HUNDREDS of yellow-capped Filipinos carrying litter bags and led by a brass band crowded a corner of Chater Garden yesterday, to help raise pollution and litter awareness.
On a single Sunday or public holiday, 7.8 tonnes of litter are dumped at Statue Square and Chater Garden by the estimated 80,000 people who gather there.
'It is not that they produce more litter than anyone else, it is just the result of a concentration of so many people,' Regional Services Department spokesman Lai Kwok-tung said.
'We are appealing to domestic helpers to keep Hong Kong clean. We are of the opinion that newcomers are the best people to pass on the message.' More than 30 Filipino organisations in Hong Kong including workers' associations and financial institutions took part in the territory-wide Joining Hands in Keeping Hong Kong Clean Campaign yesterday.
'Domestic helpers are the people who buy the food and make the decisions about re-cycling and the use of plastic bags,' said Susan Pagulayan, of the Piatenians Overseas Workers' Association.