Letters - We Can Do Better!

This is a bit random! Here's just a documentation of various letters I have been writing to try to make things better. Maybe 1 in 1,000 will have a positive change?

Sept. 26 - Toilet paper
Ok, this has just driven me absolutely mad for so long now. I'm thinking I need to start a petition, and in addition to writing the supermarket, also write the suppliers. Two problematic issues with toilet paper! Same letter sent to Wellcome. Rumor has it that Wellcome has a no-frills recycled toilet paper option, but I can't find it.

Dear Park 'N Shop,

I live in Sheung Wan, and your Fusion store at Fook Sing Court, 378 Queen's Road, Hong Kong is my regular "go-to" supermarket and has been for years. However, I am simply sick and tired of being unable to buy recycled paper toilet paper, and there are no options for toilet paper that is NOT individually packed inside the larger package.

The concept of "100% virgin pulp" as a marketing tool on the packets simply utterly disgusting to me. How could you not know -- how could Hong Kong as a society not know -- what destruction deforestation is causing in the world? Why on earth does anyone need 100% virgin pulp to wipe their ass? No, we need recycled paper, a product in its second life, to wipe our asses.  And this concept that we need to have toilet rolls DOUBLY packed is simply WRONG and creating unnecessary waste that is going into our landfills and sitting to rot for years. I have never seen this practice of doubly wrapping toilet rolls in any other country. But what a wasteful display of Hong Kong's environmental ignorance, and you as the supplier are VERY responsible for this destruction.

I can understand if you need to cater to some (ok, perhaps many) customers who simply don't know better, but why can't you also cater to customers like me who want to do something better for the environment and not leave a destructive path in the environment? I have no choice, no option. I can't tell you how often I go, and to different branches as well, sifting through your plentiful options of toilet tissues, not finding that one kind I want.

I am planning to raise hell about this issue because it's something that simply needs to stop and the environmental awareness needs to be raised. So I dare you to step up and take action and start acting like a responsible businesses!!! You make profit -- you make a lot of profit -- so you have the power to get a freaking clue about the waste and destruction you're causing.

Kathryn
Sept. 25 - Restaurant packaging
Update: Got an almost instant thorough reply from Bobsy: it's their license that prevents them from serving on real plates, etc. for in-house use. Gosh! What a shame. Was glad to hear about the good work they're doing with a food waste recycling system and using their cooking oil to make soap. I wish more HK businesses had the environmentally-conscience spirit that they have.

Finally wrote this letter to the owner of Mana! that has been bothering me for months now!

Dear Bobsy,

I live on Tai Ping Shan street, near your new Mana outlet, and there has been something bothering me for some time now. I noticed your fantastic recycling center there and all the wonderful messages to remind the public to recycle and that you even recycle your food waste. Even at the cash register there is a great recycling reminder message to the public, and this is definitely something I wish all businesses in Hong Kong would embrace. However, what I have found baffling is that you do not offer reusable dishes at this outlet. I've seen, I think, reusable water cups, but coffee and food is served only in disposable packaging. I don't understand why this is the case, and why you can't offer to reduce this waste completely (albeit even if it's recycled and made of recycled materials) for your customers by offering them in-house reusable cups, plates, etc.? Even if the establishment is more of a take-away place, surely you know given it's lovely location that many people actually do want to sit there to enjoy their coffee or food.

I'd be grateful if you could explain the logic, and consider in the future switching to reusable items. Also, I'm not sure if you offer this, but it would be wonderful if you could offer customers who take-away food in their own reusable containers a special discount to encourage this practice.

Thank you for your time and for the positive environmentally-friendly work you are doing!

Best wishes,

Kathryn

Sept. 25 - Construction workers littering streets w/plastic bottles
Update Sept. 26 - Got a call back a couple of hours later from the site manager. Pretty nice and said he will make sure the site is cleaned. Hope he also just talks to the workers to help change their habits. Not sure my urging for them to provide another source of water for their employees other than single-use plastic bottles was heard. 
 
