The Struggle for Sustainable Waste Management in Hong Kong: 1950s–2010s

Abstract

As Hong Kong's landfills are expected to reach saturated conditions by 2020, the city can no longer rely on landfilling alone as the sole solution for waste treatment in the long term. Drawing on five months of archival research at the University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Public Records Office (PRO) in 2016 as well as 17 months of fieldwork conducted between 2012, 2013 and 2016, this article provides a muchneeded overview of why sustainable waste management has always been such a challenge for Hong Kong. Focusing on the city's dependence on landfills and its failure to integrate alternative waste management technologies, namely incineration, into its current waste management regime, we explicate Hong Kong's waste management predicaments from the 1950s to the present day. Through a historical lens, we argue that Hong Kong's waste problems have a historical root and that they are unlikely to be resolved unless the government is willing to learn from its past mistakes and adopt a much more proactive approach in the near future.

From garbage wars to green city: Defining Ukraine's European identity

“…Waste becomes a useful tool in a variety of political conflicts, because waste can become a physical representation of the political claims of a group (Chalfin, 2014; Fredericks, 2018). Waste management can then be an important site of claim‐making, creating novel ways for interest groups to interact with elected or state officials (Wu & Martus, 2021; Fabian & Lou, 2019; Ahmann, 2019).…”

Restructuring municipal solid waste management and governance in Hong Kong: Options and prospects

“…In practice, studies from Fok (2016: 16) and Xiao and Siu (2018: 178) identified convenience consideration, availability of physical infrastructure, technical facilities, and public facilities, as well as on-site implementation and management as contextual factors which are highly correlated with sustainable and pro-environmental behavioural change in MSWM. In respect of the physical infrastructure, technical facilities and availability of public facilities, some scholars have addressed some connected factors, including: the perceived needs for the facilities concerned; the perceived impacts and risks; the perceived fairness of the process; and the public’s trust in those who make decisions (Fabian and Lou, 2019; Lam and Woo, 2009). Regarding the implementation and management, it is essential to look through the process of carrying out, accomplishing, fulfilling, producing, and completing a policy (Pressman and Wildavsky 1973: xiii).…”

“…Although panaceas for the MSWM and governance problems are plentiful, history suggests that Hong Kong’s MSWM and governance issues are unlikely to be resolved unless the government learns from its past failures and is willing to adopt a more proactive approach (Fabian and Lou, 2019: 1). It is imperative that the Hong Kong government proactively learns from the past failures, especially in the purview of source separation of MSW collection.…”

“…To create a sustainable MSWM system, the government should select the most advantageous organisational structures for the purpose of building legitimacy and bringing favourable policy outcomes. In Hong Kong, the current MSWM and governance predicament has been brought on by decades of inaction and mismanagement, including a lack of foresight and planning (Fabian and Lou, 2019: 7–8). As such, experimenting with other organisational structures could be considered (Palmer and Kaplan, n.d.)…”

“…It is ridiculous that the FEHD is put in the front line of our city’s waste management. (Fabian and Lou, 2019: 6)…”