HKUST Environmental Report 2006 Update

green a n d sustainable campus

has

been maintained by

continual efforts from

our

campus community.

This

report

summaries the achievements

of

our colfective effort

in

2006.

1. Gold WastewiSe Award

In the year of 2006. HKUST was once again awarded the "Gold Waskwi$e Logo" under the Wastewise Scheme

., ,

I. -,..

5i

The targets achieved in this year included :

1.1 Collection of Used Plastic

.:,... .-." _-.. .* I__. "... ... " ^ .

Bottles 9*** . 2 2

There was a huge increase in the amount of used plastic bottles collected

in 2006. The quantity collected increased by three times from 801kg in 2005 to 3,041kg in 2006.

I

,

_{Plastic Bottle Recycling}

I 3.5K -

I , m L

1.2 Collection of Used Items for Charity Purposes

Throughout the year, totally 5,800kg used items were collected and sent to Po L u n g Kuk for charity purposes. This figure represented an increase of 14% by weight when compared with data h m 2005.

Used Item Collection

2.

Waste Recyclinq and Minimization

2.1 The amount of waste paper collected in 2006 had a 3% increase while the number of printer cartridges collected for recycling in 2006 was similar to that of 2005. The total quantities of waste paper, aluminum can and printer cartridge collected for recycling in 2006 were:

Waste paper : 198,410kg Aluminum can : 395kg Printer Cartridge : 1,64210.

2.2 Used CDs and used polystyrene recycling programs continued. A total of 3,755 used CDs were collected by a commercial firm while a total of 2 1 Okg used polystyrene was collected by the Friends of the Earth for recycling. 2.3 In the year 2006, the quantity of food waste collected and

converted to fertilizerlsoil conditioner was 15,400kg. 2.1 The Chemical Exchange Program continues to supply

unwanted chemical reagents to chemical users at HKUST or users at other local tertiary institutions free of charge. In 2006, a total of 40 items were given out.

2.5 Old books sales were organized by the student societies and around 617 old books were sold.

2.6 The StaffAssociation (SA) organized the collection ofused moon-cake boxes for recycling after the Mid-Autumn Festival.

2.7 Rechargeable battery recycling program was launched by the Safety and

L

Environmental Protection Office (SEPO) in May 2006. A rechargeable ,

battery collection bin was set up at the *

!!

recycling waste collection point at the AtriUIll.

2.8 Special collection point for collecting construction waste was set up by the Estates Management Oflice (EMO). 2.9 "Garage Sale" continued to be

3.

Resource

_ _ _ _ _ _

Conservation

- 3.1 3.9- 3.3 3.4 3.5

4.

r

4.1 4.2

5.

r

5.1 5.2 5.3

The third energy performance contract for the laboratory building continues. This reduced 824 Mega Watt Hours (MWH) in 2006. translating into savings of HKS0.8 million and avoidance of 584 tones of CO2 emission.

Energy efficient appliances and energy efficient lighting were purchased.

In staff quarter areas, 372 sets of energy efficient lamps and 61 7 sets of LED exit signs were installed to replace aged counterparts which were less energy efficient. This replacement plus ongoing optimization of lighting by removal of 169 no. of non-critical tubes saves energy expenses by HK$267,000 per year.

Energy saver was added to reduce operating voltage of 30 discharge lamp sets. This helps save HK$16,000 per year. Timer was installed to close fresh air intake damper of indoor swimming pool during night h e . This consequently reduces heat-pump operation and saves HK$32,000 in winter during pool opening period.

Enerqy Conservation

Chaer 2006

Action plan was established for extensive implementation tentatively scheduled for mid-2007.

Indoor temperature for all common areas and several pilot offices has been adjusted to 25.5"C.

Lift drive control of altemative-current, variable voltage, variable f q u e n c y (ACVVVF), occupancy sensors, variable speed drive (VSD), electronic ballast, T5 fluorescent tubes and digital power monitoring meters were adopted resuectively for energy saving and eneEv management

7.

