Hong Kong issues dire warning on landfills amid protests by residents

Hong Kong would be swamped with rubbish if its three landfills were not expanded, the environment chief warned yesterday, as Tseung Kwan O residents took to the streets to oppose the plan.

The landfills at Ta Kwu Ling, Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O are expected to hit capacity by 2019. The government argues there is no alternative to expanding them until a planned incinerator, tied up in a legal challenge, can be built.

Environment minister Wong Kam-sing said Hong Kong would be "surrounded by rubbish" if the HK$8.9 billion expansion, planned since 2003, did not go ahead. The Legislative Council's environment panel will discuss the proposal tomorrow.

Sai Kung district councillor Christine Fong Kwok-shan, who represents Tseung Kwan O, said they might lodge a judicial review if the government did not call off the plan. Residents want the landfill closed permanently, saying the smell could be overwhelming and affect their health.

The Tseung Kwan O landfill will be the first to hit saturation point, either next year or in 2015.

About 100 demonstrators marched from Lohas Park to the Tseung Kwan O MTR station, along Wan Po Road.