No room for Nimbyism as Hong Kong seeks space for its dead and daily waste

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lok
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註冊時間: 2020-12-02, 11:17

No room for Nimbyism as Hong Kong seeks space for its dead and daily waste

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The Nimbyism – not in my backyard – phenomenon is global and very human. After all, who wants an unappealing landfill, unsightly incinerator or potentially “unlucky” columbarium in their neighbourhood?

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are no longer two towns isolated from each other but closely linked by steady cross-border flows of people, goods and capital.
Not only is Shenzhen our next-door neighbour and partner in the Greater Bay Area, but Hong Kong also depends on it for basic daily necessities of food and up to 80 per cent of our water supply. Our efforts to hide the ill-favoured parts of our lives have now infringed upon an important neighbour.

What is the solution for the location of these necessary but often unwelcome facilities? Perhaps we have a shared responsibility to take care of our problems rather than shipping them elsewhere? Former chief executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen proposed in 2010 to build columbariums in each of the 18 districts to share the responsibility of honouring the deceased.

Predictably, there was resistance from local communities who did not want the columbariums in their backyards. But what is unwelcome and unwanted in one district may be equally so in others.

As a society, we know we have to tackle this problematic issue as we generate waste every day and death is inescapable. Is it fair or even ethical to shift seemingly unbecoming facilities from our district to our friends’ and neighbours’ districts?

Everyone has a responsibility to society at large, which includes respecting the dead and dealing with the by-products of our daily lives.
Perhaps we should adopt the Tokyo model where 21 waste incineration facilities are located across its 23 wards in residential, waterfront and even urban centres such as Shibuya and near train stations. This way, the burden is shared.

We can also use technology and design to integrate these essential but often unattractive facilities as seamlessly and beautifully as possible into our urban environment.

In Western Paris, on the banks of the River Seine, the largest waste-to-energy incinerator in France looks like a three-story office building and emits no visible smoke. Two-thirds of the Isséane facility is built underground and the twin chimneys protrude less than 5m above the roof.
In Copenhagen, Amager Bakke is a huge incinerator that looks like a modern office building with a sloped roof that doubles as an artificial ski slope and climbing wall.

These visionary models serve as a reminder that creative solutions can go a long way towards inducing acceptance among residents. As a conscientious society, shouldn’t we take collective responsibility for our mess?

Referece to https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/a ... aily-waste

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