- Title: Zero-COVID policy adds to Hong Kong's pollution and landfill problem
- Date: 19th April 2022
- Summary: HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - APRIL 12, 2022) (REUTERS) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATION THE GREEN EARTH, EDWIN LAU, WALKING DOWN TOWARDS BEACH IN HONG KONG WHERE PLASTIC WASTE IS PILING UP LAU WALKING ON PEBBLES LITTERED WITH PLASTIC WASTE (SOUNDBITE) (English) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATION THE GREEN EARTH, EDWIN LAU, SAYING AS HE PICKS UP A FACE MASK FOUND ON THE BEACH (PLEASE NOTE SOUNDBITE CONTINUES OVER SHOT 17): "A face mask. This disposable face mask is made of plastic. And over time, it will eventually become micro-plastics, and will get into the ocean." LAU HOLDING UP FACE MASK DISCARDED FACE SHIELD PLASTIC BOTTLE WITH SHELLS GROWING ON IT LAU SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATION THE GREEN EARTH, EDWIN LAU, SAYING: "People living in the quarantine hotels, they are not confirmed cases. They are coming from overseas, so they need to quarantine before they can go back to the community, so what they have used, just like any normal persons, are clean." VIEW OF BEACH PLASTIC BOTTLE FLOATING IN WATER VARIOUS OF PLASTIC WASTE ON BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (English) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANISATION THE GREEN EARTH, EDWIN LAU, SAYING: "Now for the plastic waste in Hong Kong, we throw away about 2,300 metric tonne a day. Just a day. And the plastic overall recycling rate for our plastic scrap is about 11% only. So it's a small percentage. And so the rest, nearly 90 percent of the plastic waste, is either end up in our landfills, or end up in the nature." HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - APRIL 11, 2022) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF VEHICLES WORKING AT THE WEST NEW TERRITORIES LANDFILL IN HONG KONG HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - APRIL 13, 2022) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY ISOLATION FACILITIES AT HONG KONG'S PENNY'S BAY HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - APRIL 13, 2022) (REUTERS) DISTRICT COUNCILLOR IN HONG KONG, PAUL ZIMMERMAN, GOING UP ESCALATOR EXTERIOR OF SHOPS ZIMMERMAN WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) DISTRICT COUNCILLOR IN HONG KONG, PAUL ZIMMERMAN, SAYING: "There are basically no long-term uses for the quarantine facilities that are being built. They've been built very quickly, and so everything is non-standard. The ground formation, the site formation is non-standard, it doesn't comply with any particular building standards we have in Hong Kong. The structures that are placed on top are temporary, so they have a short life-span. And then already we have seen issues, when there is heavy rain, we have flooding issues and so on. So these are really temporary facilities." HONG KONG, CHINA (RECENT - APRIL 13, 2022) (REUTERS) (MUTE) VARIOUS OF DRONE FOOTAGE OF CONSTRUCTION OF COMMUNITY ISOLATION FACILITIES AT HONG KONG'S PENNY'S BAY
- Embargoed: 3rd May 2022 01:40
- Keywords: COVID-zero China Hong Kong isolation masks plastic pollution quarantine waste
- Location: HONG KONG, CHINA
- City: HONG KONG, CHINA
- Country: Hong Kong
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Environment
- Reuters ID: LVA009146813042022RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART VIDEO QUALITY AS INCOMING
Arrivals at Hong Kong quarantine hotels are met with plastic everywhere: Remote controls wrapped in cellophane, pillows and toothbrushes in plastic bags, and food with plastic cutlery.
Hong Kong’s strict quarantine policies -- intended to curb the importation of COVID-19 -- have come under criticism for their impact on the economy and mental health, but environmentalists say they are also hurting the environment by generating waste.
Hong Kong-based skincare entrepreneur Clementine Vaughan, who flew into the city on April 4 this year, spoke to Reuters from her quarantine hotel.
“Every single one of the staff members here wears full PPE (personal protective equipment). You know, the gowns, the gloves, the booties, the hats, and that's every staff member and on every floor," she said.
"All the kind of services that typically you would touch with your hands, like the phones, you know, the remote controllers, everything's been cellophane wrapped."
Hong Kong disposes of over 2,300 tonnes of plastic waste a day, and with a recycling rate of just 11%, according to government figures. Much of waste ends up at one of the city's three giant landfills in distant locations, where dozens of heavy tractors plough the trash before it is covered with tarpaulin.
Anticipating the space at its landfills to run out soon, the government has started the construction of an artificial island with advanced incineration and waste sorting.
The waste can also be seen at Hong Kong’s Cape D’Aguilar, where the stunning subtropical landscape with a white sandy beach is marred by large amount of plastic bottles piling up -- together with face masks, PPE, and rapid antigen test kits with Hong Kong branding.
Edwin Lau, an environmentalist from The Green Earth, said the city’s approach to COVID reflected its lack of environmental awareness. "People living in quarantine hotels, they are not confirmed cases,†he said, urging the government to facilitate recycling or reuse in quarantine hotels.
A government spokesperson said they were aware of a surge in disposable waste since the outbreak of COVID, and urged people to adapt a green lifestyle as far as possible.
Hong Kong remains one of very few places in the world that officially adopts a zero-COVID policy, and in doing so has quarantined tens of thousands of people this year into facilities for COVID-positive and their near contacts.
At Hong Kong’s Penny’s Bay -- a giant isolation facility on the southern edge of the Lantau Island -- mainland construction teams are still operating, as building continues apace.
The cost, scale and unclarity of construction standards of the giant facilities have made them controversial, and environmentalists said they were also contributing to the city’s waste problems. Residents speaking to Reuters confirmed all meals were provided in plastic bags. While the government did not give numbers on current occupancy rates, it said the eventual capacity will be to quarantine up to 50,000 people at the same time.
Paul Zimmerman, an elected district councillor, said the facilities were also wasteful as they were not suitable for long-term use such as public housing. “They've been built very quickly, and so everything is non-standard. The ground formation, the site formation is non-standard, it doesn't comply with any particular building standards we have in Hong Kong.â€
Zimmerman added the facilities would have a short lifespan and struggle to cope with heavy rain.
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