ERNEST KAOernest.kao@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 24 September, 2015, 5:28am
UPDATED : Thursday, 24 September, 2015, 5:28am
Greeners Action has collected more than 30 tonnes of vegetables so far this year, helping 26,000 people. Photo: Sam Tsang
Two-thirds of vegetable vendors would be willing to donate their surplus if non-profit groups approached them, a green group study found.
In a survey of nearly 200 vendors at 18 wet markets, Greeners Action found only a third had taken part in donation programmes, and a quarter had never heard of such initiatives.
But 66 per cent were willing to donate if NGOs approached them, 22 per cent would consider it and just 12 per cent declined.
Some 34 per cent claimed no collections were being made, 10 per cent blamed time and scheduling difficulties for not joining in, and 9 per cent did not know how to get started.
Senior project officer Thomas Choi Ka-man said the biggest problem was lack of trust from vendors, a factor that could be changed with the help of better wet market management, which is handled by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
"It's common for vendors to be suspicious about volunteers approaching them for leftover donations," he said. "We have to persuade them we are really an NGO and that we are really taking their vegetables to the needy."
He urged the department to do more to facilitate groups like Greeners to handle donations in wet markets.
"They repeatedly tell us they have no role in helping NGOs collect surplus vegetables at wet markets," Choi said.
Some of those questioned expressed concerns about food safety, and a few were not clear about why donations were being made. Choi said better promotion and public education by the department could help.
Some vendors identified inadequate time, space and lack of assistance from management as some of the challenges.
Lau Hing-keung, a vendor at Cheung Sha Wan's public Po On Road Market, said the department could provide more support in space and logistics. "There's always more that the government can do."
Each night, Lau readies 20 to 30 catties of unsold greens in baskets for collection next to his stall; the surplus is about 1 per cent of his daily stock. Lau said he was one of the luckier vendors as his corner stall was near a service corridor, giving him the extra space to store and sort leftovers.
Most vendors lacked this luxury, he said.
With government funding, Greeners is working with 71 market stalls in two districts. The group says it has collected 31,332kg of vegetables this year, benefiting 26,000 people.
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department said it had been actively involved in a food waste recycling scheme and had helped draft a code of good practices for markets. A spokesman said it would do its best to help NGOs collect food at public markets more conveniently.
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1860834/hong-kong-officials-urged-help-more-market-vendors
