https://www.scmp.com/rss/322061/feed Doug Woodring is the founder and managing director of Ocean Recovery Alliance in Hong Kong. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Doug Woodring,David Ketchum Doug Woodring,David Ketchum Take a walk through some of Hong Kong’s most iconic streets and you might notice a puzzling sight: prime retail spaces in Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Tsim Sha Tsui and other areas are papered over with all types of rental advertisements where there used to be a buzz. Out-of-reach rental prices are often a result of a simple human instinct: the desire to hold out for yesterday’s peak prices. For many property owners, accepting a lower rent can feel like a step back, potentially affecting bank... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3333828/vacancy-tax-could-bring-back-hong-kongs-commercial-buzz?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/hong-kong-opinion/article/3333828/vacancy-tax-could-bring-back-hong-kongs-commercial-buzz?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 28 Nov 2025 01:30:10 +0000 Global plastic pollution has finally made it to the forefront of the international agenda, with a United Nations-backed plastic treaty under negotiation for the past two years but with an unsuccessful conclusion in Busan, South Korea, last week. The collapse of the expected final round of negotiations is a cause for concern but UN treaties can require longer negotiation periods to build the needed consensus for approval by all member states. With fast-growing middle classes in emerging economies... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3289525/why-world-shouldnt-give-plastic-recycling?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/world-opinion/article/3289525/why-world-shouldnt-give-plastic-recycling?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Dec 2024 21:30:08 +0000 The global awareness of the scourge of plastic products in their “afterlife” is finally reaching the popular press and communities around the world in a big way. The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that 8 million tonnes of plastic enters the ocean each year from our consumption habits, and Asia is one of the main areas of pollution, due to high populations, heavy rains (which can carry trash from cities to rivers and the ocean), and poor waste management and recycling... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2151873/hong-kong-businesses-plastic-addiction-shows-they?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/hong-kong/article/2151873/hong-kong-businesses-plastic-addiction-shows-they?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Jun 2018 04:00:42 +0000 Those who follow the workings of our global ecosystem – the gatekeeping mechanism for our economy – will know that this month saw the end of another opportunity to greatly improve the future of our planet’s well-being. However, we missed that chance, again. This is about the trade and exploitation of nature, and the way it is governed. In 1975, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), was established to regulate and better manage the trade in... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2038305/much-tougher-regulation-wildlife-trade-needed-protect-our?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2038305/much-tougher-regulation-wildlife-trade-needed-protect-our?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Oct 2016 09:54:03 +0000 The old school of thought was that high oil prices made renewable energy more competitive, but this did not remove the need to also compete with over US$650 billion in global subsidies to the oil industry. Now, with oil at below US$30 a barrel, we have the opportunity of a lifetime to shift investment to the clean energy that is needed. “Big oil” companies are haemorrhaging at the wells, laying off large numbers of staff, and countries are now less inclined to keep those unnatural levels of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1903580/how-low-oil-prices-can-fuel-unexpected-revolution-renewables?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1903580/how-low-oil-prices-can-fuel-unexpected-revolution-renewables?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 21 Jan 2016 03:45:00 +0000 Hong Kong's system of waste management and resource recovery is ill-suited for our city, which has the embarrassing title of being one of the highest per capita waste producers in the world. The current waste system relies on just one option - burying our excesses in landfills, while relying on an unorganised community of cleaners, and elderly and small-scale entrepreneurs who hunt and gather paper, cardboard, metals and other items that might be aggregated for sale to China. This system has... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1859345/hong-kongs-woeful-recycling-efforts-result-mistrust-system?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1859345/hong-kongs-woeful-recycling-efforts-result-mistrust-system?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 18 Sep 2015 08:04:08 +0000 Some 8 million tonnes of plastic waste makes its way into our oceans every year, according to recent reports. That is the same as placing five garbage bags of trash on every foot of the coastline on our planet. And that is just plastic. To put the World Bank's estimates of global municipal solid waste production into perspective, it would be like covering all of California in waste to a depth of almost 10 metres each year. And the scary fact is that some predict this figure will double within 15... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1722450/time-put-our-waste-better-use?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1722450/time-put-our-waste-better-use?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Feb 2015 09:31:40 +0000 As economies and populations grow, so too does consumption. In most countries, the waste generated has outpaced the waste management and recycling infrastructure. This is exactly what is happening today in Hong Kong, where the government has announced a HK$31 billion plan to solve the pending landfill capacity crisis. To solve this problem, we need to play as a team. We need education; the government has to set policies that are long term and transparent; and businesses can engage employees... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1253502/mining-profit-hong-kongs-mountains-plastic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1253502/mining-profit-hong-kongs-mountains-plastic?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 04 Jun 2013 16:00:00 +0000