Press Release
So far, the government has not been directly tackling waste management in Hong Kong. The most recent response from the government regarding the odour from SENT landfill was in 2012. Mr Wong Kam Sing, the secretary of the Environment responded towards the issue with odour coming from transport trucks and extension of the current facility. In this statement:
Tseung Kwan O Tunnel and Wan Po Road meet the road layout standards of the Transport Department (TD) and are suitable passages for vehicles registered under the Road Traffic Ordinance.
(Wong, 2)
It seems the EPD is avoiding to deal with the problem. He also states “the EPD (Environment Protection Department) staff patrols the landfill daily”. (Wong, 3)
They also intend to extend the facility, but are willing to take away 13 hectres reserved as the national park. From my speculation, the government is not recognizing the odour might be causing a disturbance to the neighbourhood. also They only stated the measures they are already taking to monitoring odour, but they will not take further measures to tackle the issue. Regarding waste management system’s odour impact, the EPD is going with a mitigation approach rather than coming up with a more sustainable solution.
Waste Management Plan
Moreover, the government released a document named “Sustainable Waste Management in Hong Kong” that addresses the issue (government). At the time the document was written, the government states 52% of our waste is repurposed, 80% of households are covered by the source separation of domestic waste program, and there are Eco parks available for environmental and recycling industries to rent out the space for collecting refuse. They also assured that:
- Most of our recyclable waste is exported
- Building regulations to provide refuse storage and material recovery room on every floor so residents can participate in recycling.
- 20 hectare of ecopark rent out for recycling and environmental industries
- There are refuse collection points, refuse transfer stations, voluntary waste recovery program, scavengers, recyclable materials, export to maximize waste recovery
- 732 buildings have signed up for source separation in commercial and industrial sites
- 5000 sets of recycling bins are distributed for free to residential, commercial and industrial sites
- they are working with district councils to discuss waste reduction on a district level, provide funds for non-government organizations to organize waste reduction and environmental protection activities
- Creation of Waste wise logo to award buildings on reducing waste
- There is a battery recycling program available
- There is a Recycling helpline available
It is clear the goal here is to reduce overall production of waste. While this is useful, Hong Kong is still lacking a long-term solution of waste management. This type of reactionary response towards environment related issues are a common trait of the local government.
Personal suggestion
The distance and distrust between the government and the general public weakens people’s incentive to recycle. There is an assumption with the general public that the sorted out waste (plastic bottles, glass bottles, paper) just ends up in the landfill. An article from Hong Kong Free Press investigated the recycling regime and found that the government actually recycles the material. There is currently 60% of waste paper that is recycled. The rest of the paper that goes to the landfill is made up of tissue paper. The article also stresses we should put more focus on recycling without contamination, which is a similar stance to the government’s press release. However, this distrust is not unjustified. When I was a part of the Green Committee in student council in Hong Kong, one of our assignments were to investigate the waste management system within our school because we wanted to become more sustainable. However, we found that all the paper we sorted out was dumped to the same truck along with compost and general trash. Whether that is the school or government’s incompetence, it shows there is a problem with distrust between institutions, government, and general public. This weakens the public’s motivation to get involved with reducing waste.
Other than that, there is a lack of appreciation in the general public for natural environment in Hong Kong. As I’ve mentioned earlier, Hong Kong’s residential area is made up of Resettlement Estates and 40-storey high rises. The way that Hong Kong is built separates people living in the city with nature. It’s a fundamental issue with urban planning that makes people feel like they are not connected with the environment, which means they don’t need to take care of it.
Other than that, sorting out compost from general trash is something that is very uncommon. Most people don’t know about the importance of this, and the government does not provide infrastructure for people to recycle their compost. I believe there is a need for higher transparency such as posting transport truck schedules, letting the public know what their trash is made out of, and providing government or institution approved choices in consumption. For example, here in Vancouver we have the Ocean Wise label, which informs and reminds the consumer what they are purchasing. There is a lack of environmental responsibility because there is a lack of presence. The government needs to have a stronger stance and work with local businesses to let people know about the waste problem.