Govt raps recycling centre for holiday shutdown
Government-funded recycling centres are being ordered to continue to provide a service during holiday periods, after a large amount of recyclables were spotted piled up outside a facility in Hung Hom which closed at Christmas.  The Environmental Protection Department on Wednesday said it was issuing a warning letter to the operator of GREEN@HUNG HOM, requiring it to prevent such situations from happening again.  "To avoid recurrence of similar incidents, the EPD will mandate all operators of GREEN@COMMUNTY to provide additional service during holidays in future for regular cleanup of recyclables accumulated in the recycling cage trolleys/bins outside the stores," a department statement said. Officials also urged the public not to leave items outside recycling stations.  Edwin Lau, founder and executive director of The Green Earth, said recycling containers used to collect goods outside operating hours had been overflowing during the holiday break. Lau told RTHK that recycling stations should arrange for workers to empty the bins out-of-hours. "That doesn't mean they need to operate and open the store even during holidays, but it's just giving some kind of support during the longer holidays, and that also serves the purpose of helping residents and it will avoid the overflowing of all the recyclables left lying outside the store," he said.  Lau added that people hoping to dispose of recyclable waste should wait until the centres are open.