Energy Waste

Updated on Jul 02, 2008 – SCMP

Thirty-five years ago, when I made my first visit to mainland China, I was appalled by what I took to be the backwardness and poverty of the place. People lived simply, dressed simply and rarely threw anything away.

On the rare occasion when they visited a restaurant, they invariably took the leftovers home, with food from various dishes all dumped into one metal container. And when they went shopping, they brought their own string bags. Shops did not provide plastic bags and purchases were wrapped in newspaper.

In the summer, people endured the heat since virtually no one had air-conditioning, certainly not at home and, usually, not in the office either. Paper fans were ubiquitous. At night, many people moved their beds out on to the streets to get away from the ovens that were their homes.

In the north, in winter, piles of cabbages were piled up outdoors, with refrigeration provided by nature ensuring that the vegetables would not go bad for months. By and large, people lived in walkups. Lifts were virtually unknown, except in government offices.

Bicycles were the king of the road, with a few cars carefully threading their way through the traffic, their honking drowned out by the tinkling of the bicycles.

Paper tissues were unknown; people used handkerchiefs that could be washed and reused. In fact, there was very little garbage of any description because nothing was thrown away that could be used again in some way. The consumer society had not reached China and, it seemed, Chinese were being left behind.

Fast forward a few decades and you now have a country that is as much into conspicuous consumption as anywhere else. Today, highways crisscross the country and bicycles have vanished from avenues, to be replaced by cars. Restaurants in the big cities throw away uneaten food even though many of the poor who live in the interior would be grateful for the scraps.

China has now caught up with the modern world. After three decades of rapid economic development, the soil is now poisoned, as is the water and the air. In the race for modernity, China has even overtaken the United States as the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases.

Environmental protection, which was not talked about much 35 years ago, is now on everyone’s lips. And, ironically, it turns out that the way Chinese were living in the 1970s, before the country launched its industrialisation drive, was far healthier than the way people live today, squandering nature’s resources. The 1970s lifestyle, it turns out, was sustainable while the present one is not.

Instead of China learning from the outside world then, the outside world should have learned from China. Then, we would not be faced with the dire threats not just to our way of life but to life itself.

It is ironic that use of plastic bags, which I saw as a sign of modernity 35 years ago, should now be a sign of the ignorance and backwardness of a society where the people do not appreciate the damage that they are doing to the world and their descendants.

Paper, it seems, is really much better for wrapping up purchases, since paper is biodegradable but plastic bags stay around for years. They clutter up drains and pollute the soil as well as the water we drink and the air we breathe.

Now, I realise that the proliferation of plastic bags is not the sign of a developed society, but of gross stupidity and selfishness.

It is good to see that China, which entered the age of plastic bags later than most societies, is moving decisively to reduce their use. Starting this month, retailers are not allowed to give free plastic bags to their customers. In addition, China has made it illegal to produce and distribute ultra-thin plastic bags which are normally only used once and then thrown away.

The legislature in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia, apparently responding to the Chinese action, urged residents on Thursday not to use thin plastic bags and to replace them with paper or cloth bags. Isn’t it time that Hong Kong followed suit?

Frank Ching is a Hong Kong-based writer and commentator. frank.ching@scmp.com

GUANGZHOU, May 1 (Xinhua) — Chinese manufacturers have seen their costs for environmental protection rise, in many ways, since the government raised the standards over the past year.

Companies that were identified as violating environmental laws were barred from the Canton Fair, or the China Import and Export Fair, during a penalty period, said fair spokesman Xu Bing.

One such company was Jilin Fudun Timber Co., Ltd., a timber company, which was placed on a blacklist by environmental regulators last year.

The Canton Fair is the most important channel for Chinese exporters to expand overseas, so a ban means big losses.

China has conducted special campaigns against polluting companies since last year. And violators have lost more than just export opportunities: blacklisted firms find it difficult to get loans. The State Environmental Protection Administration, now the Ministry of Environmental Protection, along with the central bank and the Banking Regulatory Commission, jointly issued a “green loan” policy in July that banned loans to blacklisted companies.

