Advertisement
Advertisement

Starbucks' message is much more than just a drop in the ocean

As the finale of its eight years and 100 stores celebration in Hong Kong, a certain green-logoed coffee chain decided to go even more green. Starbucks unveiled a sculpture at the Festival Walk mall over the weekend created entirely from plastic water bottles collected at their counters across town over the past 10 weeks.

The installation, made by 100 youngsters through the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, resembles a giant water droplet. It is designed to encourage people to reduce their use of - and to recycle - plastic water bottles. It was dedicated on Saturday by (pictured from left) Starbucks' general manager Thomas Hahn, the foundation's Wendy Tsang and Green Sense's Jan Lai.

'Today we saved 3,500 plastic bottles from forever being buried in our landfill,' Lai said. 'A lot of people don't know that it takes 5 litres of water to produce a 1-litre plastic bottle. Our research also shows that there are more public dog toilets in this city than plastic-recycling bins.'

The bottles used in the artwork will be recycled after the exhibition finishes on Friday.

To promote other green action, a few local personalities were invited to the event to offer their own environmental tips, such as using coffee grounds as plant fertiliser and taking your own water container for outdoor activities.

However, actress-director Crystal Kwok Kam-yan had the best advice of all. 'Just don't buy so much stuff,' she said, before realising where she was. 'I'm sure the mall hates me now for saying that.'

Post