Social Media has powers that go far beyond our reaches. These powers can sometimes be used in negative ways but more often than not, the positive aspects of Social Media win over. Today, we present to you one of the positive aspects by the name of Hannah Chung, a Hong Kong entrepreneur who’s made good use of the powers of Social Media!
Green Monday to Full-Time Zero Waste
In 2016, Hannah Chung started working for Green Monday, a Hong Kong organisation that encourages people to choose meat-free meals on every Monday. The Green Monday company also runs the Green Common chain of shop-cafes. Influenced by the lifestyle promoted by the Green Monday campaign, Chung completely changed her life. She got rid of her disposable plastic items replacing them with sustainable alternatives. Since starting her new job, she produced no landfill waste for a year. Luckily for us, she documented the whole year on her Instagram!
Her Advocacy
Chung visits schools and businesses in the city, educating others on waste reduction and consulting on corporate sustainability. “[For now], it does appeal to the expat market, people on higher disposable incomes,” she says. “I’ve found that there’s such a gap and I really want to reach out to the mass market and spread the word.
“There’s a lot of curiosity. I’ve learned a lot about plastics, the whole system we have in Hong Kong and the reason why we don’t have the incentive to recycle because it’s worth next to nothing. The rebate for two aluminium cans is 10 HK cents, whereas a kilo of plastic is worth less than 50 HK cents.”
For reference, 10 HK cents is equivalent to ~0.2 cents Canadian.
Now is the right time, says Chung, to give up her business development role at Green Monday to launch her own social enterprise so that she can work full-time reaching out to schools and advising businesses on how to intercept waste at the source rather than focusing on recycling strategies.
What IS Zero Waste:
The zero waste lifestyle, if you’re unfamiliar with it, is a lifestyle where you strive to produce as little waste as possible. It says “zero” but really, it is just about trying your best to not produce unnecessary waste. Almost of all our plastic products can be replaced with reusable items that might take a little bit of getting used to, but are ultimately better for the environment.
Thanks for reading! What do you think of these zero-waste posts? Let us know in the comments below!
Related:
Hong Kong Zero-Waste Entrepreneurs
