Saving material to recycle it is one important way to improve the environment, but we tend to forget that the root of the problem lies in those mountains of 'lap-sap' we produce daily.
Janice Tang Hiu-chi of Diocesan Girls' School says that cutting down on waste should come first in our ecology efforts. As chairlady of the Student Environmental Protection Ambassadors Scheme (SEPAS) Liaison Group, Janice was in Japan earlier this year with 23 students on an environmental exchange programme.
'The Japanese people are very environment-conscious, and recycling is very much on their minds. All their rubbish bins, which are very clean, come in three sections - one for paper, one for bottles and cans, and one for the rest. Even a Japanese toddler knows he has to put trash in the right container!' Janice admires the Japanese for their environmental sense, and their ingenious ideas for tackling pollution, but feels they are missing the main cause of the problem.
'Recycling is important, of course, but even more important is to minimise on waste,' she said.
Nevertheless, the Japanese people have a greater concern for the environment than Hong Kong citizens, she said.
'Children learn the concept of environmental protection at a very early age. They carry their own lunch boxes, and they tidy up and clean their classrooms before they leave.