From left: Dr Elsie Tsui of ORKTS, Professor Apple Chui of the School of Life Sciences, Professor Wu Ka-ming of the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, principal investigator of Plastic Free Hong Kong, and Dr Stephen Ng of the Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change
Engaging the community for a plastic-free future
On 9 November, the Plastic Reduction Academy: “No Plastic Bags, Please!” – Plastic-Free Grocery Community Ambassador Training Programme, funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund and hosted by The Centre for Social Innovation Studies at CUHK’s Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, was inaugurated at the CUHK Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change.
This initiative represents Hong Kong’s first university-led plastic reduction effort, bridging students and the community, engaging CUHK teachers and students, as well as secondary schools, market vendors, foreign domestic helpers, and others. Young students from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and across the globe also took part, contributing to sustainable policies through plastic reduction.
The opening ceremony of the exhibition featured representatives from the Environment and Conservation Fund, JC PROcruit C (Jockey Club), Hong Kong Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies at CUHK, Greenpeace East Asia, and The Earth Green. The participants emphasized that the project aligns with the forthcoming implementation of disposable plastic legislation by the Hong Kong government, underscoring CUHK’s commitment to plastic reduction. It also incorporates plastic reduction into the inclusive and diverse lens of cultural studies, offering a humanistic perspective for advancing Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) development.
The student representatives shared their plastic reduction actions over the past year and explained how art has been incorporated into community plastic reduction efforts. During field surveys conducted in March and April of this year, they calculated the usage of plastic bags. Their estimates indicate that Hong Kong residents consume nearly 500,000 plastic bags daily when shopping at markets under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
Professor Wu Ka-ming, Director of The Centre for Social Innovation Studies, stated, “This exhibition hopes to share our thought process with the public through the display of art installations and student reflections. Simultaneously, we hope to further deepen SDG collaboration with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in the future, integrating CUHK’s humanistic education into public knowledge and achieving a win-win situation for green development in our future cities.”
‘No Plastic Bags, Please!’” exhibition
Venue: Jockey Club Museum of Climate Change, 8/F, Yasumoto International Academic Park, CUHK
Exhibition period: 2-28 November, 2023
Opening Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Closed on Wednesday and Sunday)
Website: https://www.csis.cuhk.edu.hk/2023/09/28/plasticreductionacademy/
