Topic > Conflicts based on pollution issues between locals and the Hong Kong government

Conflicts exist between locals and the government. Local communities include residents, particularly those living in Cheung Chau, and some environmental groups. Residents have the utmost concern about their quality of life, since incineration can bring air and water pollution, or even odor pollution into the living environment, they are worried that these pollutions will affect their life. Severe air pollution would lead to various health problems such as lung cancer, asthma or other respiratory diseases, pollutants such as dioxins are highly toxic and cause serious damage even in case of short exposure. And as a result they put people's health at risk. Furthermore, water pollution poses a threat to aquatic life, the amount of marine animals around there may decrease as they may die in polluted waters. This not only causes complications for fishermen due to the decrease in the amount of fish, who catch fewer fish and lower their income resulting in job losses, but also causes controversy for environmentalists. As water pollution would be especially dangerous for endangered species such as the Indo-Pacific finless porpoise, which is facing the extinction crisis. Because gas emissions from incineration can cause air pollution and worsen global warming, many environmental groups oppose incinerator construction. Dredging and land reclamation will also damage one of Hong Kong's best remaining fishing areas, dealing a major blow to fishermen's livelihoods and biodiversity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay On the other hand, the government is mainly focused on the current landfill problem and wants to address it by using an incinerator. Yau Teng-hua, a former environment minister, said Hong Kong needs to build a modern incinerator to meet Hong Kong's municipal waste disposal needs. The government believes that the incineration plant can meet the needs of saturated landfills and can also bring economic benefits. The government believes that working with an incinerator to address the waste problem could be done with other recycling and waste treatment work in order to effectively reduce the amount of waste. Based on the principle of sustainable development, the government insisted on the need to build “the three landfills and the incinerator”. Wong Kam-sing, Minister of Environment, said that "although waste reduction is key, it is still necessary to have capacity for incineration of municipal solid waste." The government believes that an incinerator is an essential element in reducing the amount of waste disposed of in landfill. in the future, as it can reduce waste volume by more than 90% and is one of the most used technologies for treating municipal solid waste before disposal in landfill. The Hong Kong government thus shows its support for the construction of an incinerator. As a result, value conflicts have arisen between the government and local communities.