The rubbish Guy found on Sha Ha Beach
Sai Kung residents will be well aware that weekend visitors to our Garden of Hong Kong have a tendency to leave their litter behind them in our streets, lanes and promenade. FEHD street cleaning staff must all wish that they could take a sickie or a rest day every Monday to avoid having to clear up the mess. Likewise, LCSD staff who must remove the refuse from our flower beds, playgrounds and parks and AFCD staff from our many BBQ sites and picnic areas.
I very much doubt whether any litterer has ever been prosecuted but I would be happy to be proved wrong. The situation has probably improved from the infamous Lapsap Chung campaign days during which I observed USD staff emptying rubbish bins from the Peak Garden down the hillside when they thought no one was looking.
This Monday morning, after my so-called “run” (described by a “friend” as a crablike shuffle), I observed the sad scene at the top of the page on Sha Ha Beach. I picked this lot up and remembered to deposit it in my local litter stockade. (On previous occasions, my wife has experienced dreadful odours emanating from the boot of her car and discovered long forgotten bags of my rotting refuse.)
I am by no means the only resident picking up litter on the beach and in their own environs and the Friends of Sai Kung used to organise beach cleanups at Sha Ha which eventually resulted in an offer from FEHD to clean it themselves. (They are under no obligation to do so as the beach, thankfully, remains ungazetted and popular with responsible dog owners.)
The water sports operators on the beach also ensure that their patrons behave responsibly.
Perhaps Christine Fong and the Sai Kung District Council could mount a Take your Litter Home Campaign and encourage the relevant departments listed above to mount some plainclothes enforcement patrols?
Sai Kung Buzz readers’ other suggestions welcome; though sticking offenders in the stocks in Man Yee Square for residents to bombard them with their own refuse might not be acceptable, as thoroughly satisfying it would prove to be.
Guy Shirra
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