LegCo Panel Explores Swire Coca-Cola's Innovative Plastic Recycling Initiatives for Sustainable Development

LegCo Panel on Environmental Affairs visits plant of Swire Coca-Cola HK and its plastics recycling facility

The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Environmental Affairs visited the plant of Swire Coca-Cola HK and its plastics recycling facility, New Life Plastics Ltd (New Life Plastics), today (November 12) to understand the sustainable development plan of recycling and processing plastic products.

Members first visited the museum and production line facilities in the Swire Coca-Cola HK plant and received a briefing from the company's representatives on their visions for sustainable beverage product packaging and the circular economy. Members noted that apart from adopting environment-friendly packaging designs for its beverages, the company has also invested in a plastics recycling facility, New Life Plastics, to promote local sustainable development.

Members then proceeded to EcoPark in Tuen Mun to visit the plastics recycling facility of New Life Plastics, which is the first food-grade ready plastics recycling facility in Hong Kong. With its advanced technology, the facility processes locally disposed beverage bottles to high-quality plastic flakes that can be used for manufacturing recycled beverage bottles, thereby fostering a circular economy. Members also exchanged views with representatives from New Life Plastics on the challenges and opportunities in plastic bottle recycling.

Members who participated in the visit were the Chairman of Panel on Environmental Affairs, Mr Lau Kwok-fan; the Deputy Chairman of the Panel, Mr Chan Siu-hung; Panel members Dr Lo Wai-kwok and Ms Carmen Kan; as well as a non-Panel member Mr Benson Luk.

LegCo Panel on Environmental Affairs visits plant of Swire Coca-Cola HK and its plastics recycling facility Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

LegCo Panel on Environmental Affairs visits plant of Swire Coca-Cola HK and its plastics recycling facility Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

LegCo Panel on Environmental Affairs visits plant of Swire Coca-Cola HK and its plastics recycling facility Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases

Meeting attendance of members of District Councils in 2024

The Home Affairs Department (HAD) made the following clarifications today (January 2) regarding certain media reports on the meeting attendance of the current-term members of the District Councils (DCs) in 2024:

(1) The current-term DC members were diligent in their work, with over 98 per cent of 470 members having attended all DC meetings or were only absent with the DC's consent; over 90 per cent having attended all committee/working group meetings or were only absent with the DC's consent. Aside from attending DC meetings, each DC member on average attended 28 committee/working group meetings;

(2) all DC members fulfilled the requirement under the Performance Monitoring Guidelines for Members of the DCs (the Guidelines), i.e. attendance rate of not lower than 80 per cent and no DC members were in violation of the requirement; certain reports were incorrect in stating that some DC members were in violation of the Guidelines due to their absence at meetings since absence at an individual meeting was not a violation in itself; and

(3) for the purpose of calculating attendance, the Guidelines stipulate certain reasons for absence that would be consented by the DCs, including sickness and attendance at another meeting or an activity on behalf of the DCs etc. If a DC member were absent from meetings due to the aforementioned reasons with the DC's consent, the absence would not affect his/her attendance rate. If a DC member were absent from meetings due to other reasons (i.e. personal matters), the absence would be counted towards his/her attendance rate.

​The HAD hoped that media outlets and members of the public would have an accurate understanding of DC members' attendance situation at meetings. The current-term DC members' attendance rate at meetings was the highest amongst all previous terms, which fully demonstrated DC members' efforts and work in improving governance at the district level.