Q Is it difficult to find an alternative to charcoal?
Few would disagree with your reader (December 31) in the first half of his response to this question in Talkback. Barbecues are a great social occasion indulged in by people the world over, for which there is no substitute.
However, there are substitutes for charcoal and they include bottled gas, which has been in use elsewhere for decades, often on a coin-operated basis.
Introduction of gas barbecues to Hong Kong in public areas is long overdue. Not only would they be cleaner and save the environment, but their use would enable barbecue sites to be extended into larger urban parks is addition to areas of country parks where barbecuing is presently banned on account of the fire hazard.
Introduced gradually, gas barbecues would be taken on board by the public just like the other changes we have been gradually introducing in recent years to transform Hong Kong into a clean and modern city.
While our urban barbecue sites, with their concrete paving and very basic charcoal pits, do have the advantage of confining their users along with their rubbish to a relatively small area, they are outdated and a complete disgrace.
