langham, Hong Kong;
・Langham Place, Mongkok, Hong Kong;
・Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong;
・The Mira Hong Kong;
・Novotel Century Hong Kong;
・The Park Lane Hong Kong;
・The Peninsula Hong Kong;
・Renaissance Harbour View Hotel Hong Kong;
・The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong;
・Sheraton Hong Kong Hotel & Towers;
・The Upper House; and
・W Hong Kong.
The glass bottles collected from the participating hotels are delivered to local recycling facilities for processing and crushing into glass sand, which is used as a substitute for river sand as an engineering material for the production of eco-pavers. These eco-pavers have been widely applied in various government public works projects. As at the end of November 2012, over 2,300 tonnes of waste glass (i.e. around 6 million glass containers) had been recovered under this programme. The results are very encouraging.
Ends/Saturday, January 5, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:50
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