In addition, the government stated that the worst violators would face shutdowns of up to three years.

A senior official with the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planner, said that “all these measures made it clear that companies must establish pollution-treatment facilities. Only paying fines for degrading the environment is definitely not enough.”

As supervision strengthened, some companies had to shut down.

Fuan Textile Mill, a Hong Kong-listed company, shut down last March as it was found to be discharging wastewater directly into underground pipes. The company was fined 11.55 million yuan (1.65 million U.S. dollars).

During the spring session of this year’s Canton Fair, which concluded on Wednesday, Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said China would maintain strict controls on polluting and energy-wasting companies, despite a tougher export situation.

Appliance giant Haier introduced a “green strategy” at the fair. It showed off more than 100 new products, such as washing machines that don’t require laundry powder. The company won orders worth 850 million U.S. dollars.

Sales manager Yang Hong said that a Spanish customer had decided to buy more than 10 million U.S. dollars worth of environmentally-friendly products in less than 15 minutes. “It was a surprise to us,” said Yang.

Other products at the fair, such as furniture, decorations and toys, also emphasized an environmentally-friendly trend. Products using recycled materials were especially popular.

Liu Zhenyi, president of Shandong Luyi Wooden Product Co., Ltd., said their wood and woven-grass products all used recycled materials.

“Our products were made to European standards, although the cost was much higher,” he said. “They do not contain any lead or toxic chemical materials. We are confident about our products.”

Xu said Chinese companies were following stricter rules in designing, manufacturing, recycling and selling their products. “To promote energy-efficient products is to save resources for the world,” he said.

A Mexican buyer said that consumers in his country believed Chinese products were low-end only a couple of years ago “but now nobody would worry about quality.”

He said: “China is our major import country. Last year, we imported one to two containers of goods every month, but now we need to import at least two containers.”

SCMP – 2nd April 2008

I write in response to the letter by Sharon Li (Talkback, March 28), about the safe disposal of used energy-saving light bulbs.

The government encourages the wider use of fluorescent lamps since they are more energy-efficient and have a longer service life than incandescent light bulbs. However, they contain a small quantity of mercury and broken lamps should be properly handled.

To provide an environmentally sound outlet for the disposal of used fluorescent lamps, 15 suppliers of fluorescent lamps have joined hands to organise and fund a territory-wide recycling programme with the support of the Environmental Protection Department. Starting from tomorrow, 53 public collection points will be provided at the retail outlets of participating companies, designated shopping malls and houseware stores.

In addition, more than 480 housing estates have signed up for the recycling programme, and starting from April 14, collection bins will be provided at these participating housing estates for residents to deposit their used lamps. The collected lamps will then be delivered to a mercury lamp treatment facility set up at the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre. More details on the recycling programme can be found at https://www.wastereduction.gov.hk/en/household/flrp_intro.htm

We thank Ms Li for her interest in the safe disposal of energy-saving light bulbs, and we encourage the public to participate in the fluorescent lamp recycling programme.

SCMP – 18th March

Why is it that, when so much fuss is being made regarding reducing pollution in Hong Kong and saving electricity so that we can save the environment, a large insurance company like Fortis is allowed to erect a gigantic neon sign in Tai Koo Shing that shines directly into the apartments of Westland Gardens and Splendid Place, not only destroying our privacy and right to a relaxing evening at home, but also being bad for the environment?

I cannot understand how Hong Kong can on the one hand pretend to care about the environment, but on the other hand let companies do something like this. If Fortis needs to display such a huge neon sign, why not do it in the central business district, away from residents? Many residents have been totally affected by Fortis’ selfish marketing, finding it difficult to relax at night and have a good night’s sleep – vital factors to maintaining a healthy body and mind.

Even though many residents have contacted the marketing department and begged to have the neon sign switched off, there has been no co-operation from Fortis. How long does one have to suffer?

K. Mane, Quarry Bay