What can be done about the problem of waste?
It was heartening to see the letter from Mark Chan (Talkback, September 21) and I agree with his comments.
The political ineptitude and lack of modern thinking and solutions to problems in Hong Kong is shocking.
This is a modern and rich society. We are way behind others when it comes to public issues such as electric cars and management of waste, public space, the environment, the arts, the waterfront, air pollution and carbon tax.
Many innovative, simple and necessary solutions exist. Taiwan, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and the European Union are working on such solutions to curb waste generation. Encouraging and even insisting that the public reduces its waste is not something to be debated, but is imperative.
There are solutions such as charging households for the volume of rubbish, encouraging recycling, subsidising the recycling industry and regulating manufacturers so they are responsible for the recyclability of their products.
Creative and simple solutions exist. Why won't the public pay a little more to ensure care for the environment? We all end up paying in the end, via health issues or massive reduction in quality of life. Hong Kong is fast gaining a reputation of being the most expensive place to lose your health.