Phone call to HK Electric regarding their contractor's employees leaving plastic water bottles around site. Bottles will just be left to go into the sea!

Sept. 06 - Plastic bottle from hotel on street
Update Sept. 25 - Response from Regal Hotels. Not sure this really changes anything, but at least they know someone's watching their waste!

Dear Kat
First of all, thank you very much for your kind concerns and recommendations. Please understand that we love our planet and we are looking for ways to help conserve our planet. We fully understand the feeling when we see our beautiful ocean / beaches are being badly polluted, as our associates are also active volunteers for coastal cleaning activities. Seeing various forms of rubbish damaging the eco-system of our beautiful ocean is certainly very heart-breaking.
Please also note that we offer free water refilling at our iLounge for guests who bring their own bottle. Also, we provide water kettle for guests' use as well. For guests who did not bring their own bottle, we would provide them the bottled water to meet their needs and we have been collecting and recycling the used bottles. We support WWF's conservation work too, we have been encouraging our guests to donate their loyalty programme points to WWF and we will match the point donation by cash and our group has been one of the hotel pioneers in Hong Kong to provide No-Shark's Fin menus to our guests.
Although we have a list of green programmes in line, we agree that there is still room for futher improvement. We are truly grateful for your valuable recommendations to continue our environmental protection work. We shall continue exploring new options for our guests to join us conserving our planet. Once again, thank you very much for your message and support!
Best regards iclub MarCom

 Regal Hotels Limited Corporate Office

Dear Regal Hotels,

I live in Sheung Wan, Hong Kong, near your relatively new iClub hotel. I have developed a habit of picking up plastic bottles I find on the street in my neighborhood to put them in the recycling. Today I picked up a plastic bottle off of Bonham Stand and noticed it had YOUR label on it!!! I returned the plastic bottle to your reception desk. If I hadn't picked it up it would have likely been washed/blown eventually down into the sea.
There is a MAJOR CRISIS facing our seas due to the excessive plastic. I just spent yesterday cleaning up a beach as part of the WWF's Coastal Watch, and it is absolutely disheartening to see the amount of plastic on our beaches. And this is a major global issue as well.
I understand offering a single-use plastic bottle is unfortunately commonplace at hotels, but may I suggest you consider alternatives and find progressive, unique ways to avoid this awful practice and discourage the use of single-use plastic bottles. For example, you can provide your guests with a reusable Kleen Kanteen bottle with your logo/brand name as part of their room that they're free to use during their stay, which they can either return/leave (as with anything in the room) or keep. If guests do keep it, then you will have your logo/name on a GOOD product throughout the world for others to see. If iClub truly wants to tout being "green" then I believe you should seriously consider ending the single-use plastic bottles at your hotel and ESPECIALLY with your brand name on it.
At the very least, you should provide recycling bins at your exit/entrance and put up signs reminding guests to recycle responsibly.

I hope this message may result in some progressive, sustainable action from your business. And I truly hope I will never see your brand littering the streets of my home again!

Best wishes,
Kathryn

Sept. 06
Facebook message to iClub Hotel Sheung Wan.

Shame on iClub! I live in Sheung Wan and I've developed a habit of picking up single-use plastic bottles I see laying around on the street in my neighborhood to put into recycling. Today I picked up a bottle that had YOUR HOTEL name on it!!! I returned it to your reception.

PLEASE 1. offer recycling options at the entrance/exit of your hotel! 2. It is AWFUL that you are giving away free single-use plastic bottles to your guest. I noticed you have something about "green concept" on your webpage. But to really be a green hotel, you should not be giving away plastic bottles like this. Could you please consider to make reusable bottles with your logo on it for guests to use during their stay. It can be just like anything else in the hotel room, where you're charhged if you don't return it. But in any case, then you would have people going out into the world with your logo/brand on a reusable container!!!

