(The Standard P.10
28 May 2013) A lawmakers' panel has said no to the
expansion of the Tseung Kwan O landfill.
The non-binding motion (無約束力動議) at the Legislative Council's panel on environmental
affairs was passed with nine in favor (贊成), four
against and no abstentions (棄權 ) It
came despite a warning from Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam- sing that
without expansion (擴展) of
the landfill, Hong Kong will be overrun (泛濫)
with garbage(垃圾).
Landfill expansion is
a key plank (主要政策) of the 10-year "Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources (資源循環藍圖)" aimed to reduce the rate
of disposable waste (任意處理的廢物) by
40percent on a per-capita basis (人均的(地)準則) by 2022.
Wong insisted (強調) the HK$8.9 billion
expansion, planned since 2003 to include three landfills, is needed even with
recycling.
The government is
seeking funding approval from Legco to expand the landfills in Ta Kwu Ling,
Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O, which are expected to be full by 2020.
The Tseung Kwan O
landfill, which was to be expanded by 13 hectares (公頃),
will be the first to hit saturation point next year or in 2015.
Democratic Alliance
for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmaker Elizabeth Quat Pui-fan,
asked: "Have you even experienced the bad odor (臭氣) suffered by the
people living near the sites?"
Helena Wong Pik-wan
of the Democratic Party said that in South Korea, 20 percent of municipal waste (都市廢物)
is still disposed of in landfills despite 60 percent of it being recycled and
another 20 percent incinerated (燒毁).
"The success that
we can see in Taiwan and Japan has been worked for decades. But Hong Kong in
this early stage (階段) is
working step by step (逐步地)
towards the South Korean model," Wong said.
Insurance lawmaker
Chan Kin-por, who agreed with the government plan, fears the city will face
more trouble if a decision on landfill expansion cannot be made. "We can't
risk putting the city to be surrounded by garbage, it would be a
disaster," Chan said.
Meanwhile, around 20
Tseung Kwan O residents protested outside Legco, urging the scrapping (廢物) of the
landfill plan.
They said the foul (惡臭的 ) smell coming
from the landfill is unbearable, and complained that it has severely worsened
hygiene conditions in the area. Residents warned they would seek a judicial
review (司法審查) against the proposal.
Sai Kung district
councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan accused the environment secretary of
threatening the public, and said the government should find an alternative (替代的) site.
Friends of the Earth
environmental affairs officer Celia Fung Sze-lai called for (需要) more support in general for the
recycling industry.
Candy Chan
The scheme of expansion of landfill is a key plank of the 10-year”Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources”. However, it recently made some residents living in Tseung Kwan O object to the landfill to be expanded which is near their neighbourhood.
回覆刪除The operation of Tseung Kwan O landfill has been since 1994. There were not many public and private housing estates at that time. Nevertheless, the soaring development of Tseung Kwan O new town is a new development area with high density of population and buildings. Some of them are quite near the landfill.
It is bad for the residents to smell the poor odor which is full of their living area. The foul smell coming from the landfill does harm to health, and they may suffer from diseases of the respiratory system, especially the elderly and kids.
The extension of landfill is therefore hard for the Government to go ahead to implement the measure. The Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing even though warned that the problem of a collection of garbage would be worse and worse if the landfill plan could not be passed, some of Tseung Kwan O residents claimed that they would find a judicial review against the proposal. It is difficult for the Government to balance the interest of expansion of the landfill and the satisfied area of people living near the sites. It is a hot potato.
Hong Kong is an international city in the world but it is lagging far behind other Asia countries such as Japan, Taiwan and South Korea on recycling and reducing municipal waste. Some Hongkongers lack a sense of responsible to protect the environment.
How to do to reduce waste? It is time for the Government to provide guideline to educate the public to treasure the resource and recycle. Schools should hold some activities for students on recycle. Teachers should teach the generation the relation of saving natural resources. Make them understand they should be kind to the Earth and it is their responsibilities. Parents should be model for their children about reducing waste on daily living. The Government, teachers as well as parents should together.
On the other hand, seeking other sites for landfill plan that is not efficient to protect the environment, the Environment Bureau should have a policy to help the recycling industry, and to appeal residents to recycle but reduce waste instead.
Kat Chan
It should be:
回覆刪除The Government, teachers as well as parents should together.
The Government, teachers as well as parents should work together.
Teachers should teach the generation the relation of saving natural resources.
Teachers should teach the young generation about the relation of saving natural resources.
Kay chan