Hong Kong storms expose city’s plastic pollution problem, with beaches closed after huge piles of rubbish are washed ashore
- Large clean-up operation needed as Typhoon Kompasu and Tropical Storm Lionrock return rubbish dumped in sea to city’s shores
- Silverstrand and Trio beaches in Sai Kung among those closed until further notice by leisure department
Hong Kong’s massive sea pollution problem has been exposed once more, with the two tropical cyclones that battered the city in the past week dumping piles of rubbish on its beaches and coastline.
A solitary cleaning contractor on the beach, one of several closed until further notice, told the Post the government had yet to deploy plans for a large-scale operation to clear the waste a day after the typhoon skirted the city.
“I’m just doing the best I can to put the rubbish in one place,” she said, adding she had been working alone since 7am.
The rubbish did not deter people from swimming, however, with about 10 people on the beach, and another five in the sea, at around 10.30am.
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Hong Kong shut down by Typhoon Kompasu, second severe storm to lash the city in less than a week
But a man in his 60s, who gave his surname as Lee, said he had decided not to go into the water after seeing all the waste on the beach.