The Green Earth E-newsletter Dec 2022

As we are approaching the end of the year, The Green Earth would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you for your continuous support that has helped the organisation fight climate change as well as many other environmental battles amid various challenges. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a green and healthy New Year.

Register for Green Hero Challenge

Register for TGE’s annual charity event, Green Hero Challenge 2023, now as a team of two to four members to complete trail clean-up and survey by January 2023. The data collected will help popularisation of Leave No Trace and environmental conservation.

Light Pollution: the toothless Charter

The Charter on External Lighting will be updated next year to restrict lighting hours, a mark of improvement though with two fatal weaknesses regrettably:

1) Participation is voluntary;

2) It fails to regulate the lux level and direction of external lighting.

TGE urges the government to apply building, planning and EIA ordinances for regulation of light pollution. Legislation is recommended if all else fails.

Articles and Press Release (Chinese only):
牀前明燈
 燈光約章漏洞多苦主受害無路訴
 全面防治光污染達綠色復甦
 綠惜地球回應環境及生態局更新戶外燈光約章

Our achievement: Beverage cartons to be included in the Producer Responsibility Scheme

Rejection of tenancy renewal of a beverage carton recycling plant caused a great furore not long ago. TGE asked the Environment and Ecology Bureau to include beverage carton recycling by producers in the Producer Responsibility Scheme on Plastic Beverage Containers to plug the loopholes and provide deposits or rebates as incentives. A bill on this is to be submitted next year and TGE calls on the government to set progressive targets of reduction and recycling, plus regular review.

Articles and Press Release:

Hong Kong Recycler Mil Mill’s Troubles Highlight Need To Make Recycling Profitable
民心所向別再落新加坡之後紙包飲品盒納入「飲品容器生產者責任計劃」
完善生產者責任法規激活回收產業

Gun Club Watch Bears Fruit

Though Hong Kong Gun Club was acquitted of failing to clean up shooting debris, TGE’s pursuit for justice has reaped the following results:

1) The Lands Department has imposed an encumbrance on the Gun Club, which entails further lease enforcement actions;

2) The Gun Club has coughed up over HK$ 10m for the removal of shooting debris;

3) The Gun Club pledged to formulate measures for prevention and collection of shooting debris and the use of shooting range facing catchment areas was suspended.

Article and Press Release (Chinese only):
槍聲未完
 香港槍會再度脫罪本會促槍會善盡預防及清理射擊垃圾責任

Waste reduction carries on with a revival of events:

1) Book for limited free volunteer training workshop

2) Join free “Waste Reduction Support for Big Events” for organising Green Event

Big events are resuming gradually. How would you start it if you are in charge of an event which you would like to be more environmentally friendly? Book our free Green Event volunteer training workshop to gain some practical ideas. Eight corporate spaces for either the work team members or volunteers are still available for the period between December and February. The quota is on a first-come- first-served basis.
The programme also provides “Waste Reduction Support for Big Events”. Contact us for details.

Green Woods Squad 2022 Training Record

A total of 31 participants were recruited in our second Green Woods Squad. They were taught with woodland ecology in the field by the professionals and taken to tree planting sites to practise between October and November. We look forward to engaging these well trained volunteers to join us for the care for country parks and contribute to biodiversity in future.

New trail programme starts with new season.
1)Remote Lantau Island Pop-up Show

The Hong Kong Trails Day started by TGE on 26 Oct in 2020 entered its third year in 2022. The theme of the year is Green Lantau Island and a one-month Remote Lantau Island Pop-up Show was held in Ngong Ping Village. The show featured new and old photos of Lantau Island on interactive installations with an environmental-friendly element. Visitors can learn about the history and nature of Lantau Island, and the information on Leave No Trace, with the objective to put it into action, from the show.

2)First Two-day Trail Repair Camp Finished

In November, Repair Your Own Trails volunteers headed for the south of Lantau Island to repair the washed-out trail running to the sea with woods and stones. It was a two-day working holiday.

This was our first trail repair camp. During the two days’ work, volunteers honed their skills on tool use, and wood-step or stone-step making. The work on protection of nature carried on while the volunteers got to know each other more and made friends.

Corporate Green Event Workshop

Up to 24 corporations joined the Green Earth Companion Programme this year so far. We created more events as a warm welcome, such as “Turn used clothes into reusable bags” Workshop which made net bags from used clothes─the aftereffect of fashion and overconsumption. Our upcoming event is “Not Waste, but Resources! Local recycling boardgame” Workshop which will teach the right means of waste reduction and recycling through board games. TGE Executive Director visited our corporate companions and talked to their staff on topics of decarbonisation and plastics reduction for their active implementation.
Programme Details: Green Earth Companion Programme

With your kind support given to The Green Earth, we could make a small difference. Your encouragement and support will certainly help us to keep moving forward on the challenging green journey.

綠惜地球 The Green Earth

電話 Tel : (852) 3708 8380
傳真 Fax: (852) 3708 8360
電郵 Email: info@greenearth.org.hk
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地址 Address: The Green Earth, Room 703, 7/F, Kwai Cheong Centre, No.50 Kwai Cheong Road, Kwai Chung, Hong Kong