Hong Kong has a monumental waste problem - BBC Future

It has already cycled through 13 landfill sites, which are now being repurposed as parks, golf courses, and sportsgrounds, with just three sites ... MenuLoadingInDepth | PollutionHongKonghasamonumentalwasteproblemShareusingEmailShareonTwitterShareonFacebookShareonLinkedin(Imagecredit:Alamy)ByDavidRobson27thApril2017By2020,theregion’slandfillsiteswillbefulltoburstingwithrubbish.Whatcanbedone?WWhenIfirstmeetChanKingMingattheChineseUniversityofHongKong,itisdifficulttoimaginethattheregionisfacinganenvironmentaldisaster.Wearespeakingonacrispspringmorning,intheleafyuniversitycampusinHongKong’sNewTerritories.Betweenthetrees,Icanseetheseaglisteningunderthegazeofthecity’stowerblocksandthesteepclimbofthemountainsbehind.Thereisnotasinglediscardedplasticbottleorusednewspaperinsight.Butappearancesaredeceptive.HongKongmaybecleanonthesurface,butitspublicservicesarestrainingtokeepalidonitsrubbish.Despiteattemptstocleanupitsact,theregionproduced3.7milliontonnesofmunicipalwastein2015–thehighestfigureforfiveyears.Ithasalreadycycledthrough13landfillsites,whicharenowbeingrepurposedasparks,golfcourses,andsportsgrounds,withjustthreesitesremainingopen.Atthisrate,itwillonlybeamatterofafewyearsbeforethosetoobegintooverflow.“IfHongKongcontinuesinthisway,wewillreachbreakingpointby2020,”saysChan–anestimatesupportedbyHongKong’sownEnvironmentalProtectionDepartment.HongKong couldbeawarningformanyothercountries,asmoreandmorepeoplefeelthelureofcitylivingChanisbothanenvironmentalscientistandapoliticianfortheNeoDemocratPartyofHongKong,experiencethathasgivenhimanunparalleledviewofthesocial,economicandtechnologicaldifficultiesofsavingthecityfromthisdeluge.“Wearemovinginthedirectionofunsustainableurbanisation,”saysChan.Andthatcouldbeawarningforothercountries,asmoreandmorepeoplefeelthelureofcityliving–meaningthatenvironmentalistsacrosstheworldwillbewatchingHongKong’snextstepsclosely.HongKongresidentsmaysoonhavetopayasmallfeeforeverybagofrubbishtheydispose(Credit:Alamy)Witharoundsevenmillionpeople,crammedintoanareaof2,000squarekilometres(772sqmiles),HongKongiscurrentlythefourthmostdenselypopulatedplaceintheworld(afteritsneighbour,Macau,andSingaporeandMonaco).Withspaceatsuchapremium,thereispreciouslittleroomtobuildnewlandfillsites.HongKong'stourismnowbringsaround60millionadditionalpeopletotheislandsperyearThe‘trashglacier’AsifHongKong’sownwastewasn’tseriousenough,itsbeacheshavefacedanincreasingdelugeofrubbishbysea.Environmentalistsareunsureofthesource,butitseemstocomeperiodicallywithchangingweatherpatterns.“WecouldbegettingstufffromTaiwancomingdown,andthePhilippinesandVietnamcomingup,”saysWoodring.ItmayalsobeflowingfromMainlandChina –possiblythroughillegaldumpingorseasonalfloodsthatwashedrubbishintotheseaalongthePearlRiverDelta.“AlotofstuffhasChinesewritingonit,butwhereitenteredthewater,youdon’treallyknow.” PeopleinHongKongarealsoincreasinglyconcernedaboutanillegallandfillontheChineseislandcalledWailingding,around20kmsouthofHongKong.Somehavecomparedittoa‘trashglacier’thatkeepsonslidingdownthehillandintothesea.“Thatthingistwentystoriestall,thatwalloftrash.Iftherewasabigtyphoon,andithittherightdirection,thewavescouldcomeintothebottomandcollapsethewholething,”saysWoodring.