I understand from the government's Food and Environmental Hygiene Department homepage that there are only two sets of "Yellow, Brown & Blue" collection bins in Yung Shue Wan area. The nearest set from my place in Tai Peng is at the Yung Shue Long refuse collection point. Each week I have to take three bags of my recyclable household refuse and walk 15 minutes down hill to the collection bins. It is not a good experience at all.

And how can we expect people from Sa Po or Tai Wan to do the same if the nearest recycle bins are at Yung Shue Long and outside the public library near the ferry pier?

In my old place in N.T., the four-block apartment building already got one set of recycle bins and an additional blue bin for the large volumn of recyclable paper.

Is it possible to fight for more recycle bins in Lamma? I think at least Po Wah Yuen and Tai Peng need one set each. While we are so proud of the green environment in Lamma, we need adequate provisions to be environmental friendly.

I'd like to see at least a paper bin in Tai Peng, bottles and cans aren't that heavy, but dragging all those newspapers down the hill is no fun.

There's more than two sets in YSW, at least four, not counting the big ones at the pier.

One at the wall below the hotel, another set near the clinic. Not much help to you in Tai Peng, but there is a set in Tai Wan, appeared a few months ago with no fanfare. There is another set at Hung Shing Yeh beach. Back a couple of years ago to be green you had to lug your recyclables to Central, so it's a big improvement. For cans you can just stack them next to the ordicary bins, someone will collect them to sell pretty quickly.

Any idea if there are plans to put some recycling bins near Granny Chan's? It would be a good place for a lot of people. Central to a residential area, and convenient to drop stuff off on the way to the ferry for those of us who are further away from the main village.

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tree-hugging eurotrash pikey

The ones I mentioned at Tai Wan are about 150 metres from there.

Just past the temple marked <a href="http://www.centamap.com/scripts/esriMap.dll?name=cent&cx=829956&cy=809421&zm=1&ly=&vm=&lb=&lp=&mt=&ts=0&c">Tsz Tong on this map</a>. Granny Chan's is No. 12.

I have no idea how or why we got them. As it is, they're often full to overflowing. And last week some idiot cut down a dead tree behind them, and it fell on top of them, making them even more battered than before.

Thanks, I'll start putting stuff in them

It would be better if they were nearer Granny's though, don't you think? Then the gentlemen who sit in the 'seats of shame' could look out for them and inform the authorities if they need emptying.

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tree-hugging eurotrash pikey

Thanks Alan for the information. I think the government homepage is already outdated.

Going back to the bins, yes, they are often full to overflowing The exterior is also very dirty. At least the set at Yung Shue Long has these problems. I don't know how often the refuse is cleared but I think the bin itself is not suitable for residential use. In Lamma, they are putting the same type of bins which are used in commercial districts, e.g. Central. I understand that in many other residential areas, they are using large refuse buckets, which are very much the same as the green-coloured rubbish bins we have in Lamma but in yellow, brown or blue colours and with holes on the top for different refuse. These buckets are much bigger and easy to clean.

Sounds like the ones on the pier, just inside the gate.

i like to leave my aluminium cans with Granny Yau-Giu who has a small hut in Wang Long. its her living.

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I've always wondered if they can REALLY make a living from alu cans?
How much can they get for a hundred cans or per catty?

If it's really somebody's living and worthwhile, I wouldn't mind giving her our cans as well. Lots of Diet Lemon Coke cans during these hot days...

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i guess so. collecting alum cans seemed to be her only way to make a living. and yes, all my diet lemon cokes cans...

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Looking up some recycling companies on the web:

bulk price is £680/tonne

average can weighs about 16 gramme

So about 1p/can = 13 HK cents. Probably they would actually get half that here. So a dozen cans would net her less than HK$1. A few years ago paper recyclers paid about 20c/catty. I think that's down to about 10c now, (mainly because local dealers would soak the paper in water or add iron bars to cheat on the weight). You can't even make pin money on recycling here.

so, we must try to remember to get all alum cans to Granny Yau-Giu or any other grannies in your neighbourhood who's living depended on the these cans.

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Actually, the conclusion I drew was that collecting cans is just a way to pass the time of day. At least it gets her out of the house. You could collect cans all day and not earn enough to buy instant noodles to live on, let alone pay rent or electricity, etc. If it makes you feel good, do it, but it's not really making any difference (unless you had the concession to collect cans from outside Granny Chan's, then you might be able to buy an egg to boil occasionally).

I don't mean to be nasty, and personally I go through about 3 or 4 cans a week, so my personal contribution isn't worth anyone's time. I used to leave them beside the ordinary bins for anyone who wanted them before the recycle bin turned up.

u can read a little bit more about granny yau-giu and her cans:

http://www.oxfam.org.hk/english/myfavou ... ory-16.htm

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e,
That's a really nice story from Oxfam!
You just made a last-minute story/link contribution to the e-zine, out today!

Let's see if we can start a little can collection via the e-zine!
The story mentions 14 cents per can, but it might be old?
I'm starting to save up the ones in our household right now....
It's the thought that counts...

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