Despite greater awareness of issues such as global warming and rapidly depleting natural resources, few Hong Kong households are motivated enough to make changes to their lifestyle.
A 2011 survey by Green Sense found that 70 per cent of 500 respondents were exposed to air conditioning for 18 to 23 hours a day. And government figures show household energy consumption rose 14.7 per cent from 1990 to 2008.
A WWF Hong Kong study over the same period suggested that half of this rise was due to wasteful habits that cost consumers an extra HK$400 million in power bills.
Many families not only fail to adopt energy-efficient electrical appliances, 'they think nothing of such wasteful acts as throwing away appliances that are still in good condition', says WWF senior campaign officer Angus Wong Chun-yin. Green groups blame the community's lukewarm response to environmental issues on the lack of a comprehensive government policy and of a support network for eco-friendly initiatives.
Paper, aluminium cans and plastic bottles are the only materials that can be recycled in Hong Kong, says Celia Fung Sze-lai, environmental affairs officer with Friends of the Earth.
'Everything else is destined for landfills,' Fung says. 'Even the blue, brown and yellow plastic collection bins [for recyclable items] are stuffed with other waste. Not treating the recycling initiative seriously, people dispose of other rubbish there.'