Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation

Hong Kong has little land and a dense population – this makes parking a big problem. How can Tzu Chi's recycling truck go to  designated locations to collect recyclables effectively? Hong Kong Tzu Chi volunteers are very dedicated to environmental protection, because there is only one earth.

Thoughtful Volunteers

Every Wednesday is Tzu Chi recycling day in Hong Kong. The recycling truck leaves the Tzu Chi Hong Kong branch in Kowloon Tong to collect recyclables at designated locations. There are 20 of them. Volunteers planned the route in advance, to solve the parking problem of Hong Kong.

Each Wednesday, at the recycling spots, people always put the recyclables in advance, and there are always considerate people to serve.

Volunteer Lin Lian-feng (林戀鳳) explained: "The neighbors bring the recyclables very early, some during the morning exercises, and some when sending children to school. Therefore, I have to come to sort recyclables earlier, so as not to get the street sweepers in trouble.”

Chen Su-fen (陳素芬), a staff of the Green at Quarry Bay Recycling Spot, said: "My place is the closest to the spot here, so my colleagues don't have to get up very early."

Convenient for Office Workers

The recycling spots are open only for a short time, but there are many fixed spots. Most of them are on the street corners of Hong Kong Island, so that office workers can also do their part for environmental protection.

Citizen Du Zhi-wei (杜志偉) said: "Before, there were no recycling bins anywhere. Now you can see them here every Wednesday, even when it rains. So, it is easier to do recycling now."

Complete the Recycling Quickly

Due to multiple collections on one day of the week, the recycling truck has to leave earlier.

Tzu Chi volunteer Liang Rong-jin (梁榮錦) said: "On Wednesday, street recycling spots open at 8:00 am, so our recycling volunteers must drive the truck from the Tzu Chi Hong Kong Branch in Kowloon Tong at 7:00 am."

Hong Kong, where land is very expensive, does not allow the recycling truck to park temporarily for too long. Therefore, within 30 minutes, everyone has to complete the recycling work quickly.

Chen Ya-shi (陳雅詩), director of Green at Quarry Bay Recycling Spot, said: "If we park the recycling truck here for too long, it will hinder others. So we have to try our best to pack up the recyclables as soon as possible. Plastic bottles and other plastic recyclables must be collected immediately. Sort them so that recycling volunteers can take them away immediately.”

In big hotels, cardboard boxes and plastic bottles are the main waste; in office buildings, it is paper, Styrofoam and so on. Tzu Chi volunteers in Hong Kong have been doing recycling for more than ten years, and they always receive clean recyclables. Volunteers do not talk much while doing recycling; they just focus on the present moment.

Tzu Chi volunteers plan the route in advance, so that they can drive the truck efficiently to collect recyclables. They do not care about how much effort they put into it -- they only want a cleaner earth.

Do recycling anytime anywhere. Join Tzu Chi and let us work together.

綠在鰂魚涌 Quarry Bay Recycling Store | Hong Kong Hong Kong - Facebook

Article by documentary volunteer Xie Qin; report from Hong Kong