A publicity drive will launch on January 27 and 28 to promote used electrical and electronic equipment recycling, Principal Environmental Protection Officer Lawrence Wong says.

The recycling day was introduced on a pilot basis to boost public awareness of environmental protection. About 12,000 pieces of electrical and electronic equipment, weighing more than 100 tonnes, were gathered through 226 collection points on December 11, 2005.

Reducing waste: Staff at the Kowloon Bay Recycling Centre take stock of used electrical appliances received (left) and process waste computer monitors (centre). The two-day publicity drive to boost electrical and electronic equipment recycling (right) will be launched in January.

City-wide campaign

Mr Wong said riding on this success, the event will be staged city-wide on January 27 and 28. So far more than 318 residential estates and all 18 district councils have pledged their support.

"Last year only 190 estates and eight district councils joined the event. Therefore, we expect more collection points will be available this time to encourage public participation," he added.

Electrical and electronic equipment collected will be sent to the Kowloon Bay Recycling Centre. Items that can be repaired will be fixed and donated to the needy. Usable components and materials including metals, plastics and circuit boards from equipment beyond repair will be recovered for reuse and recycling.

Last year saw 17,700 tonnes of waste dumped in landfills.

Municipal waste loads have gone up 2.3% a year over the past eight years, while the per-capita contribution has grown from 1.98 kilograms a day to 2.38 kilograms.

If waste loads continue to grow at the present rate, landfills in Hong Kong will be full in five to nine years' time.

Three workshops

The Kowloon Bay Recycling Centre, with three workshops, was converted from the former refuse transfer station in April last year. The workshops for recycling electrical appliances and computers started operation six months later, and one for cathode ray tubes opened in October.

The recycling centre aims to cut waste and explore environmentally friendly ways to dispose of used equipment. It helps gather information to help develop a long-term recycling programme. The workshops also offer training and jobs repairing computers and electrical equipment.

"The recycling centre, running for more than a year, has processed a considerable amount of computers and electrical appliances," Mr Wong said.

Charitable use

"From September last year to September this year, the centre handled more than 32,500 sets of used computers, 30% higher than target. After repair, 9,831 sets have been donated to the needy, such as low-income groups, single-parent families, the aged and the disabled."

Used computers that cannot be repaired are dismantled and usable components recovered for reuse and recycling.

The same period also saw 20,440 pieces of used electrical appliances collected, 36% higher than the target of 15,000 pieces. More than 6,400 repaired pieces were donated or sold through charity sales.

Product responsibility scheme

Mr Wong said many countries have implemented a product responsibility scheme which Hong Kong can use as a reference. In Japan, electrical appliance buyers pay an additional fee for processing used equipment and setting up recycling workshops or collection points.

Noting the local trade has voluntarily put in place the scheme, he said this was a good start. The department will take into account all factors, including the information gathered from the operation of Kowloon Bay Recycling Centre, when deciding the way forward, he added.