Death Cause of Garbage Levy | Former Deputy Director of the Environment Lu Gonghui: Politics is the main reason the government needs to be more ambitious

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Written by: Golden Chess

2020-08-25 07:32

The garbage charging has been discussed for more than 15 years and has been dealt with by four governments. From 2012 to 2017, Christine Lu, who served as the Deputy Director of the Environment Bureau in the Liang Zhenying government, was also one of the "pushers" of the plan. During his tenure, he conducted public consultation. However, the Legislative Council's Bills Committee on Waste Disposal (Municipal Solid Waste Charges) (Amendment) Bill 2018 approved the termination of deliberation at its meeting at the end of June this year and the plan was "dead-term".

In an exclusive interview with "Hong Kong 01", Christine Lu said frankly that the garbage levy is the most powerful plan she has promoted during her tenure. After many years of failing to implement it, she is very disappointed. The political environment is the main cause of the reef. It's impossible, it's all political methods." She hopes that the government can be more ambitious and propagate, and re-submit the draft to the Legislative Council.

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Death Cause of Garbage Levy | Former Deputy Director of the Environment Lu Gonghui: Politics is the main reason the government needs to be more ambitious

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Christine Lu, who once entered the "hot kitchen", pointed out that many environmental issues rely on government actions to encourage joining the government. (Photo by Liang Pengwei)

Christine Lu: Do it first and wait for more than ten years, it won’t happen

Many officials have chosen to "shut up" to avoid talking about the past after leaving office. Christine Lu, who is currently the chief development consultant of the Department of Environment and Sustainable Development of the Institute of Environmental Studies of the University of Science and Technology, is the opposite. While continuing to promote environmental protection projects, he still talks about environmental protection policies. She recalled that when she was the Deputy Director of the Environment Bureau, she had produced a series of blueprints, including the overall waste plan.

She believes that many Hong Kong people are already familiar with the charging of waste disposal, and some private companies have already prepared for the charging and reported to her that they are indefinitely disappointed in the implementation of the plan. "Of course, everyone can think about whether it is feasible and the levy is too small and too much", but she emphasized that the fees are not acceptable to the public, and the final termination of the review is related to the overall political environment.

Lu explained that some members of the Legislative Council thought that garbage charging is "a difficult thing to do during the term of office, or if someone doesn't like it, they will play it." She also pointed out that it is easy for members to criticize the government for not considering it in detail. Only when the policy is truly implemented can we continue to improve. "If you want to be thorough, do it first, and wait for more than ten years. It won't happen." Regarding the protagonist's claim that the main reason for the termination of deliberation was that the government did not fully absorb opinions, Christine Lu even pointed out that "I don't think it is possible. In fact, they are all political methods and don't need to talk too much."

Experience the priority policy of the three directors not Qiu Tenghua's tenure

The discussion on garbage charging was proposed by the then Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works, Liao Xiudong, in 2005, and was only submitted to the Legislative Council for deliberation in 2018. Christine Lu believed that the delay was due to administrative factors. "No one-term government is omnipotent, and the Secretary will choose one topic to do it." She pointed out that Liao Xiudong did not implement a detailed plan that year, but only indicated that he hoped to achieve garbage charging.

After Liao Xiudong, the former Secretary of the Environment, Qiu Tenghua, did not make garbage charging a priority, and "parking and extinguishing keys" was his main issue. During his tenure, he also started with facilities and proposed the construction of a sludge plant. Lu Xiaoyan has been more greedy since the term of the current Secretary of the Environment Huang Jinxing. "There are blueprints for many issues on air and waste," and he decided to implement garbage charging.

Advocate the construction of one more incinerator, the processing capacity needs to be greatly increased

Huang Jinxing has always emphasized that garbage charging is the "locomotive" of all waste reduction policies. Lu also agrees with his statement, saying that "if there is no charge, everyone will feel worthless to do (recycling)." Only when the economy changes will someone continue to do recycling work.

Lu Gonghui took Shanghai’s earlier implementation of garbage classification as an example. In the first two months, citizens complained about the ups and downs of their lives; when they got used to it, they returned to calm. She believes that after the implementation of garbage charging in Hong Kong, "there will be a lot of confusion in the first few months, and everyone should be familiar with it." In addition, there will be a preparation period after the law is passed, so she hopes that the government can promote it again. If the government resubmits the bill to the Legislative Council, it is hoped that Members can pass it as soon as possible. "Everyone has been talking about it for many years, but the Legislative Council might as well pass it."

Garbage charging has been implemented indefinitely, and landfills are facing saturation problems. Where should the waste go? Lu Xiaoyan said that "green groups don’t like to listen to my words" and believe that it is necessary to build an incinerator with new technology. He bluntly said that the Shiguzhou incinerator currently under construction is also "too fine" and that Hong Kong needs an additional incinerator. "Waste for energy" is the best. Together we should raise 5,000 and 6,000 tons. I hope the government will quickly release it."

I have always believed that Hong Kong needs more than one incinerator. One is currently under construction, but it may not be feasible until 2024. Not as good as everyone. I also hope that green groups will think about whether Hong Kong really needs a new technology that "turns waste into energy". Hong Kong might as well be brave. We should plan to build an incinerator of 5000 or 6000 tons.

Christine Lu (lower left) served as Deputy Director of the Environment Bureau in the Liang Zhenying government from 2012 to 2017. (Photo/Photo by Wu Zhongkun)

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Government ambitions can be big

During his tenure, Christine Lu formulated the "Hong Kong Resource Recycling Blueprint", which set different targets, including the daily per capita disposal of municipal solid waste from 1.27 kg in 2011 to 0.8 kg in 2022. However, in recent years, the amount of waste disposed of per capita has been steadily increasing. In 2018, the amount of waste disposed of per capita was 1.53 kg per day, a record high.

In the final analysis, is the goal set too high? Lu Xiao said, "Back then, people were not fast enough or enthusiastic enough." She explained that it was assumed that the supporting facilities had been completed, such as the incinerator can be put into service and the garbage charging has been implemented. However, all of them have not been implemented now. In addition, many facilities, such as food waste factories, were approved by the Legislative Council later than expected. It is also not foreseen that the global waste situation will be greatly turbulent due to the tightening of waste imports in the Mainland. "Therefore, many people will be "off the road" and have delays."

The "Hong Kong Resource Recycling Blueprint" only covers until 2022, and it may be time for the authorities to formulate a new blueprint. She believes that the current government has a better grasp of when various facilities will be put into service and more preparation time. She suggested that "the timetable can be more accurate and the ambitions can be bigger."

Many people feel that working in the government is too restrictive. Christine Lu, who once entered the "hot kitchen", points back that many environmental issues rely on government actions and encourage joining the government. However, she believes that the civil service system may not be able to cooperate. "I think it seems to be slow," and suggested that the post of the Director of Environmental Protection should be professional.

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