Tuen Mun councillors dismiss Wong Kam-sing's landfill-plan sweeteners
Tuen Mun representatives refuse to budge on objections to expansion plan and renew calls for government to address residents' concerns
Tuen Mun district councillors are refusing to budge on objections to expanding the city's biggest landfill, despite the government's efforts to offer concessions.
At a special meeting with Environment Secretary Wong Kam-sing yesterday, councillors said they would continue to object to expansion plans unless the government did more to address the concerns of residents and villagers.
The government has attempted to placate the environmental concerns of Tuen Mun residents with plans including retrofitting rubbish trucks with covers. It has also set up an air-quality monitoring station in the district.
But councillors dismissed the plans as "basic responsibilities", which could not justify an expansion of the 110-hectare West New Territories landfill at Nim Wan.
Wong's ambitious plan to pump HK$1 billion into the recycling industry was also labelled a "diversion".
"Promoting recycling is the sensible thing to do whether there are issues with landfills or not," said Siu Hei councillor Yim Tin-sang. "But coming here and selling us your plans for recycling as a way to reach a compromise on landfill expansion is a mistake."
