Appalled by refuse blight
Being nature lovers, and always looking to discover new trails on Hong Kong Island and in the New Territories, we applaud the Hong Kong Government for having created such a variety of trails and accurate maps leading to them.
Unfortunately, it is clear to us that many walkers when taking a meal break and people having picnics at barbecue sites, are under-educated when it comes to ecology and lack nature awareness.
Despite the fact that refuse bins are plentiful, we see so much refuse along these trails and in the picnic areas, especially on Sundays.
All sorts of things are discarded, such as empty bottles, remnants of meat, barbecue forks, plastic bags and other types of rubbish.
The people who leave all this rubbish behind show a callous disregard towards the environment.
Do they have any right to call themselves 'nature lovers'? Have they any idea of the consequences of their actions and what happens overnight when the wind blows all this rubbish away? This is the sort of pollution which can destroy the earth.
No matter where we come from, we should all think about the future and about the lives of our children and what sort of environment we want them to live in.
We are not ecologists, but it seems obvious to us that at school, children should be taught from an early age about the importance of environmental protection.
We must all understand that our planet will only survive if we are all committed towards looking after the environment.
CECILE and MARC STUDER VERMEIL Mid-Levels
