hkaVOICES 2018-19

CREATIVE ARTS
The Last Straw
HKA student Andre Chiang takes a stand
on plastic straws
andre chiang’s Story
Concerned about the amount of discarded plastic he saw on Hong Kong’s
beaches, Grade 11 student Andre Chiang decided to take action. Last June,
he wrote an email to Classified pointing out that plastic straws have a
detrimental impact on fragile ecosystems. He suggested that the restaurant
chain move to reusable metal straws both as an environmentally-friendly
choice and as a wise economic move. In his email, he also addressed any
possible concerns about washing metal straws for repeated use.
“I like to make things. It is really fun
getting to see how you make things out of
recycled things that people forget about.
Art is something I want to do when I am
older in school.” — Florence, Grade 4
Little Chefs
Shortly after he hit send, a
representative from Classified replied
to Andre to thank him for his letter.
The letter expressed the restaurant
management’s own commitment
to sustainability, noting that most
of the restaurant’s packaging was
biodegradable. The representative
also agreed that the use of straws
was a hot topic and that they would
give his proposal their consideration
as a part of their larger sustainability
planning process, which was already
under way. Like Andre, many of
Classified’s customers shared this concern and were encouraging Classified
to switch to more environmentally friendly alternatives to plastic straws and
takeaway boxes.
On 1 July, the Classified Group announced that it would no longer use
plastic straws at any of its outlets and that they are making efforts to use
biodegradable takeaway boxes. The news was welcome to many, and
congratulations to Andre for being a part of effecting this meaningful change.
Mandarin
“ 我 最 喜 欢 写 字 还 有 跟 同 学 玩 游 戏 ”
I like to write Chinese characters and play
(Mandarin) games with my friends.
— Jessica, Kindergarten
15