Press Releases
Use of eco-friendly coffins in HK encouraged
In light of the associated reduction in social costs, the Government considered
that the use of eco-friendly coffins should be encouraged to benefit the society
at large in the long run, particularly in light of the ageing local population,
a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said today (March 1).
The Government welcomed comments and views on the practicality issues relating
to the use of eco-friendly coffins in Hong Kong, which would be conducive to
constructive discussion on the subject, the spokesman said in response to recent
comments from the trade.
"In this regard, we seek the support of members of the funeral trade in
embracing the development.
"We understand that changes to long-time practices take time to adjust. We
believe shifting to the use of eco-friendly coffins is set to benefit the
society at large, including the bereaved families," the spokesman said.
Globally, it is expected that the use of eco-friendly coffins will become more
popular in light of associated environmental benefits. The use of wooden
coffins, which require large pieces of timber and require more fuel during
cremation, is not helpful in alleviating the environmental problem. According to
the latest estimation, approximately the size of a football pitch of primary
forest is torn down every minute.
Locally, it is expected that the use of eco-friendly coffins will bring about
savings in energy used for cremation, further decreasing social costs of
funerals and generating lesser toxic gas during combustion. The cremation time
of an eco-friendly coffin is shorter than that of a wooden coffin by about 26
minutes. As a result, waiting time for cremation is expected to shorten from 15
days to 14 days.
The spokesman expected that more varieties of eco-friendly coffins with
different designs, structures and at different prices would become available and
introduced into Hong Kong, offering bereaved families more choices that would be
decent, economical and environmental-friendly.
Ends/Thursday, March 1, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:43
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