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■有指打鼓嶺垃圾堆填區將「命不久矣」。 資料圖片
政府26日向立法會工務小組委員會申請撥款擴建3個堆填區，其中將軍澳堆填區計劃因支持票不足而暫時撤回；打鼓嶺及屯門堆填區擴建申請，亦因會議時間不足未能表決。事實上，堆填區飽和迫在眉睫，但在選舉政治現實下，擴建遭遇重重阻力，凸顯民粹主義抬頭，政府施政更趨棘手。妥善處理垃圾問題需要全港共同承擔，政府須下決心做好減廢、回收的規劃和落實，市民更應提升環保意識，減少浪費，避免香港淪為「臭港」。
3個堆填區一併擴建，具有策略性需要，發揮一起分擔全港垃圾的作用。如果放棄任何一個，勢必加大其他堆填區負擔。香港的人均垃圾製造量驚人，每人每天達到1.36公斤，是日、韓市民的一倍半，居全球之冠。香港一直依賴堆填區來處置垃圾，當局未能把已訂定的廢物處理規劃落實，令香港廢物管理滯後十多年。環境局推出《香港資源循環藍圖2013-2022》，列出香港未來10年的廢物管理路線圖，訂立明確的指標和時間表。政府和市民都應正視垃圾處理形勢嚴峻，是時候攜手下定決心推動廢物管理規定的落實，扭轉本港環保意識落後的局面，防範本港垃圾問題出現災難性的後果。
Burden of waste treatment must be shared by the entire community
On 26 June, the Hong Kong government sought approval from the Public Works Subcommittee of the Legislative Council to request appropriation for extension plans of three landfills in the territory. Among these plans for landfill extension, the Tseung Kwan O Landfill plan was temporarily withdrawn due to insufficient supporting votes, and for other two, namely, Ta Kwu Ling Landfill and the Tuen Mun Landfill plans, voting was deferred as there was not enough time for discussion. In fact, the landfills are on the brink of reaching their maximum capacities. Nevertheless, marred by the reality of electoral politics, extension of the landfills has met with obstacles, which clearly demonstrates that the rise of populism has made public administration more and more difficult. Properly handling waste disposal is a responsibility that must be shared by the entire community of Hong Kong. The government has to have the determination to accomplish the planning and implementation of waste reduction and recovery, while the general public should maintain a higher awareness of environmental protection and reduce wastage. If not, Hong Kong would end up being a 烞tinking harbour*.
Expanding the three landfills at the same time is a necessary strategic step and will be a manifestation of a collective step taken by the entire community to share the waste problem in Hong Kong. If any one of the plans is dropped, the burden on the other landfills will certainly be increased. Waste generation per capita in Hong Kong is shockingly great, reaching 1.36 kilogram of waste per person per day, a level which is 1.5 times of the levels in Japan and Korea, and rated the highest in the world. Hong Kong has been relying on landfills in dealing with waste disposal. Due to the failure of the authorities to implement the waste treatment plan that has been formulated, waste management in Hong Kong has lagged behind for more than 10 years. The Hong Kong: Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022 issued by the Environment Bureau has detailed the road map for waste management in the coming 10 years in Hong Kong with clearly defined indices and timetable. The government as well as the citizens should look into the acuteness of the local waste problem seriously. It is time the government and the people made up their minds and joined hands to implement waste management initiatives and to reverse the situation that Hong Kong is falling behind with the awareness of environmental protection. Only in this way can the catastrophic consequences of waste problem be prevented in Hong Kong.（節自香港文匯報2013年6月27日） ■Translation by Tung-ming [tungming23@gmail.com]
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