Clean Air

r- .. -. - - ...

I

7.1 Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Certificate (Excellent Class) for the S H Ho Sports Hall (3,412 square meters) was awarded by the EPD in mid-March 2006.

7.2 Annual renewals for IAQ Certificate (Excellent Class) for Lee Shau Kee Library and IAQ Certificates (Good Class) for eight lecture theatres as well as two computer barns were also endorsed by EPD.

8.

Promotion

of

Environmental Protection

I

8.1 The Students' Environmental Interest Group was established in September 2006 with full support from SEPO and the

8.2

the Earth, Dr Joseph Kwan, Director of SEPO, and Dr Samuel Yu, Senior Engineer of SEPO.

The Students' Environmental Interest Group, SEPO and SA j o i n t l y o r g a n i z e d t h e "Collecting Second-hand Glasses for charity and Waste

Reduction Purposes" event from 10 to 16 November 2006. A total of 72 pairs of used glasses and 7 packs of un-used contact lenses were collected for redistribution to

-_

-

--

-

purposes.

Each fan coil unit uses independent direct digital control (DDC) to enable proper matching of spot-moling supply and ad hoc user demand at whaber time and place. Heat pipe was installed to pre-cool intake fiesh air with

students in Hunan Province, China, who could not afford to

purchase their own glasses due to financial difficulties.

8.3 The "clean

our

( h a d n e ' ' event Organized bY EM0 supported by SEPO took place on I3 May 2006. The

has become an annual activity since

2001.

The purpos

this activity is for qualified divers of HKUST to pic

heat bekg absorbed by

exhaust

mdoor air from lecture theatres to minhize energy wastage.

6.

Sustainable

Pructice

Pilot project of solar-lxmsted heat-pump watecheater was installed

at the roof of one student hostel.

The

system uses solar energy for hot water supply to supplement existing boiler system

rubbish dumped along the %

coastline of our campus. Participants included faculty, staff, students and family members. This year, a total

9.

.

Environmental

__ ~

Research Proiects

9.1 A number of environmental research projects were conducted

by colleagues. The scope of these projects covered different environmental issues, including membrane technology for a cleaner environment, environmental catalysis, environmental sustainability and awareness, nanotechnology in energy. solutions to Hong Kong energy usage, air quality, air quality forecasting system. mitigation and control of cooking fume, sustainable urban water management. sustainable sewage management system. treatment and reuse of wastewater. recovery of precious metals from waste effluents. treatment of textile and other wastes, studies on drinking water, groundwater. unsaturated soil, slopes and landslides, marine microbes. toxic metal concentrations in marine shellfish. marine planktonic food webs and ecosystem processes, sub-tropical coastal water and estuarine waters of Hong Kong. performance of rubber dams, tire liquefaction. urban sanitation system and technology, etc.

9.2 Units engaging in environmental studies include:

Atmospheric. Marine and Coastal Environment Program Department of Biology

Department of Chemistry

Department of Chemical Engineering Department of Civil Engineering Department of Mathematics

.

Institute for the Environment

10.

Water Quality Control

~ ... ... .. ... ... ... . ...

10.1 Used cooking oil was colleted from catering outlets for recycling. The total quantity collected by weight in 2006 was 8.876kg.

10.2 SEPO continues to collect water samples from potable water outlets, University's swimming pools and Dental Clinic to help ensure proper provision of good quality water for our campus community.

1 1. Environmental

. ...

Compliance

...

I

HKUST continues to comply with all environmental regulatory requirements applicable to University's operations. These include monitoring of waste water and sea water discharges, hazardous waste management. air emission and environmental noise, etc.

For ful-tho- in fon~inrzon, pleme cont~ict S<ire& tmd Envzronmentul

Protection Office, The Hong Kong Unzversitv o f Srieiire umi Technoioa, Cleur Wirer. Buy, Kowhon, Hong Kong.

9.3 A comprehensn e list of envuonmental research projec