While accident rates have fallen over the past decade, the numbers remain sticky. The mentality prioritising speed at all costs must change.
Impressive strides have been made in improving facilities and raising incentives for recycling, but these do not cover household food waste. This is a problem, because food makes up a third of Hong Kong’s total landfill waste, and is a significant source of greenhouse gases.
Flights were the biggest chunk of my carbon footprint but aviation accounts for less than 2 per cent of global emissions. I could eat less meat and rely on the city’s efforts for cleaner energy but with driving accounting for a third of my footprint, the choice was obvious.
Reports of the city’s landfills being close to capacity are overblown as extensions should be able to accept waste for another decade. Even so, Hong Kong needs answers on recycling and waste reduction to reach the goal of zero landfills and aid the fight against climate change.