- 2017 Summary
Time files and here comes 2017! Happy New Year!
CA’s food sharing scheme, the Food Resources Recycling Centre (FRRC), was established at Lei Muk Shue Estate in July 2013. As of the end of 2017, 194 tons of fresh and packaged food has been recovered by FRRC, which benefited over 92,000 people in the past 4 years. We aim to encourage more people to participate in food waste reduction and give back to the community through mutual help and sharing by organizing enzyme workshops, food recovery experiential activities, promotion booths, school talks etc. at the same time!
It is encouraging that people’s awareness and participation in food recovery has gradually increased with active promotion from government and various organizations in the past few years. However, according to the 2016 waste report by the EPD, the amount of waste per person disposed daily has increased to 1.41kg, which was the worst performance in 23 years. Despite there was a 3.5% decrease in domestic food waste, the total amount of food waste, including commercial and industrial waste generated, has increased from 3,382 to 3,600 tons (+6.5%).
The above figures seem discouraging given the actual amount of food waste recovered only accounted for a drop of the bucket. What really matters is sustaining the momentum of raising public concern, followed by support from the commercial sector and the establishment of government policies on the source reduction of waste.
As a district food recovery center, we will continue to take on our role in encouraging food sharing and waste reduction in the community in 2018. Wish you all a green new year!
2. Tremendous support from stall owners of Shek Lei market
Food donors are considered the most important supporters to any surplus food recovery project.
With the absence of laws and regulatory measures on food waste and the vague responsibility concerning food safety in Hong Kong, good intentions and generosity from food donors are a necessity for food recovery work. We are truly grateful to have the support from AEON Stores and various stalls from Lei Muk Shue and Shei Lei wet markets in the past 4 years.
However, Shek Lei wet market is one of the 17 properties sold by the Link Asset Management Ltd. at the end of November 2017. Rumors concerning renovation, rent and contract renewal issues had spread as early as September 2017. Many stall owners will consider leaving or even losing their livelihood under the potential increase in rent.
FRRC prepared few surplus snacks and locally produced packaged rice from Long Valley as presents for the local market stalls this previous Christmas. Although the future of continuing the partnership is still unknown, we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation and affirmation for their continuous support and contribution to local surplus food recovery.
