Public support for plans to tackle waste must be earned
Edwin Lau suggests measures that will build government credibility
The controversy over expanding our landfills and building a 3,000-tonne-per-day thermal waste treatment facility is mainly due to people's lack of trust in the government, rather than any lack of money. No one doubts we have the finances to obtain the cleanest technology that will have a low environmental impact and public health risk.
Although any city needs landfills and incinerators, they form part of a holistic waste management plan, and are less desirable than solutions that avoid creating waste.
Bigger landfills and incinerators can't magically reduce the amount of waste generated. However, waste avoidance policies, especially those with financial penalties, will significantly lower waste generation at source.
Some people say we don't need to extend our landfills or build a treatment plant. They are wrong, as are those who say that if we have bigger landfills and a thermal waste treatment plant, our problems will be solved.
Hong Kong is similar to developing cities in that we don't have every aspect of a holistic waste management process in place.
The government knows that waste charging, a landfill ban, producer responsibility schemes, and support for the recycling industry are all important and effective policies that will cut the growth in waste and waste disposal rates. Unfortunately, these measures exist only on paper as yet.
The serious delays in implementing all necessary measures mean the government has lost its credibility when negotiating with political parties that could offer support for its proposals.