Appropriate and sufficient waste separation and recovery facilities should be provided at common area convenient to the residents, such as floor refuse storage room and staircase landing.
(Building (Refuse Storage and Material Recovery Chambers and Refuse Chutes) Regulations requires provision of sufficient space for waste separation and recovery in new building developments since November 2000)
The waste separation and recovery facilities should not cause any fire hazard and should be placed in locations not causing obstruction to any fire escape route. The possible locations in a residential building and the respective fire safety requirements for setting up waste separation and recovery facilities could be found in "Source Separation of Domestic Waste" of the Environmental Protection Department.
The types of recyclable materials collected include all waste paper, plastics (e.g. plastic containers and plastic bags), metals (e.g. milk powder cans and cookwares), old clothing, computers, electrical and electronic appliances and rechargeable batteries.
The waste separation and recovery facilities should be maintained in good working and hygienic conditions to avoid creating nuisance to residents.
The waste separation and recovery facilities should be clearly labelled; damaged or discoloured labels should be replaced.
The residents should be reminded of not putting contaminated wastes into the waste separation and recovery facilities.
Recyclable materials recovered from the waste separation and recovery facilities should be collected regularly. The recyclable materials should be stored at suitable locations such as refuse storage and material recovery chambers properly before sending for reuse/recycling.
The collected recyclable materials should be sent for reuse/recycling with proper record of the quantities of recyclable materials collected and all collection and transfer transactions.
Posters should be displayed at conspicuous locations to promote waste separation.
Activities should be organized on a regular basis to promote environmental awareness of the residents and encourage their participation.
The residents should be informed regularly of the quantities of recyclable materials collected for reuse/recycling.
Information on waste reduction and recycling is also available at the website of the Environmental Protection Department at www.epd.gov.hk. For enquiries, please call the Recycling Helpline of the Environmental Protection Department at 2838 3111.