A large swathe of trash was washed up on Golden Beach in Tuen Mun on Tuesday. Alex Chan posted two photos to Facebook showing the difference on the beach in the space of just 24 hours.
He said the rubbish included labels in simplified Chinese characters, mostly used in mainland China.
Ming Pao noted that medical waste had also been spotted. Reporters from Oriental Daily visited the beach and the neighbouring Cafeteria New Beach on Tuesday afternoon and found the trash on the two beaches had been cleaned up.
However, some rubbish remained between the two bays. A cleaner on site told the newspaper that she noticed the trash at 6am and had cleaned up 18 truckloads-worth. She said she expected it will take a few more days to clear the area entirely.
She added that trash often washed up during summer time when the wind changes, though the amount which appeared on Tuesday was greater than usual.
One commenter asked: “This problem has existed for a long time, did the Hong Kong government seriously try to fix it?”
“Clean-ups Hong Kong is merely solving a small part of the issue, it does not solve the root of the issue,” said another commenter.
Lamma Island
During a 30-day clean-up campaign, three people filled two bin bags with rubbish in Yung Shue Wan, Lamma, on Tuesday.
“There is a large band of trash in the west lamma channel that has been ‘dislodged’ from waterway that is currently causing this mess. Hoping that this will change before the weekend,” Lin Zhang said in a Facebook post.
In July last year, an “unprecedented” amount of trash appeared along Hong Kong’s shores and harbours.
Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd says that much of the rubbish originates in Hong Kong, though some is washed down from China along the Pearl River Delta.
Last August, trash also washed up on many of Hong Kong’s beaches after Typhoon Nida struck the city.
Dozens of volunteers initiated their own cleanup campaigns along the city’s beaches and bays.
The European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao together with the Italian Chamber of Commerce are organising a beach clean-up on September 23. Around 100 activists and diplomats are set to raise awareness of environmental issues and collect waste.
