Green Student Council (GSC)

1. Green Student Council(GSC)

2. Green Student Council • A registered environmental organization in Hong Kong. • Founded by a group of enthusiastic secondary students, undergraduates and youth from the society since 1993 .

3. Green Student Council The establishment of GSC is about: • Bringing out the environmental problem in the society. • To monitor government’s environmental policy. • To promote achievable environmental living and behavior. • To increase the green sense in general public, in young generation especially.

4. Green Student Council • Activities held in the past years: • Co-organized ‘Green Hope’ training camps with Friends of the Earth(HK) for 8 years • Activities hold in the recent years: • To promote achievable environmental living and behavior. • To increase the green sense in general public, in young generation especially. • Organizing concern groups for ‘Nam Shan Wai’ issue and ‘Primary School Lunch Arrangement’ issue. • Organizing ‘No Foam Box’ campaign, ‘No Bags for Newspaper’ campaign and ‘BYOB Reload’ campaign .

5. No Plastic Bags campaign

6. Objective • To stop the overuseand over-packaging of plastic bags in supermarket by education, publicity and better staff training. • To educate the general public reduce overuse of natural resources and change their wasteful habit into a habit of Bringing their own bags when shopping. • To urge the government to implement polluter pays principle by introduce plastic bag levy.

7. Activities • Past 1/1999 • Announced a Public survey in a Press Conference (PC) • Conduct 3 marches in different districts 7/1999 • Newspaper advertisement with endorsement from Legislative councilors

8. Activities 3 marches were hold to promote use less plastic bags to wrap the newspapers

9. Activities In 2003 • Press conference on plastic bag usage in supermarket • To raise the awareness and the seriousness of the plastic bags problem, 75% public support $0.5 buy/sell for each bag. • Plastic bag X’mas Tree demonstration • Present a X’mas Tree wrapped by plastic bags to Minster of Environment. • To urge their awareness on the issue.

10. Activities • Plastic bag X’mas Tree demonstration

11. Activities In 2004 • Plastic Bag collection program in primary schools • “Plastic Bag Mountain” street demonstration of all the collected plastic bags. • World Earth Day 2003 • A protest at the front door of a supermarket with presentation of plastic bag reduction proposal. • Plastic Bag Usage Survey PC • A follow up survey on supermarket plastic bag usage found every 3 plastic bags issued, 1 of them are not necessary. • Signature Petition campaign • A territory wide signature campaign held on every weekend on different supermarkets in different district to appeal public support. • To urge supermarket reduce plastic bag usage.

12. Activities • “Plastic Bag Mountain” street demonstration (left) • Signature Petition campaign (right)

13. Activities In 2005 • 3rd public survey PC • Another survey was done and found 92% of public agree with plastic bag levy, and we also announce 6 items should be exempted in plastic bag levy. • PC for the proposal of plastic bag levy • Announced a plastic bag levy system proposed and lined up with political parties and woman group. • A demonstration to government headquarter with“Plastic Bag Man” • To urge government to implement plastic bag levy.

14. Activities • PC for the proposal of plastic bag levy (left) • A demonstration to government headquarter with“Plastic Bag Man” (right)

15. Activities In 2006 • Opening ceremony of 1st No Plastic Bag Day (NPBD) • Lined up with 3 major supermarkets to hold a 1off NPBD, a kick off ceremony with Minster of Env. attended. • NPBD ambassadors’ promotion in supermarkets • Lined up 2 pop stars and help promote the plastic bag reduction message and the coming NPBD. • Environmental cycling parade • A parade to promote NPBD by using environmental friendly transport. • Student Street promotion day • Primary students and Legislator distribute stickers to public. • To promote NPBD.

16. Activities In 2006 • NPBD, a survey conduct at NPBD, a tram parade with Legislators, ambassadors • To promote the message and distribute reusable bags in city centre. • Press Conference • Announced 80% of public did not use or take plastic bag on NPBD, show the overwhelming success of NPBD and plastic bag levy system. • Monthly NPBD • Push the government and retail chains to support monthly NPBD, with more and more new chains join in. • Launch from 6/2006 to 12/2006

17. Activities • Opening ceremony of 1st No Plastic Bag Day (left) • Minster of Environment Dr. Sarah Liao (right)

18. Activities • Environmental cycling parade (left) • Student Street promotion day (right)

19. Activities • Tram parade with Legislators, ambassadors on 15/4/2006 (left) • distribute reusable bags in city centre (right)

20. Activities • Others promotion in monthly No Plastic Bag Day

21. Results • The fruitful result of ‘BYOB Reload’ campaign: • Successfully held the first “No Plastic Bag Day” in Hong Kong and turned into a monthly program which had 39 retail chains over 2400 shops joined. • Successfully lobbied the HK government to introduce plastic bag levy as the first Producer Responsibility Scheme legislation in HK.

