How Hong Kong’s waste problem is becoming a crisis after decades of government foot-dragging
- From collecting rubbish to processing it to persuading people not to create it in the first place, the city lags far behind others in the region
Not long ago, Hong Kong’s rubbish had potential. During the 19th century, it formed the foundation of an ever-expanding metropolis, used in land reclamation or as fertiliser on farms.
Of course, back then our waste consisted of little more than leftovers and scraps, road sweepings, rattan, rags, glass and debris. But that changed in the 1960s.
As the rapidly industrialising city swelled to more than two million people, waste became increasingly toxic, with more plastic waste and industrial sludge. The city needed a landfill.
In 1960, the government opened Gin Drinkers Bay on a harbour in Kwai Chung, where Tanka fishing junks were replaced by deliveries of 3.5 million tonnes of the city’s waste, until the site’s closure in 1979.
As each subsequent decade passed, Hong Kong’s population grew by more than a million. Incinerators came and went, 13 landfills were dug, while three more mega-sized dumps were built, all to absorb the rubbish of an increasingly rich, convenience-oriented society.
