Hong Kong Facing Monumental Waste Crisis With Disposal ...

It revealed that each Hong Konger sends an average of 3.37 pounds of municipal solid waste to landfills every single day in 2018. In total, this ... HomeHongKongHongKongFacingMonumentalWasteCrisisWithDisposalRatesHighestEver HongKongFacingMonumentalWasteCrisisWithDisposalRatesHighestEver HongKongPlasticPollutionRecycling BySallyHo PublishedonNov28,2019 LastupdatedJul19,2021 338  1   339Shares5MinsRead HongKonghasforyearsbattledahugewasteproblem.Now,themostrecentfiguresreleasedbytheEnvironmentalProtectionDepartment(EPD)indicatethatit’sgettingevenworse:therubbishdisposalrateperpersoninHongKonghasreachedtheworstlevelssincerecordsbeganin1991.WhilesomeofthiswastewasattributedbyTyphoonMangkhut,whichbatteredthecityin2018,wecannotignorethepoorrecyclinginfrastructureandthrowawayconsumerculturethathasfuelledouroverflowinglandfills.Inthewakeofthisnews,environmentalactivistsandgroupshavecollectivelypointedfingersatthelackofgovernmentalactiontocombatthecity’s(andtheworld’s)wastecrisis.  OnMonday,theEPDreleasednewfiguresonthecity’slandfilledwaste.ItrevealedthateachHongKongersendsanaverageof3.37poundsofmunicipalsolidwastetolandfillseverysingledayin2018.Intotal,thisaddsupto5.87milliontonnesofsolidwaste,whichincludesdomestic,commercialandindustrialdebris,amarkedincreasefrom5.66milliontonnesintheyearbefore.Thisisthehighestlevelofwastesince1991,theyearwhichrecordsforlandfillwastebegan.  WhilegovernmentalfigureshaveattributedsomeofthegrowthtoTyphoonMangkhut,whichgeneratedlargeamountsofwasteduetofallendebris,brokeninfrastructureandwildlifeloss,evenaccountingforthetyphoon’simpactwouldseetheaveragewastefiguresrisefrom3.1poundsto3.3poundsperpersoneachday.ThisindicatesthatmuchofthewasteincreaseresultofyearsofgovernmentneglectandinactionoverHongKong’swasteproblem.ProgressontheproposedNovemberbilltointroduceawaste-chargingschemewasstalledwhencommitteemeetingswerecancelledduringHongKong’smonthsofsocialunrest.DespitethefactthattheLegislativeCouncil’smeetingshavesinceresumed,therehavebeennoplanstobegindiscussionsontheimplementationofthewastebill.  “Thegovernmenthastotaketheleadbyspeedingupthepassingoftheproposedwaste-chargingscheme,”saidexecutivedirectoroflocalNGOTheGreenEarthEdwinLau.Headdedthatgiventhesharpandworryingriseinwaste,thegovernmenthasnotimetoloseandmusttakeaction“ratherthanshirkingitsresponsibility.” Source:BBC Inadditiontohaltingplansformuch-neededwastecontrollegislation,thegovernmenthasovermanyyearsfailedtoimplementanyeffectiveandaccessiblerecyclinginfrastructuretocombatthecity’snotoriouslylowrecyclingrates.Accordingtothelatestfigures,thecity’soverallrecyclingratestandsatamere30%,downfrom32%intheyearbefore.Whiletheauthoritiesarguethatthisdownfallisduetotheweakexportmarketforrecyclables,greengroupssaythatthecity’sexistinginfrastructureisincapableofhandlingrisingconsumptionratesontopofmainlandChina’swasteimportbansince2018.  “WhenChinastoppedacceptingwasteimports,ourwasteincreasedandrecyclingratesdecreased.Ontheotherhand,thegovernmentneedstoquicklyimplementitscentralisedplasticrecyclingpolicy,”saidenvironmentaladvocacydirectorofTheGreenEarthHahnChu.  ThegovernmentintroducedacentralisedplasticcollectionprogrammeinOctober,whichinitiallyrolledoutintheEasternDistrict,butcampaignershaverepeatedthatitissimplynotenough.Anotherscheme,whichthegovernmentrolledoutearlierthisyear,focusedonfightingthecity’splasticpollutiondisasterthroughreducingdisposablesthroughincentiveprogramsinmajorfastfoodchains.ButgiventhatGreenpeaceresearchersinAprilfoundan11foldincreaseinmicroplasticpollutioninseas,overallwastekeepsrisingandrecyclingisdown,thesemeagreinitiativesfallfarfromthemark.  Totopitoff,themostrecentgovernmentmeasureshaveworkedintheotherdirection,tofurtherhamperthecity’slowrecyclingefforts.Onlymentioningthatthemovewasbasedon“recentsocialcircumstances,”HongKong’slargestwastecontractorBaguio–whoisonlyoneoftwocompaniesinthecityoperatingrecyclingservicesforglassbottles–wasorderedbytheEPDtosuspendthecollectionofglassandwithdrawtheirbinsfromthestreets.  Source:SCMP/EdwardWong NotonlywillthisworktoworsenHongKong’sdismal10%recoveryrateforglass,itincreasesthechancesforusedglassbottlestosimplybedumpedonsidewalksandlefttoshatterintotoo-smallshardstoberemanufacturedandrecycled.Glasspiecescantakeaslongas1millionyearstodecompose,andatthecurrentrateofglobalglassdemand,wearealreadytakingmoresandfromtheearth–50billiontonnes–thanwecanreplenishit.ByremovingtheoptionforHongKongerstorecycleglasspieces,themoveactivelycontributestocontinueddisruptionofmarineecosystemsandmicroorganisms,leavingcoastalcommunitiesinSoutheastAsiainanevenmorevulnerablestatethantheyalreadyaretofloodingrisks.  Inthemidstoftryingtimesforourcity,let’snotallowthedowngradingofenvironmentalissues,whichmustbeprioritisedforecological,socialandhealthreasons.Thisissimplynotthebestthatwecando–thegovernmentcannotjustexpecttosolveourstaggeringwasteproblembyrelyingonlocalcivilsocietygroupslaunchinitiativesandincentiveschemestochangeconsumerhabits.Wecontinuetobedeprivedofcity-wideadequatefacilitiestorecycleplastic,thereremainsnoactiononbusinessestocutunnecessarypackagingandfoodwastethroughoutthesupplychain,wasteregulationshavebeenstalled,andglassrecyclingisnownon-existent.Individually,weoughttoreflectonourdeeplywastefulconsumercultureaswell. LeadimagecourtesyofUnsplash. 338  1   339Shares hkprotestglassrecyclinghkprotestrecyclinghkprotestshkwastecrisishongkongglassrecyclinghongkonggovernmenthongkonggovernmentenvironmentalprotectiondepartmenthongkonglandfill SallyHo 2711posts SallyHoisGreenQueen'sresidentwriterandleadreporter.Passionateabouttheenvironment,socialissuesandhealth,sheisalwayslookingintothelatestclimatestoriesinHongKongandbeyond.Along-timevegan,shealsohopestopromotehealthyandplant-basedlifestylechoicesinAsia.SallyhasabackgroundinPoliticsandInternationalRelationsfromherstudiesattheLondonSchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScience. PrevPost UKIndustrySustainabilityProgrammeFoodMadeGoodLaunchesInHongKong NextPost EcoChristmas:10WaysToWrapYourChristmasGiftsSustainably Youmightalsolike PlasticPollution PlasticWrapCreatesMoreFoodWaste,StudyFinds PlasticPollution CanCoca-ColaEverReallyGoSustainable? 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