Invisible flotsam

In early July, Hong Kong newspapers were talking about the vast amounts of rubbish arriving at the region shores. The situation raised obvious health, environmental and economic concerns. The media were openly debating its causes and the possible ways to deal with the situation, described as an environmental disaster. One possible source of the spill – I suppose we can call it properly so – was identified. A huge rubbish dump, apparently illegal, located in one of Zhuhai’s outlying islands, was collapsing, and refuse was flowing to the sea. Civil society organizations and individual volunteers mobilized to clean the beaches. The government promised both remedial actions and to address the problem with the mainland authorities. The Hong Kong Chief Executive made a point of participating in the cleanup operations. The subject is still on the public agenda, and the government is kept under pressure to deal with the issue. As we might expect, it was (and is) likely) that Macau faced (and will keep facing) similar problems. We have to look hard to find the subject on anybody’s list of concerns. In early July, one daily newspaper made a brief reference to the significant amount of waste visible in Hac Sa beach. The subject has been virtually absent from the local media since then. Queries on the media websites about the subject will return empty or unrelated hits. Only last Friday did the topic surface – prominently, it must be said – on the front page of one local newspaper. Until then, it seems, nobody considered the issue important enough. The Government websites provide even less information or guidance. The Municipal Institute (IACM) and the Environmental Department (DSPA) oversee, one expects, the hygiene and pollution conditions in public areas. Unless it is very well buried somewhere, you will not find a word or a simple reference to this subject on their websites – no mention of the abnormal amount of rubbish or health and environmental concerns. Since mid-June IACM posted 11 news releases online. The most popular theme related to the pandas, four cases. The DSPA site fares likewise, pandas aside. The government information office follows a similar pattern. No reference in the releases made during the last two months. Searches using the keywords ‘rubbish”, “beach” or “Hac Sa” return just a few posts on unrelated topics. As it looks, no government office thought the issue was important enough to deserve attention, or was pressured by organizations or residents who felt otherwise.