Trash from mainland China ending up on Hong Kong’s shores could be 7 times worse than estimated, green group warns
Earlier study concluded that less than 5 per cent of plastic waste on shorelines was from across border but The Green Earth believes figure could be 38 per cent
The amount of marine litter from mainland China washing up on Hong Kong’s shores could be seven times higher than government estimates, an environmental advocacy group said on Tuesday.
A 2015 study by the city’s Environmental Protection Department on marine rubbish concluded that less than 5 per cent of the trash washing up on local shorelines came from up north.
But new research by The Green Earth on Hong Kong’s shorelines last month suggested the figure could be as much as 38 per cent.
“Our results may only serve as a reference but from the huge discrepancy between our figures and the government’s, it’s clear the government may have severely underestimated the contribution of mainland rubbish in Hong Kong,” project officer Mandy Cheung Wing-man said.
Between April 2013 and March 2014, a government-led working group collected 15,000 tonnes of floating and shore-based marine refuse and found that less than 5 per cent – under 750 tonnes – came from the mainland and the rest was considered domestic.