Scheme will lead to illegal dumping

I refer to the letter from the undersecretary for the environment Christine Loh Kung-wai ("Public acceptance of waste-charging scheme is essential", August 15) where she admits that the cogs of government are grinding rather slowly on the matter of a waste-charging scheme.儲存Loh cites the necessity of public consultation, though in Hong Kong this usually doesn't amount to much more than going through the motions.It appears certain that the logistics of introducing such a fee-charging scheme into this highly congested high-rise environment will be a bureaucratic nightmare.Such charges will surely encourage illegal dumping and disposal, while not meaningfully reducing the volume of waste going to landfills.I think the Environmental Protection Department's time and effort would be better spent on how to maximise waste recycling.Presently those three little bins that have been introduced are no more than 新蒲崗迷你倉 sorry joke. The undersecretary seems to take umbrage at Philip Bowring's criticisms ("Land policy on shaky ground", August 11). but Loh has (pointedly) passed up the opportunity to address the more serious allegations that "officials here refuse to discuss options" to the Shek Kwu Chau incinerator – thus avoiding public consultation.Loh should respond to Charlie Chan ("Come clean on waste disposal strategy", August 13) and the many other correspondents who have complained through these columns on the official choice of the Shek Kwu Chau site.I agree with Bowring that "the public naturally suspects pecuniary interests, not the public interest, are again at play".It appears that the Environment Bureau has dug itself into an entrenched position, and those pecuniary interests will not become clear until after the contracts connected to this massive project have been signed off.K. Y. Leung, Shouson Hillmini storage