I've never befriended someone from Denmark, but all the indications are that I should. The Scandinavian country has topped Gallup's poll of the world's happiest nations, living standards and income levels are high, and its government has a reputation for taking care of its people's needs. My overwhelming memory as a tourist was one hot summer day in Copenhagen watching office workers on their lunch break streaming to a downtown cemetery that doubled as a park, stripping and sunbathing naked on the tombstones. Of all the reasons I have to respect Danes, though, the biggest has to be their utmost regard for the world in which they live.
When it comes to environmental policy, Hong Kong should be paying close attention to Denmark. Few countries are as environmentally friendly as the nation of 5.5 million people. It has been working towards fossil-fuel-free energy production since the 1950s and is now a world leader in wind and solar power and electric vehicles. But it's the Danish attitude towards garbage where we should especially be looking.
Hong Kong's small area and high population density means we should have the best waste management practices. The opposite is unfortunately the case, thanks to an unelected government that has a record of putting the interests of a few business conglomerates ahead of public needs, and a bloated civil service in which departments and agencies jealously guard their patches. Rather than far-reaching recycling programmes backed by incineration, we have got three landfills that will have reached capacity by 2018. With a looming crisis, it is only now that authorities are taking steps to build incinerators.
Ever fearful of criticism, yet another public consultation will be launched. Two sites were identified, both in far-flung parts of our city: Tsang Tsui in Tuen Mun, next to the largest landfill and near a power station, and Shek Kwu Chau, a remote island off south Lantau. The latter is the preferred choice, despite being in an environmentally sensitive location that means it will be more expensive and take two years longer to build. There is also the risk of damaging the delicate ecosystem.
Proximity to people would seem to be the government's concern. Tuen Mun residents have long been protesting against an incinerator being built in their backyard. This is despite the latest plants being hi-tech, green and clean, as much about burning garbage as generating electricity and producing material for cement and bricks. They banish the image of incinerators being smelly, smoke-belching monstrosities that are a blot on the landscape.
Taiwanese know otherwise. About 95 per cent of the garbage in Taipei that is not recycled is incinerated at a sprawling 10.6-hectare facility that boasts a revolving restaurant and space observatory near the top of the 150-metre smokestack.