I. Hey guys, do you count how much waste you dispose a day? II. When you go shopping, you use up plastic bags. When you print something, you use up papers. And even when you eat, you leave leftovers behind… Yes, we produce so much waste every day. III. When you throw something away, where does it go? In fact, only 48 percent of our waste is recycled. In other words, the majority is left to the landfills. And hopefully, it would decompose after being buried for like 5 decades or even more. However, according to the waste statistics from the Hong Kong Environmental Protection Department, the solid waste sent to landfill per day is around 9,000 tons. And with such speed of waste produced, the maximum capacity of the landfills would be eventually …show more content…
Some people would suggest, “Oh you can just burn the rubbish off and they will disappear!” And recently, the Hong Kong SAR Government intended to have a new incinerator built in Shek Kwu Chau, Near Cheung Chau. But do you know the drawbacks of building an incinerator? Imagine you were a resident living near the site of it, or the white dolphins in the ocean, surrounded by the toxic air and water every day, what would you feel? IV. Since I am a Geography student, I know much about the financial limitations, the health risk and the environmental threat of incineration. V. I would like to persuade you all to oppose the idea of incinerating in Hong Kong, and try some alternative ways to cope with the disposal problem. VI. In the implementation of the incinerator project, the first concern is …show more content…
Building an incinerator in Shek Kwu Chau requires reclamation. Digging the seabed would contaminate the water with toxic heavy metal and lower the visibility and the amount of dissolved oxygen in the sea. That would pollute the water and eventually kill the marine creatures, such as the white dolphins, one of the endangered species. 4. To the sky a. Smokes emitted into the atmosphere harms the air quality and the visibility. [Obviously, incineration is not an effective way to save our environment. To really focus on the problem, we should have an eye, and sought out alternatives in order to reduce the amount of waste disposal in Hong Kong in the long term.] II. Alternative ways to cope with the disposal problem (The 4Rs) A. Reduce 1. Use or buy only what we really need - there is no waste to treat when there is no waste to begin with. B. Reuse 1. Do not dispose things that are still reusable. Reduce waste by making full use of any item. C. Recycle 1. Give items you don 't need to persons in need; recycle broken but recyclable items so that the resources can be recycled into usable items. D. Replace 1. Adopt eco-friendly goods or lifestyles, such as using handkerchiefs instead of tissues, travelling by public transport instead of private