Hong Kong students plan school boycott to protest against climate change ... but not all agree with action
- Classmates Zara Campion, Emily Tarr and Elisa Hirn want to do something for their generation and are inspired by global movement #FridaysForFuture
- Authorities and educators argue while the cause is admirable, boycotting classes should not be encouraged
Growing up in Hong Kong, Zara Campion and Emily Tarr loved going dragon boating with their parents. They weren’t especially good at the rowing part, but while their parents raced on the water the girls would soak up the sun ashore.
The classmates eventually joined dragon boat teams as they got older, and with the outdoor sport came a love for nature, but also an awareness of how vulnerable it is.
“We saw trash everywhere – we’d see it all out on the water and it was really gross to have plastic floating about in the ocean,” Tarr, 17, said.
Realising this came from the wasteful habits of residents, the secondary school student from Australia set her mind on doing something for her generation.
According to the Environmental Protection Department, 10,733 tonnes of municipal solid waste were sent to the city’s landfills every day in 2017, mostly leftover food, paper and plastics – a 3.7 per cent rise from 2016.
The waste includes straws and cutlery, plastic bags, plastic bottles and food packaging.