Hello! This is Austin from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust (Hong Kong) Limited (SMTHK).

The natural landscape and attractions in Hong Kong have gained significantly more popularity as local travel destination, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. As a result, we have also seen an increased amount of litter. Difficult to decompose, most of the discarded waste including surgical masks and plastic bags not only pollutes the environment, but may also be ingested by wildlife. The harm to the ocean and ecosystem is not to be underestimated and overlooked.

In Oct 2023, SMTHK partnered with Green Hope Hong Kong, a local organization which aims to promote a zero-waste community, to organize “Beach Clean-up and Cultural Study”. Yim Tin Tsai, located in an island outside of Sai Kung and known for its Hakka culture/heritage, was chosen to be the venue as its coastline regularly traps a large amount of waste given its geographic setting.

Despite being in the midst of summer, SMTHK has shown a huge enthusiasm towards environmental conservation that we had to increase the maximum number of participants in response to the overwhelming number of applications.

25 members arrived early in the morning and were excited to clean up every single spot in the beach. 

Overall, we walked across the mangrove to reach both sides of the island and managed to collect 24.6 kg of waste, which was quite an achievement and would not have been possible without the dedication from our participants!

As mentioned, Yin Tin Tsai is also known for the Hakka culture. Hence, on top of the environmental preservation activities, our participants had the opportunity to learn more about sustainable tourism development in Hong Kong and experience “Hakka” by visiting Hakka Village as well as the saltpan.