Green groups set out to fight garbage in Hong Kong’s country parks
A coalition of five green groups is launching a campaign to persuade visitors to take their rubbish out with them after they visit
As the amount of litter hauled out of country parks hovers around a peak level set more than a decade ago, a coalition of five green groups is launching a campaign to persuade visitors to take their rubbish out with them after they visit.
The campaign, dubbed Tidy Up, Bring it Back, aims to reduce the amount of garbage, and eventually the number of garbage receptacles, in country parks.
Some 3,800 metric tons of trash were collected last year from bins and as litter in country parks, according to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department. The amount – which was up slightly from the 3,700 collected the previous two years and the same as that in 2011 – was the highest since 4,100 metric tons were collected in 2003.
The 11.7 million visitors who tramped through the country parks in the last year on record produced around 320 grams of waste each. That's about equivalent to 40 plastic supermarket bags or 11 bottles of 600 to 750 millilitres.
During observational visits in April, members of the green groups saw waste scattered and rubbish bins overflowing across the countryside, including in Shing Mun Country Park and on Po Toi Island. Used tissues, food wrappers and cigarette butts were some of the most commonly seen pieces of garbage.