Some 40 people built a small waste mound outside the government headquarters in Tamar yesterday to protest the lack of law enforcement against illegal dumping in rural areas, warning that the movement would be escalated if no action was taken. At the centre of the controversy is a massive illegal waste “hill” reported earlier this month in Tin Shui Wai, which the government says is potentially unstable and dangerous. Protesters included lawmaker Lee Cheuk-yan, Land Justice League founder Chu Hoi-dick, district councillor Paul Zimmerman and affected residents. They created an approximately 80cm high pile of waste – everything from soil, bricks, a toilet seat and mattress springs – gathered from dumping sites across the New Territories, including Tin Shui Wai, Tai Po, Sai Kung and Lantau. “If the government clears the illegal waste hill in Tin Shui Wai, we will clear this small waste mound immediately,” said Chu. Police issued several warnings that if the protesters did not clear the waste before leaving, they could be arrested for violating the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance. Town planners last week confirmed that at least one section of the mound to the east constituted to unauthorised development as it had encroached on green belt land without permission. Hong Kong landlords set to begin concreting illegal waste hill Shortly after the protestors left without heeding police’s orders, police notified the Highways Department, which sent workers to clear the small waste mound. No one was arrested and police are investigating the case. Meanwhile, an environmental group yesterday pointed to another suspected case of green belt degradation over private land, this time about nine hectares in size near the Institute of Education’s Tai Po campus. The area has been used as an open storage site for construction material for years, despite being in land zoned as green belt. Green Sense chief Roy Tam-Hoi-pong speculated this was another “destroy first, develop later” tactic by developers to degrade green belt function and pave the way for building. “Open storage” in green belt is not a scheduled use under the said zoning plan. Recent drone footage revealed a chaotic patchwork of impermanent structures, containers, sheds, construction material and parked buses and excavators. Tam said according to aerial images, the area spanned just two hectares but had since been growing to its current “nine soccer pitches”. At least four plots are owned by a company called Hobman, which lists Wheelock and Company executives Stephen Ng Tin-hoi – who heads Wheelock’s development arm The Wharf – Paul Tsui Yiu-cheung and Peter Pao Zen-kwok as directors. The developer could not be reached for contact yesterday. Hobman had floated a plan to build housing in the green belt in 2014. The Planning Department said it did not have enforcement power in the area. The Lands Department said the cases in question mostly involved old scheduled agricultural lots that were not subject to any land-use restrictions. However, the department said it had found illegal structures on the land and would issue a warning to the landowners. Tai Po district councillor Lau Chee-sing acknowledged the situation had been going on for “10 to 20 years” and from his understanding, landlords were now attempting to take back the land from the tenants.