Shek Kwu Chau Incinerator

A Junk in Victoria Harbour as smog veils the city. 

I love Hong Kong. Honestly, I really do. No other city in the world has quite the mystique that Hong Kong does. It is a fascinating mixture of East and West, bustling, busy, dynamic, exotic and undeniably cosmopolitan. It touts itself as Asia’s World City and mostly I feel that is an apt title. But for a city that is so very advanced it is also so incredibly backwards. Business drives this city. BIG Business. And as is often the case, business, particularly BIG Business comes at the expense of the environment.

The government is very happy to lay Hong Kong’s air pollution problems on what gets blown over the border and that to some extent is very true. But for a city that is as cosmopolitan as Hong Kong, it lacks some of the simplest environmental initiatives.  While HK may not be able to control what blows down from China it can certainly control pollution of its own creation. Roadside pollution is a big issue but Hong Kong only recently introduced vehicle idling laws and honestly they are woefully inadequate. Three minutes is a long time for a vehicle to idle and the fines are small. There are no emission regulations and as a result many vehicles are poorly maintained and heavily polluting. When the power company proposes a rate hike the government responds be offering a rebate to consumers, who would be better served in learning to reduce power consumption (including myself). Faced with a growing population and the garbage it generates, instead of promoting waste reduction measures like recycling and composting, the government proposes to build a super incinerator in an environmentally sensitive area.

Shek Kwu Chau, the site of the proposed incinerator, is an island located near Lantau Island and Cheung Chau. It is uninhabited except for a Drug Rehabilitation Centre and you need permission from the government to get there. Its waters are home to dolphins that are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and pollution. The incinerator project requires extensive land reclamation that will increase the stress on these already fragile animals.  Why the government would propose to build an incinerator using, from my understanding, outdated polluting technology on an environmentally sensitive area, in a city with already poor air quality, with no existing transportation links to move the garbage and with no public consultation makes little sense to me. But then I am just one woman. I am not Big Business and I suspect that Big Business is behind this project.  However I have a voice. It may a small one, but it is still a voice and I believe we can stop this project.

Please visit the following sites for more information and to find out what you can do to stop this project: 

Living Islands

Green Power

Petition to Stop Incinerator