Taking out your neighbor's trash

By Zhang Yiwei Source:Global Times Published: 2013-11-20 20:58:01

Sheds collapse after a fire in the Ta Kwu Ling landfill in Hong Kong on November 9. Photo: IC

Sheds collapse after a fire in the Ta Kwu Ling landfill in Hong Kong on November 9. Photo: IC



Complaining of sore throats and headaches, residents in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province, said that their city stank like "burning plastic bags" on the night of November 8.

The foul odor, which lasted until the next morning, was found to have emanated from a burning trash recycling plant 1.5 kilometers away, in neighboring Hong Kong.

Despite the fact that the city's official environmental monitoring figures showed that there were no elevated levels of harmful airborne pollutants, Shenzhen residents were alarmed, and their fury was squarely focused on their neighbors' trash.

In addition to the recycling plants, two landfills with a combined total area of 171 hectares are operated by the Hong Kong government right near the border.

Deputies of Shenzhen's People's Congress are proposing that the Hong Kong government should shut down the landfills and recycling plants along the border as soon as possible, as well as reevaluate the criteria used for site selection. They are also calling for a system that would facilitate information exchanges on environmental issues between Shenzhen and Hong Kong, as such issues have no border.

Another request is that the Hong Kong government should take Shenzhen into consideration when making decisions involving environmental issues. But as yet, these requests have yet to turn into real policies.

Stinky dispute

Ao Jiannan, a resident and environmentalist in Nanshan district in Shenzhen, just across the river from Hong Kong, told the Global Times that he can always see the "rubbish mountain" of landfill across the bay and that it has become alarmingly large in recent years, with a constant stench wafting over to nearby residents' homes.

"This is not appropriate. The border area in Hong Kong is desolate, but in Shenzhen, just across the border, it's a thriving urban location," Ao said.

The population of Shenzhen is more than 10 million, while Hong Kong has about 7.2 million residents.

The plethora of private trash recycling plants also cast a smelly shadow on the area.

Lau Yiu-shing, head of the Hong Kong Recycle Materials and Re-production Business General Association, told the Global Times that many of the plants are located very close to the border as the rent is relatively low for the people living there, but as the price of water is expensive, the plants, which can have piles of flammable electric trash, don't have sufficient fireproofing facilities.

"Once they catch fire, it can take a long time to put out and the harmful air generated by the fire can easily affect nearby Shenzhen," Lau said.

In one example, a recycling plant in the area caught on a fire and affected neighboring plants in December, 2012. It took firefighters seven hours to put out the blaze.

The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region told the Global Times that they do not have statistics on the total number of the recycling plants as they were not constructed by the government, and that the supervision over these plants should be in accordance with the fire control regulations.

 The Fire Service Department in Hong Kong did not respond to enquiries from the Global Times as of press time.

Environment without borders

Ao has met with members of Hong Kong's Legislative Council and discussed Shenzhen's proposals, in an effort to inform them of public opinion in Shenzhen.

"Besides the reevaluation of the site selection of the landfills, we hope that the Hong Kong government can at least inform us about their decisions on projects involving environmental issues," Ao said.

In July, Hong Kong announced plans to expand the two landfills, which stirred up resistance from Shenzhen residents. The EPD responded by saying that their environmental assessment work only covers Hong Kong, the Nandu Daily reported. Hong Kong residents near the landfills also protested against the plan. In the end, the expansion proposals were shelved.

A similar case occurred in 2008, when Hong Kong announced plans to build an incinerator in an area near Shenzhen, sparking controversy that Hong Kong authorities failed to consult with Shenzhen residents.

"It's always us taking the initiative to protest every time. Hong Kong never informs us about their plans," Ao said, noting that Hong Kong chose these spots as they are far from the downtown area and to reduce the harm to most residents, but those are also the reasons why Shenzhen residents don't want them nearby.

Yang Qin, a deputy of the Shenzhen People's Congress has submitted the proposal to the congress and is waiting for other deputies to sign, the Shenzhen Daily reported, noting that the procedures involved in ensuring the proposal reaches Hong Kong authorities are complicated.

The proposal must be passed along by several city and provincial departments, before forwarding it to the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, which would be the organ to get in contact with Hong Kong authorities. The response then needs to follow the same process in reverse.

"We should really have a communication and cooperation system so that Hong Kong will take Shenzhen into consideration on issues that influence Shenzhen residents," Ao said.

Lau Wong-fat, a member of Hong Kong's Legislative Council, who attended the discussion with Ao, told the Global Times that Hong Kong and Shenzhen should collaboratively seek solutions regarding issues related to the interests of the people in the two regions through easily-accessible communicative ways, such as setting up a Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong.

"A cross-regional coordinating organization should be set up, as environmental issues are no longer isolated," Ma Jingren, a professor from the College of Management at Shenzhen University, told the Global Times, noting that the two regions have been becoming more integrated, and that this is significantly affecting the lives of local residents.

Ma noted that as the integration is speeding up due to increased development, a coordinating organization that handles urban planning and infrastructure should also be established, and that appeals from Shenzhen residents should be reflected in decisions made by Hong Kong authorities.

"Moreover, as Hong Kong is a highly autonomous region and uses different systems from the mainland, Shenzhen should be authorized by the central authorities to enjoy greater autonomy in communicating with Hong Kong, thus strengthening the integration and better serving people's livelihoods," Ma said.



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