Rely on ‘Green Mama’ to be on the frontline in Hong Kong battle against waste

“Green Mama” Lam Lai-shan has one enemy in life: waste.

“It’s just unbelievable, the amount of good things being thrown out.

“I once saw a brand new toilet, still wrapped in plastic, chucked at a refuse site. So I asked the cleaning ladies to keep it there for a couple of days while I found it a new owner,” she recalls.

Lam has used her own Tai Po home as temporary storage space to save perfectly functional goods or food from a wasteful end in the landfill. “I get a little overzealous sometimes and my husband tells me off for hoarding,” she laughs.

With a strong desire to connect unwanted items with new owners, Lam first began maintaining a small email network of people who might know those who might know someone who might want such things.

Step by step, her community grew.