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More Hongkongers worried about mainland's environmental woes

More Hongkongers today are anxious about the mainland's environmental problems and fret about landfill space in the city than 12 years ago, a survey shows.

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More Hongkongers today are anxious about the mainland's environmental problems and fret about landfill space in the city than 12 years ago. Photo: Bloomberg

More Hongkongers today are anxious about the mainland's environmental problems and fret about landfill space in the city than 12 years ago, a survey shows.

The percentage of respondents concerned about environmental degradation on the mainland hit 33 per cent, more than double the figure in a 2001 survey, according to a study by the think tank Civic Exchange.

It said 36 per cent expressed concern that the city's landfills are approaching capacity, 11 percentage points more than in the 2001 survey.

"We have picked up a real rise in concern over the lack of landfill space and it is far higher in certain district council areas - the ones with landfills," said Professor Michael DeGolyer, a Baptist University academic and lead researcher on the project.

"It's definitely a not-in-my-backyard issue."

The survey was carried out before controversy erupted this summer when the government was forced to withdraw a request for the expansion of three landfill sites amid a public backlash.

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