I spent yesterday cleaning a beach in Hong Kong with the WWF's Coastal Watch, and the situation with plastics in the sea is VERY DIRE. It's exactly like this bottle I found from your hotel laying on the street that get blown and washed into the sea, which will ultimately harm fish and dirty our seas and beaches. Plastics, like this bottle from your hotel, take hundreds and hudreds of years to breakdown. All because someone drank water for one minute...

iClub and Regal Hotels MUST DO their part!!!

Sept. 03, 2015 - Shark Fin at restaurant
Dear Tim's Kitchen, 

Over the years, I have enjoyed your food very much. Your Sheung Wan restaurant offers a nice atmosphere and your dim sum is delicious, and I've enjoyed meeting my partner for lunch at your Elements Mall restaurant. But I simply cannot and will not go to your restaurant anymore, because I just cannot accept that you serve shark fin. Given that you have such a successful business, you must be intelligent enough to know the problems with shark fin and that is is an unsustainable and unacceptable form of seafood. 

I hope that you may one day drop shark fin from you menu and that I may return again to enjoy your pleasant restaurants and delicious food. I also hope, too, that you will consider following guidelines for sustainable seafood, like that provided by the WWF. 

Thank you!

Best wishes,

Kathryn Davies

Aug. 25, 2015 - Pro-cars proposal! Ack!
To Town Planning Board, regarding Y/H4/10 proposal to delete "tram" from area surrounding Queensway in Central. 
I STRONGLY OBJECT to the word "tram" being deleted from the section as applied for in application number Y/H4/10. This is an outrageous idea for the following points:
- There is a serious issue with private drivers (e.g. Alphard vans) blocking the roadways in the evening time, idling and waiting in this area. THEY should be banned, as they are causing excessive pollution for the luxury and comfort of a small minority.
- The tramways are and important means of transportation for shorter distances and/or for those who need to have a very affordable means for transportation. They are a convenient hop-on-hop-off option.
- I would like to see the tramways IMPROVED. I would love to see newer, more comfortable trams installed, and I would even like to see MORE trams being built around Hong Kong to replace minibuses and bus routes.
- I believe there should be a PEDESTRIAN-ONLY area established with the tramways between Sheung Wan and Admiralty, but in particular in this area around Queensway in Central. Greening/trees and walkways would drastically improve the quality of commuting and life for the thousands that are in this area daily.
- Getting rid of the tram and having motor-vehicle area only would mean more air pollution and not a long-term solution to the traffic congestion problems there. If more space were made for motor vehicles, then more would come and the problem would simply come back.
- Pedestrians make up the VAST MAJORITY of those using this area, and the trams help facilitate their movement. Pedestrians, and thereby trams, should be given the highest priority.

In an era when we are globally facing an environmental crisis, and when we locally are suffering from ailments of air pollution and poor quality of life, such a proposal as this one is appalling and clearly comes from those very few privileged people who only stand for their own selfish benefit and not the greater good of Hong Kong. A decision AGAINST this proposal will be a stand for the environment and those who need reliable, affordable transportation. It will be a stand for a BETTER HONG KONG!

- Kathryn Davies


Aug. 20, 2015 - Zero waste store dream
Dear Vom Fass, 

It's great to see you in Hong Kong, and as one of the first commercial shops to offer Hong Kong residents a way to reduce their waste by reusing bottles and packaging! This is an excellent step forward for Hong Kong. You are in a unique position to encourage and educate the public to reduce their waste, and this is desperately needed. I'm writing, though, because I wish you would offer more products and some more affordable options. I actually do not need many of the products you offer (we get our olive oil directly from Greece, I rarely use vinegars, and don't drink many liquors). What I would find very useful is to be able to buy affordable distilled vinegar that I can use for household cleaning or washing. While it's not within the realm of your business, even offering things like refillable shampoo or soap would be great. 

I hope you might consider expanding your range of products to offer a more affordable and functional option for the Hong Kong public, so that we might be better able to reduce our waste in a more meaningful way. If you're business savvy, then I hope you might even consider opening a shop like Berlin's Unverpackt.

Thank you for your time!

Best regards,

Kathryn Davies