22. Sustainability • To monitor the long term effect of the voluntary NPBD in supermarkets. • To monitor the government plastic bag levy and do further promotion and education for long run. • To promote plastic bag reduction in other countries, line-up with other NGO in different countries and promote the NPBD concept and finally the plastic bag levy.

23. Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign

24. Objective • To encourage the primary schools adopt reusable lunch box and cutlery instead of the disposable lunch box and cutlery. • To encourage lunch box suppliers provide the reusable lunch box and cutlery. • To urge the government enact a strong ordinance on environmental lunch arrangement for the school and lunch box supplier to follow.

25. Activities • Past 12/1/2003 2002-2003 Press Conference on Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign 12/7/2004 2003-2004 Press Conference on Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign 2004-2005 Press Conference on Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign 30/4/2006 “Repel Disposable Lunch Box and Cutlery Action” 14/5/2006 2005-2006 Press Conference on Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign 28/5/2006 A press conference on the opinions of lunch box arrangement from primary school students. 10/6/2006 “To Mr. Lee: Our disposable lunch box!” 15/4/2007 2006-2007 Press Conference on Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign.

26. Activities • Press Conference on Primary School Lunch Box Arrangement Campaign (left) • “To Mr. Lee: Our disposable lunch box!” (right)

27. Activities • “Repel Disposable Lunch Box and Cutlery Action”

28. Sustainability • To investigate all lunch box suppliers if their procedures on providing lunch box are environmentally friendly enough or not. • To make an appointment with Professor Arthur K.C. Lee, secretary of Education and Manpower Bureau to discuss what should the government do on this issue. • To monitor the lunch box arrangement in the coming every year.

29. Save Food Program

30. Objectives • According to A Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (2005-2014), the government and the public has eventually come to the understanding of the seriousness of the problem of food wastage. • Take action to change the attitude and habit of the public.  To educate the public, preserve our Chinese save food heritage. • To introduce the incentives scheme, which provided the trial program for both merchants and public, to practice the 'save food' habit in daily life. • To lobby the hospitality association to form a save food guideline for their members. • To promote simple composting method which turn ‘useless leftover’ to ‘usable fertilizer’.

31. Activities • Past 3/12/2006 Press Conference - Release the survey data to increase the public awareness 10/2/2007 Road Show - Demonstrate the leftover volume and encourage the public not to waste food during Chinese New Year 13/3/2007 Present a petition and proposal to EPD - Push the government to take lead on the issue • Planning 7-9/2007 Line-up key fast food chains and food courts to promote ‘Save $1 for Less Rice’ Day 7-12/2007 Road Show / School workshops and seminar 8-9/2007 Line-up hotels, karaoke and canteens to promote ‘save food’ concept. And encourage them to donate the raw food to needy people. 4/2008 Organize a “Organic Healthy Meal for a Thousand People” to promote “Save food, Eat Green” concept.

32. Activities • Press conference

33. Activities • Demonstrate the leftover volume (left) • Present a petition and proposal to EPD (right)

34. Sustainability • To advocate the government to build a composting plant to follow the polluter-pays principle to charge the food wastage at source. A comprehensive legislation is a must to cover the education program, merchants and household food wastage logistics arrangement and subsidization on composting industry. • To promote food wastage reduction at source. Encourage the household to prepare what they can eat and separate the leftover from other solid waste. • Follow the polluter-pays principle to charge the merchants by food waste volume. In the meantime, encourage the merchants to provide “meals-by-portion” which is a bait for customers to select smaller size. • There is no way out for local food waste which we should learn from other countries on food waste solution. Eg, composting in Japan and Taiwan.

35. Recycle Your Own Printer Cartridge Program

36. Objective • To gauge individual printer users’ understanding, their perception and current practice of recycling and refilling printer cartridge. • To increase the general public’s industrial knowledge on the process of refilling and recycling printer cartridge. • To advocate government’s policy and technical support so as to enable printer cartridge recycling. • To promote public environmental awareness through wider application of recycling or refilling printer cartridge in the schools and community at large in Hong Kong.

37. Activities • Past 10-11/2007 Public Survey about recycling Cartridge and Toner 11/2/2007 Press Conference • On going 2-5/2007 Public, Corporate and Government survey 27/5/2007 Press Conference 4-6/2007 Recycling Cartridge and Toner Competition in secondary school 6/2007 Exhibition in shopping mall 7/2007 Public Campaign and Prize Giving Ceremony 7/2007 Study tour in mainland China for those winners in competition

38. Activities • Press Conference

39. News

40. Sustainability • To line-up universities and property management companies to set up recycling boxes. • To promote the recycling C&T program in schools through seminars and workshops. • To study the policy from other countries and push government make changes under producer responsibility scheme.

41. GSC aims to protect our nature!We believe today’s effort for Hong Kong’s tomorrow.

42. Let’s work for a better world! THE END