“ItwouldbeanaturaldisasterforHongKong.”  TheOceanRecoveryAlliancehasrecentlylaunchedtheGlobalAlertapp.Itallowspeopleacrosstheworldtoreportrubbishhotspotsintheirriversandontheircoastlines,whichWoodringhopescouldbringgreaterinternationalawarenesstotheseissuesandencouragelocalcommunitiestotakemoreresponsibility.Simplytyingbambooacrossthewidthofarivercancatchfloatingrubbishandmakeiteasiertocollect,hesays–smallstepsthatmaymakeallouroceansalittlecleaner.HongKong’stourismhasonlypiledonthepressure.Astheregion’sindustriesmovedtomainlandChina,theregionmadeanactivebidtoattractmorevisitorsfromthemainlandtoboostitseconomy.Itnowbringsaround60millionadditionalpeopletotheislandsperyear(nearlyseventimesthepermanentpopulation),witharound70%comingfrommainlandChina.HongKong’scuisineandshoppingmallsarebothamongthekeyattractions,meaningthateachofthosevisitorswillgeneratealotofadditionalfoodandpackingwaste.“Weneedthemtoboostoureconomy,buttherearealsodrawbacks,”saysChan.CompoundingtheseproblemsisHongKong’sstatusasa‘freeeconomy’,whichmeansthatthegovernmentisreluctanttoimposeregulationsthatmaythreatentrade.“It’ssupposedtobethemostfreeeconomyintheworld,sogovernmentofficialstrytheirbestnottointerveneinanywaywithourproductionlines,orconsumerbehaviours,”saysChan.Forthisreason,thereiscurrentlylittlelegislationonproductpackaging,forinstance,oranyothermeasuresthatcouldreducewaste.OperationGreenFenceAlongwithmanyothercountries,HongKonghadonceoffloadedsomeofitsrubbishtomainlandChinaforrecycling.WhileChinesebusinesseswereabletomakeuseofscrapmetals,plastics,andraremetalsinelectronicgoods,italsooftencamewithunusableandcontaminatedleftovers(includingfoodandmedicalwaste)–creatingfurtherenvironmentalissuesforChinesecities.Asaresult,thegovernmentdecidedtobantheimportingofunprocessedmaterials–amoveknownasa“GreenFence”–inthehopethatothercountrieswouldcleanuptheirmaterialbeforesellingthevaluablestuff.Unfortunately,HongKonghasnotyetdevelopedenoughofitsownrecyclingplantstocompensateforthechangingpolicy.“SostuffthatwouldhavebeensenttoChinatobeprocessedisjustbeingputinthelandfill,”saysDougWoodring,anenvironmentalcampaignerandco-founderoftheOceanRecoveryAlliance,whoImeetaftermyconversationwithChan.HongKonghadonceexporteditswastetomainlandChina,butrecentlegislationhasmeantthatitmustprocessitsownrubbish(Credit:Alamy)Theresultisthatdespiterepeatedwarnings,HongKong’smunicipalwastehadcontinuedtogrowoverthelastfiveyears–andthegovernmentwillneedtoactquicklybeforealltheterritory’slandfillshavebeenexhausted.Onebigstepwillbetheintroductionofa“wastecharge”,whichwouldforcelocalstopayaround$0.11HongKongdollars(around£0.01)foreachlitreofrubbishcollected.Thenewlegislation,announcedearlierthisyear,shouldtakeeffectby2019,andtheSouthChinaMorningPostestimatesthatitamountstoaround$33-54HongKongdollars(roughly£3-5)perhousehold,permonth.Thelegistlation’sproponentspointacrosstheseatoTaipeiinTaiwan,andSeoulinSouthKorea,whichbothmanagedtoreducewastedisposalbymorethan30%usingsimilarschemes.HongKong’sEnvironmentalProtectionDepartmentisalsoforgingaheadwithplansfora$10billiondollarincineratoronLantau(thelargestoftheterritory’sislands,towardsthesouthwestoftheregion).Burningthewasteshouldshrinkittoaroundatenthofitssize.Evenso,itcanonlyburnsomuchwaste–about30%ofthecity’stotaloutputoverall,accordingtoChan’sestimates.Thesolutionisfarfrompopularwiththelocals,whoareunderstandablyconcernedabouttheincreasedairpollutionitmaybring.ChanismoreenthusiasticaboutplanstobuildafoodprocessingplantonLantau,whichwouldrecyclewastefromthecommercialkitchensaroundtheairport.HepointsoutthathorticulturistscurrentlyimportalotoftheirgardencompostfromasfarawayastheNetherlands–whereasthedecomposedfoodwastewouldbeanaturallocalsource.Suchplantsmayalsoproducebiogastofuelcars.“Byourroughestimation,we’dneed20factoriesofthatsizetodealwithourfoodwaste,”Chansays.“ButIthinkit’sworthdoing,becauseweneedtorecycleasmuchusablematerialaspossible.”Withoutnewrecyclingplants,HongKongwillstruggletocopewiththerisingtideofwastecomingfromitscitizensandtourists(Credit:Alamy)Theterritorymayalsobenefitfromfurthere-waste‘upcycling’factories,allowingmanufacturerstoextractvaluablerawmaterialsforexport–amovethatcouldfurtherboostHongKong’seconomy.Buttheseschemesneedfurthergovernmentsupport,includingabettersystemthatforcesfamiliesandbusinessestoseparatethedifferentkindsofwaste–food,plastics,glass–atthesource,beforeitiscollected.“Rightnowthat’slacking,”Chansays.Thesheervolumeofwaste,comingfromsomanypeople,makesittoodifficulttosortthegoodfromthebadaftercollection.“Theproblemisthatrightnow,everythingisputinonebag–food,grease,andthenyourpaper,thenyourplastic–andthatneutralisesthevalueofthemall,”saysWoodring.“Evenifyousortwetwastefromdry,it’ssomucheasierforanyonetogetsomevaluefromit.”Woodringwouldalsolikepeopleandcompaniestocalculatea“plasticfootprint”–akintothe“carbonfootprint”forgreenhouseemissions–sothatpeoplearemoreconsciousofthewastetheyarecreating.“Becauseifyoudon’tknowwhatyouhave,youdon’tknowhowtomanageit.”AsChanandWoodringbothpointout,environmentalmeasuresdonotneedtochallengeHongKong’sexistingbusinesses:itcanofferwaystogeneratenewrevenue.Woodring,forinstance,pointsoutthatPacificCoffee(oneofthecity’subiquitousUS-stylecoffeehouses)hasrecentlyimplementeditsownrecyclingscheme,whereyoucanreturnyourusedlidsinreturnforafreerefill,whichhelpsthecompanytocollectrecycledmaterialswhilealsoincreasingcustomerloyalty.Sofar,thesekindsofstrategiesarerareinHongKong,butit’samoveintherightdirection,hesays.Chan’simpatienceisclearthroughoutourconversation:theproblemhasbeenapparentforatleastadecade,hesays,butprogresshasbeenslow,withendlessdiscussionsinplaceofdecisivepolicy.“We’vewastedallthistime.”Asthedelugeofrubbishcontinuestorise,inactionisnownotanoption. -- DavidRobsonisBBCFuture’sfeaturewriter.Heis@d_a_robsononTwitter.Join800,000+Futurefansbylikinguson Facebook,orfollowuson Twitter.Ifyoulikedthisstory, signupfortheweeklybbc.comfeaturesnewsletter,called“IfYouOnlyRead6ThingsThisWeek”.AhandpickedselectionofstoriesfromBBCFuture,Earth,Culture,Capital,andTravel,deliveredtoyourinboxeveryFriday. ShareusingEmailShareonTwitterShareonFacebookShareonLinkedinShareRecommendedArticlesInDepth:TheworstplaceonEarthInDepth:HowtosavethemosttraffickedmammalFutureNow:China’sinternethasovertakentheWestFutureNow:HowsolarmaysaveanuclearwastelandAroundtheBBC 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