P R E S S   R E L E A S E

         The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) seeks continually to provide a congenial campus by conserving natural resources, planting more trees, reducing waste and lowering energy expenditure. CUHK is the first local tertiary institution to have implemented a comprehensive environmental audit on the campus on its own initiatives and released an Environmental Report last year. Along with the establishment of a structured organization to plan and implement environmental protection measures, an action plan targeting environmental issues on all fronts has been initiated. The newly released "Environmental Report 2001" of CUHK accounted of the University's achievements last year in air quality enhancement, noise reduction, waste recycling, water quality protection, energy conservation and public education. The Report also sets forth new initiatives and long-term goals of CUHK in environmental protection.

        CUHK has taken action steps to improve air quality on campus. All CUHK school buses have already been installed with diesel oxidation catalytic converters. Moreover, CUHK will introduce electric scooters this year as daily transport means. Electric scooters are recognized to be environmentally friendly for it operates quietly and does not emit fumes. Five electric scooters have been purchased and will put to road trial on campus very soon.

        Besides, CUHK encourages waste reduction and recycling. More than 50 sets of colour recycle bins are placed in the campus for the separate collection of recyclable wastes such as waste paper, plastic bottles and aluminum cans. In addition, there are 19 large waste paper cages, 5 toner cartridge recycling bins and 10 A4 paper recycling bins installed on campus to facilitate waste reduction. In the long run, CUHK is committed to reduce wastes by at least 20% by the end of 2007. In addition, canteen operators on campus are proactively phasing out foam lunch boxes by degradable lunch boxes in response to the University's initiatives.

        To raise the environmental awareness and to promote environmentally friendly practices among the campus community, CUHK will launch its Environmental Protection Week with the theme "Waste Reduction & Resources Conservation" today. It is hoped that staff and students will adopt the "4 R strategy" - Reduce, Replace, Reuse and Recycle in their daily activities in order to improve the utilization of resources. Mr Donald Tong, Deputy Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mr Thomas Chan, JP, Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation, Dr Ellen Y L Chan, Assistant Director (Waste Facilities) of Environmental Protection, Mrs Mei Ng, Director of Friends of the Earth, Dr Ho Kin Chung, Vice-Chairperson of Green Power, Professor Arthur K C Li, GBS, JP, Vice-Chancellor, CUHK, Professor Liu Pak-wai , SBS, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, CUHK and Professor Chan King-ming, Chairman of the University Steering Committee on Environment, CUHK officiated at the Opening Ceremony for the Environmental Protection Week 2002, which was followed by a Tree-planting Ceremony.

        The Environmental Protection Week will feature Tree-Planting Activity, Exhibition on Waste Reduction, Ecotourism on Campus, Photo Contest, Flea Market, etc. Besides, a Debate on "The Government of HKSAR should subsidize local waste recycling business" and a Forum on "Is incineration a better way to handle our waste problem in Hong Kong?" will be staged. CUHK envisages that by raising the awareness of the campus community on pollution control and waste reduction, CUHK will not only be clean and green, but also the most environmentally friendly campus in the Region.