Clear The Air News Blog Rotating Header Image

December 6th, 2011:

Sponsor Acknowledgement

Dec 6th, 2011
by Editor.
No comments yet

Sponsor Acknowledgement

Clear the Air wishes to thank local resident Mr Alexander Turnbull for his generous donation to enable Clear the Air’s purchase of a sophisticated hi-tech portable particulate measurement unit – Clear the Air intends to publish  actual lethal roadside particulate PM2.5, PM1 and PM10 pollution levels in Hong Kong’s urban canyons so the public is made aware of the actual levels of pollution they are inhaling daily rather than the  ‘High to Very high’ general readings offered by the EPD Air Quality Monitoring stations (which are sited with  their air sampling intakes between 2.5 and 5.5  meters above actual roadside height.) Hong Kong roadside air quality in Central is among the worst of almost 600 cities surveyed by the WHO whilst the EPD has yet to release data on its two most polluted locations in Causeway Bay and Mongkok.

About Us

Clear the Air is an NGO and registered Hong Kong charity which advocates and fights to improve the overall air quality in Hong Kong; our atrocious local air quality is compounded by Government’s prevarication and failure to adopt WHO Air Quality Guideline Standards and thus abrogates its Duty of Care to its citizens.

Donate

Clear the Air is a volunteer run and operated Hong Kong NGO charity since 1997.

Companies and individuals interested in bettering the local environment and air quality may donate up to 35% of their yearly inland revenue tax payments to our registered Hong Kong charity to assist our continued operation and website upkeep.

Incinerator project gets green light a second time

Dec 6th, 2011
by Editor.
No comments yet

South China Morning Post – Dec. 6, 2011

A controversial plan to build a rubbish incinerator off Lantau Island was approved for a second time when government advisers cleared its environmental impact report.

The scheme was originally approved in April, but it was sidelined by the delay to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge project.

Yesterday the report underwent fresh scrutiny by a subcommittee of the Advisory Council on the Environment. Despite strong opposition from residents of nearby Cheung Chau and Lantau, the subcommittee endorsed the report in a two-hour meeting, upholding its support for the same report earlier this year.

Under the plan proposed by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), 16 hectares of sea will be reclaimed for the incinerator just south of Lantau near Shek Kwu Chau. It will be able to incinerate 3,000 tonnes of rubbish and will have a small mechanical sorting facility.

The reclamation will lead to a loss of 31 hectares of marine habitat, but the government says it will create a 700-hectare marine park between Shek Kwu Chau and the Soko Islands.

Subcommittee member Edwin Lau Che-feng said he opposed the environmental impact report as it did not fully consider the alternatives. “I wonder if the EPD has tried its best to avoid such impacts, especially on the marine environment,” he said.

A site in Tuen Mun was also considered in the report. Some critics say it is an obvious choice, and the government said it would be acceptable if a second facility is needed.

“I hope this will be the first but also the last incinerator we have,” said Lau, who is also director of Friends of the Earth (Hong Kong). He said the only change to the report since April is a vow to use more construction waste for reclamation. The government will seek funding for the project from the legislature next year.

chifai.cheung@scmp.com