Shopping for Second Hand Furniture
It’s been eight years since we bought any new furniture. Relocating back to Hong Kong in a hurry, we resorted to the easiest way to set up a household by going to the largest furniture chain store on earth – Ikea – to buy a mattress, a set of pinewood chairs and dining table and a toy-like fabric sofa. Since then, we have switched to … Continue reading Shopping for Second Hand Furniture
Students Lead the Way to a Greener Future
As the semester winds down and summer vacation begins, university students living in halls need to empty out their room and return it to the university. Personal belongings such as clothing, stationery, kitchen ware and personal care products (shampoo, conditioner, body wash) are often simply thrown in the trash. Three years ago, a group of green-minded students from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) … Continue reading Students Lead the Way to a Greener Future
Real Environmental Leadership
In early May, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) announced that from June 8th 2016 onwards, it will no longer sell beverages in single-use plastic bottles nor provide members with plastic bags or straws. According to its Facebook’s post, the Club’s Rear Commodore Sailing, Anthony Day said, “Reducing the amount of waste being dumped into our oceans is one of the challenges of our … Continue reading Real Environmental Leadership
Lee Tung Street ～ Then and Now
Over a decade ago, I worked in an office building on Queen’s Road East. On the way to and from the MTR, I walked through one of those small streets connecting Queen’s Road East to Johnston Road. Spring Garden Lane was often jammed packed with people. So if I was in a hurry and wanted to avoid the human traffic jam there, I would walk … Continue reading Lee Tung Street ～ Then and Now
A Students Open Letter
NOTE This open letter is re-published with permission from the environmental action group Grebbish. —————————- Let your action match your words! Potato@結束一桶專棄 I am a university student participating in a competition called ‘Glocal Greenovation’. The competition is a corporate social responsibility event hosted by Sasa and VolTra, and it is supported by twenty-five organisations and companies, including the Environment Bureau, and Google. The competition was … Continue reading A Students Open Letter
New Water Dispensers in HKU
A few months ago, I had a chat with Ms. Ann Kildahl of the HKU Sustainability Office about the water dispensers in the HKU campus. Ann told me that based on the number of staff and students, there should be more water dispensers installed in HKU campus. And thanks to her effort and that of other good folks at HKU…here they are! Three new water … Continue reading New Water Dispensers in HKU
Fast Fashion: The Hidden Waste
Recently, I participated in a very insightful activity at the office of a fabric manufacturer. With other volunteers, I helped to remove labels which contained sensitive pricing and product information from thousands of pieces of cloth samples. The labels contained proprietary info – if the labels were not removed, the samples would have had to be bagged and thrown into the landfill to prevent the … Continue reading Fast Fashion: The Hidden Waste
Plastic Disaster on Rainy Days
The climate is definitely changing – the Hong Kong Observatory issued its first ever amber rainstorm warning in January. If you are bringing an umbrella with some dripping water indoors – what would you do? In the 1980s, most restaurants had an umbrella rack with individual locks placed near the entrance. As a child, I always wanted to try it out, but my parents always … Continue reading Plastic Disaster on Rainy Days
Rooftop Farming
Urban farming on rooftops has been gaining traction in cities around the world. Its rise can originally be traced to consumers increasing awareness of carbon emissions that result when our food travels hundreds, if not thousands of miles from the farm to our table. As an experienced urban farmer that grows on the rooftops of commercial buildings such as the Bank of America Tower, and … Continue reading Rooftop Farming
Is the Science Museum Out to Sea?
“….A large centrepiece comprising plastic flotsam collected from the beach cleaning operations in the North Sea, Hawaii, the Baltic Sea and the rest of the world is displayed with the aim of arousing public awareness of plastic waste. …..Through the exhibition, visitors can gain an in-depth understanding of the chemical composition, classification and recycling processes of different plastic materials, and also learn about the harmful … Continue reading Is the Science Museum Out to Sea?
Go Green Hong Kong 