Beach Cleanup in Hong Kong

Hong Kong has a monumental waste problem. Source: British Broadcasting Corporation, 2017.

Hong Kong Trash Originates from Mainland China

Beach trash in Hong Kong mostly comes from Mainland China. Hong Kong borders the Guangdong province and the Pearl River Delta. Chinese cities in the Pearl River Delta include Foshan, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Dongguan. All of these cities are highly populated and produce a lot of daily trash. Many citizens from these cities dump their garbage directly into the river or ocean. Waste mismanagement also leads to the trash being dumped into the river or ocean. Large amounts of trash flow downwards out of the Pearl River Delta and into the South China Sea to Hong Kong. In a 2018 study by The Green Earth, more than 38% of the waste on Hong Kong shores appears to originate from Mainland China (“Trash from mainland China ending up on Hong Kong’s shores could be 7 times worse than estimated, green group warns”). Hong Kong does not have control of the trash washed on its shores because ocean currents are part of nature.

Microplastics Mean Abundance on Beaches. Source: Greenpeace, 2018 (data redrawn by Presidio Education®, 2021).

Ocean Trash Hurts Humans and Marine Ecosystems

The waste washed on Hong Kong shores is extremely harmful for marine ecosystems. Waste, such as plastic bottles and fishing nets, can release toxic chemicals into the ocean and on beaches (“Impacts of Mismanaged Trash”). Many birds and fish consume such waste. Humans can also end up consuming some of the plastic-filled fish. The consumption of these plastic-filled fish can vastly damage the human body because the toxic chemicals released from the plastics are essentially released in the human digestive system. 

This waste ends up killing the animals because of the harmful toxins. The plastic wastes accumulated in the ocean can also reduce the oxygen level of the water, which can reduce the amount of oxygen needed for marine life to survive (“Impacts of Mismanaged Trash”). As oxygen levels reduce, the coral reefs will start dying and the habitats of fish are destroyed.

Plastic bottles collected from Aberdeen Harbor by volunteers in Hong Kong Island. Source: European Pressphoto Agency’s Jerome Favre and Los Angeles Times, 2019.

Why High School Students Must Volunteer

High school students should give back to communities for several reasons. High school students live in their local communities everyday. Giving back to communities is an opportunity for high school students to improve their communities. This can show a sense of gratitude and appreciation. For example, giving back to elderlies, essential workers and the environment is extremely important. Everyday, essential workers, such as cleaners, supermarket cashiers and energy workers, make sure that communities function well. As a result, to show gratitude towards their services, high school students should lead by example and give back to communities by helping out community members and protecting ecosystems. This can also inspire the younger generations to follow. This helps build a positive society that educates younger children about gratitude, respect and recognition.

Beach Cleanup at Lung Kwu Tan, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong with Wayne Man, Presidio Education® Math & Social Science Teacher, and Advanced Placement (AP) students Bobby Li and Daniel Shi. Source: Presidio Education, 2021.

Challenges with Encouraging High School Students to Volunteer

There are several challenges with encouraging high school students to volunteer. Volunteering can be a very time consuming activity. Many students often do not have extra time. This is because some students spend their entire weekdays and weekends studying and preparing for exams and classes. Some students have schedules that are filled with extracurricular activities, such as violin, football and dance practice. However, some students may be hard to encourage to attend volunteering activities because they are simply lazy. Many students nowadays are addicted to video games, video-streaming platforms and social media apps. These distractions have caused a lot of students to become disengaged with volunteer work because they are too lazy to leave their house or too lazy to do the actual work. Lazy students are very hard to motivate and encourage because they do not see the personal benefits of volunteering. What these students must understand is that volunteering is not for personal gain. Volunteering is for the benefit of the community as a whole. 

Hong Kong’s Marine Litter Tragedy. Source: World Wildlife Fund, 2021.

Future Volunteer Projects 

I have planned several community service projects. One of the projects is to work with an underprivileged local elementary school in Yichun, China. I am collaborating on this project with my friend Daniel Shi. This project includes an annual trip to Yichun during the summer months. Daniel and I will supply stationeries, fiction books, non-fiction books and sports equipment to the school to provide these students with a better education and daily life. 

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) Goal 4 Infographic. Source: United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Report, 2020.

For summer 2021, I decided to build a full size concrete basketball court for the students at the elementary school so that they can be encouraged to exercise more and socialize with each other. I hope that the construction of the basketball court will help improve students’ daily lives by encouraging healthier lifestyles. Daniel and I plan to teach these young students basic basketball skills and organize a fun basketball game with them before we conclude our trip. For the trip this summer, Daniel and I also plan to teach these kids some English skills to expand their learning. After the trip we plan to sustain our connections with these kids by hosting monthly video calling sessions to interact with these students to strengthen bonds with them.

Works Cited

“Impacts of Mismanaged Trash.” United States Environmental Protection Agency, 30 July 2020, https://www.epa.gov/trash-free-waters/impacts-mismanaged-trash#:~:text=Trash%20can%20travel%20throughout%20the,river%2C%20marine%20and%20coastal%20environments. Accessed 25 April 2021.

“Trash from Mainland China Ending Up on Hong Kong’s Shores Could Be 7 Times Worse than Estimated, Green Group Warns.” South China Morning Post, 11 September 2018, https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/2163770/problem-trash-mainland-china-ending-hong-kongs. Accessed 25 April 2021.

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