At least 30 environmental protection events are scheduled in
Shenzhen during the coming June to mark the World Environment Day
on June 5, a press conference was told Friday.
The events, organized by the municipal environmental protection
bureau, include a campaign to stop using disposable tableware, as
well as exhibitions, forums, competitions and a festival with the
theme of "sustainable development."
The bureau also plans 100 forums, with the first one held
Friday. Mei Ng, director of Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong), gave
a lecture at the forum.
Of the other 99 forums, 19 will be held across Shenzhen and 80
will be held in various communities, a spokesman said at the press
conference.
The most important events will be held June 5, the World
Environment Day. Canteens in all government buildings will stop
using disposable tableware on that day, while government officials
will also start to use recyclable paper to print name cards.
Guo Yurong, general-director of the environmental protection
bureau, will exchange ideas on sustainable development and an
ecological society with netizens online via the Web site
www.sznews.com. Guo said she would put suggestions collected from
netizens on her blog at the same site.
A Web site will also be set up by the bureau in June, where
people can trade their unwanted items online to help the recycling
process.
"You can see from the schedule, some activities last for the
whole year, because we want to make a real impact on the public
awareness on environmental protection," Guo said.
According to the bureau, if all government canteens stop using
disposable chopsticks, it will save four trees every day, or 1,460
trees a year.
Other events include environmental protection tours,
tree-planting, a competition for kites made from recycled paper,
and salons.
(Shenzhen Daily May 15, 2006)