Be the Change! Just Do it

Fourteen years in, Dana Winograd of DB Greencontinues to encourage us to expand our recycling regimes and volunteer to clean beaches. Reporting by

Rachel Sadler

| Photos by Richard Gordon-

Richardgordonphotography.com

As one of the founding members of DB Green, Dana Winograd first started encouraging fellow residents to recycle better and live greener 14 years ago. The mission then as now is to create awareness within the community about Hong Kong’s waste pollution issue, strive to keep waste off DB’s beaches, encourage people to use less single-use packaging, and work alongside Hong Kong Resort (HKR) to ensure that DBers’ recycling options are second to none. Recent months have seen growing involvement from DB restaurants, many of which have switched to non-plastic packaging for takeaway. Uncle Russ Coffee and Hemingway’s now also recycle their liquid cartons, and have partnered with tech start-up Circular City (and Plastic Free Seas) to trial a brandnew reusable takeout borrow/ return scheme in DB this month. Through Choose: Reuse, residents can borrow coffee cups and food containers (with a fully refundable deposit) using their Octopus card, and return them to the smart return stations at Hemingway’s and Uncle Russ Coffee (DB ferry pier and Central pier 3). The scheme is digitally enabled, so participants get to see their individual impact in the number of cups/ containers saved from landfill, alongside the collective impact from other users. One thing’s for sure, there are numerous ways all of us can live greener, as long as we are prepared to make the effort. This month, why not recommit to recycling (it really does all need to be cleaned and sorted before you bin it) and perhaps even spare an hour or two to clean a beach.

CLEAN A BEACH

Dana first started organising DB beach clean-ups in 2007 and DB Green now partners with Plastic Free Seas to organise monthly clean-ups at two DB beaches: Nim Shue Wan and Cheung Sha Lan. “HKR manages Tai Pak Wan and cleans it every day,” Dana says. “However, Nim Shue Wan, Cheung Sha Lan and Sam Pak Wan are not part of DB; they are cleaned either weekly or bi-weekly by the government.” So, if you turn up at this month’s DB Green/ PFS beach-clean-up what can you expect? Dana clarifies: “The monthly community beach clean-ups are open to individuals and families, not only from DB but from all around Hong Kong. We provide reusable, one-sizefits- all cotton gloves and rubbish bags, and we ask that volunteers wear closed-toe shoes, and bring a full, reusable water bottle, along with sun protection and bug spray. If it is a registered beach clean-up, you can leave the collected waste on the beach. The government will come and collect it for you.” Each meet typically involves around 50 participants, who are focused not only on the sandy part of the beach but also on the vegetation line. “We typically collect 75 to 150 kilogrammes of waste per cleanup, depending on the season,” says Dana. “Cigarette butts, empty cans, plastic bottles, polyfoam, nets and now, of course, face masks – we picked up 121 at the clean-up in June.” Importantly, beach cleaning is not just for adults – kids are also welcome to do their bit and see the positive impact community action can have on the environment. “It’s never too early to bring your children down to the beach, although we ask that kids below the age of nine are accompanied by an adult,” Dana says. “Even if they only pick up a few bottle caps and then play the rest of the time, kids are learning about the

issue and, most importantly, they are enjoying the beach.” This is especially important because, as Dana well knows: “People tend to take better care of what they appreciate.” Interestingly Dana doesn’t hope for the same volunteers to turn up each month – her fundamental objective is to “raise awareness… It’s important to change your behaviour as a result of what you’ve learnt

and also, of course, to share what you’ve learnt. “It’s contagious, when people see you doing something, they think, I can do that too,” Dana adds, pointing to the way many DBers now clean beaches independently of DB Green. All rubbish that isn’t properly disposed of has the potential to end up in the ocean, so Dana urges that we pick up litter wherever and whenever we see it – on the beach, on the street, on the trails. “Our actions on a daily basis have the potential to positively impact our environment,” she says.

RECYCLE AT THE GREEN ICON

Refuse! Reduce! Reuse! Recycle! We all need to use less, re-use what we can and, most importantly perhaps, treat our waste like the waste industry sees it – as a resource. Drink cartons are being converted into paper pulp, glass into ecobricks, plastic bottles into (new) plastic bottles or clothing… the type of waste that can be recycled is rapidly expanding. So, now’s the time for all of us to recommit to recycling, ensuring more of our waste stays out of landfill and gets a new lease of life.

"Properly sorted materials means a better chance that they will get recycled, especially for different types of plastic... - DANA WINOGRAD

In DB, we are already ahead of the curve since there are communal separation bins at all villages, clearly labelled for glass, plastic, paper and metal but until May of this year we had to work a little harder to recycle certain ‘hard to collect’ items. For instance, large electrical appliances, CDs and DVDs had to be taken to the waste transfer station near the Mui Wo ferry pier, while small electrical items (WEEE), rechargeable batteries, energy-saving lightbulbs and fluorescent tubes were handed in at the village management offices. Polyfoam and plastics, including drink cartons, coffee cups/ lids and contact lens packaging, could be disposed of at DB Green’s dedicated recycling collection, held monthly at the waterfront side of Hemingway’s. As of May, however, we’ve been able to unload the bulk of our recyclables at the Green Icon in front of Parkridge Village. Thanks to DB Green, a team from the government-funded Green@Community recycling network now comes to DB every Tuesday, from 10am to 1pm and 2.30pm to 5.30pm, to collect clean and sorted recyclables, including most plastics/ polyfoam, liquid cartons, electrical appliances, rechargeable batteries and energy-saving lightbulbs and fluorescent tubes. The Green@Community team also takes metal, glass and paper recyclables (though there’s no harm in continuing to deposit these items at the communal separation bins). With plastics it’s a little more complicated. Dana recommends that we take any non-bottle shaped plastics, particularly soft plastics (film), to the Green Icon for weekly collection by the Green@Community for it to have the highest chance of getting recycled. “Be sure to check the number in the chasing arrows triangle. Theoretically #1, 2, 4 and 5 plastics can be recycled from the communal separation bins, but in reality, this is not certain,” Dana says. “Plastic bottles (beverage and body-care products) will get recycled, but non-bottle rigid plastic and film/ soft plastics will have a much better chance of being recycled at the weekly Green@Community sorted recycling collection, and rigid polystyrene and polyfoam can only be recycled there. They don’t accept #3 plastic. And #7s, a catchall for any type of plastic other than a #1-6, although accepted are problematic, as they may include bio-based plastic which can contaminate the plastic recycling stream.” What’s key is that all recyclables are cleaned and properly sorted. “In order to be recycled, all cartons need to be cut open and washed with the plastic spout and lid removed, and they should be dried, flattened and sorted by type (whiteback and silver-back),” says Dana. “Polyfoam items, including food containers, fruit nets and product packaging also need to be clean and dry, with no food residue, tape, stickers or any other contaminants. Beverage bottles must be empty of liquid, and you can leave the cap and label on. “Properly sorted materials means a better chance that they will get recycled, especially for different types of plastic,” Dana concludes with a satisfied grin. “The waste will be disposed of properly and not end up in a landfill, or worse, in the sea.”