The beauty of recycling
Fit tingly, the Nobel Peace Prize this year went to the UN World Food Programme. It is the vulnerable sections of society that suffer the most during a major societal upheaval, such as the sweeping health crisis the world is going through at the moment. And that’s when the good work done by humanitarian organizations who come to the aid of those in need of succor becomes even more significant and worthy of notice. Rather than giving the medal to an individual, the Nobel Committee, commendably, chose to turn the spotlight on the many anonymous WFP workers who came to the aid of those in dire need of sustenance in the time of a pandemic.
Hong Kong , too, has its share of individuals and organizations who have been working quietly toward getting food to the homes of the poor, infirm and elderly. One such is the Ever Green Association. It is their mission to go looking for discarded fruits and vegetables in Hong Ko n g ’s w e t m a r k e t s . T h e food they are interested in may look slightly wilted but is often wholly, or at least partially, edible. Food that buyers don’t want and vendors are eager to get rid of is collected by EGA volunteers for distribution.
Students from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Hong Kong — some of whom come from as far as Harbin and Pakistan — have joined the food-recycling program running since 2008, although the collaboration with the Western Wholesale Food Market was launched only in April 2016. Over the past 40 months, the EGA collected 360 tons of fruits and vegetables from the WWFM — approximately 9 tons every month.
Their efforts took on an extra layer of beneficence this year. Senior residents who have been advised to not venture out if they can help it as a safety measure against the spread of the novel coronavirus must have been pleased, and relieved, to see the masked faces of EGA volunteers who turned up at their doors, pushing the trolleys laden with food that they can use.
While everyone loves fruits and vegetables that look so crisp and taut-skinned that they could have been plucked from refrigerator adverts, the primary function of food is to nourish and sustain life. As in many other spheres of life, appearance matters less than functionality in this case.
The good Samaritans of EGA and their fellow food rescue warriors deserve our thanks for drawing attention to the beauty of recycling . Whoe ver said beauty was skin-deep might want to have a rethink.