Population density
To look at the root of waste generation, it correlates directly to high population density, high consumption power, and urban planning. The population growth started after World War 2, when many previous occupants are returning from China to Hong Kong. The population increased from 600,000 to 2.3 million from 1945 to 1951 (Wong, 27). However, the most devastating and defining event was the infamous Shek Kip Mei fire in 1953, which left 53000 people homeless overnight. This forces the government to react quickly to solve this crisis, which led to the emergence of Resettlement Estate policy. These estates comprise of 40-storey high rises with compact apartments that are meant for lower income groups. This policy was meant to relieve the Shek Kip Mei crisis as well as increasing squatters problem. Though the policy managed to move old squatters out of their estate, many new ones poured in. In the years of 1954 to 1964, number of squatters increased from 300,000 to 600,000 (Wong, 29). The increasing population pressure pushes public and private sectors to build more compact resettlement estate to house people quickly.
The continuous instability in China led to many immigrants pouring into Hong Kong. In 1949, Mao Zedong came to power and established People’s Republic of China. From that year onwards, movements such as The Great Leap Forward, The Great Famine, The Cultural Revolution, and other disastrous policies left China in a state of fear, poverty, and hunger. Many saw Hong Kong as a place of opportunities and prosperity, which attracted them to move to the city.
Consumption
Since Hong Kong has been a British colony from Treaty of Nanking in 1842, the fishing harbour was slowly developed into an international city with many foreign investors and headquarters. Currently, 7% of Hong Kong’s population is made up of foreigners (Mathews, 299). This creates a population with high consumption power and unique construction of cultural identity. As Mathews described it, “Hong Kong is a melting pot of Western and Oriental cultures”. There is constant pressure and assumption amongst the local population that the more “sophisticated” their consumption patterns are, the higher they will advance along the social hierarchy. Many Hong Kong people feels the need to differentiate themselves from Daaihluhyahn, which is a negative term used to describe Chinese people from mainland. is the leading cause to high consumption power in the local population (297). Combining the pressure of advancing the social hierarchy and defining themselves from rest of China in the local population with the range of choices offered to 7% of Hong Kong’s expatriate population, Hong Kong is a city with high consumption power. This is the driving force for waste generation and mismanagement in the city.