As the hiking season draws to a close, TrailWatch organised a Waste Audit to the Amah Rock, a landmark that is certainly familiar to many from their school textbooks. Many people have heard about it for a long time but had never been there, so we received quite a lot of applications this time. A total of 15 participants were invited and they were divided into 4 groups, with each group responsible for recording the types and amount of rubbish they collected.
The day was hot and sunny, but fortunately there were plenty of shady spots along the trail that allowed the participants to collect and search for rubbish thoroughly. It was not surprising to come across common rubbish such as plastic bottles and food packaging, but the amount of pandemic-related rubbish had significantly decreased along with the ease of the pandemic restrictions. Although Amah Rock is close to residential areas and a popular spot for morning walkers, the area is relatively clean, without any large scale of waste dumping.
However, as the group made its way towards the middle of the trail, participants kept finding many similarly-shaped pieces of paper scattered throughout the bushes on either side of the track. We tried to look into every single piece when collecting them, and found out that the pieces are from newspapers, utility bills, or packaging boxes of cornstarch. Participants squatted down every few steps, flipped over leaves to carefully pick up each piece of paper. It was not easy work but they remained patient.
Morning walkers who live nearby revealed that these pieces of paper came from an elderly man who might have suffered an emotional disturbance. He walks up from Shatin every day and scatters pieces of paper around, maybe to relieve his stress. This story inspired us that protecting the environment may not only involve helping out nature, but also looking after our surroundings, including people. If someone could chat with the elderly man, he might not need to act like that as an outlet to express his emotions.
After picking up a large amount of shredded paper, the group reached the latter section of the trail. By this time, participants were quite exhausted under the hot weather so we took the last rest before the trail ended. However, we discovered two electric guns under a big rock at the resting spot, along with a significant amount of rubbish. We were all surprised with what we found there. Even though everyone was hungry and tired, we continued to pick up and record the rubbish. TrailWatch’s Waste Audit has been held for quite some time now, but we still have new discoveries, experiences and gains each time we hike with participants.
Summary of Amah Rock’s Waste Audit
The total weight of rubbish: 19.2kg (16 bags of rubbish with a total of 744 pieces)
– No. of Plastic Bottles: 41
– No. of Food Packaging: 138
– No. of Anti-pandemic Items: 11
Activity Record:
Read More:
Event Review: Waste Audit 2022 – Little Hawaii Trail: https://www.trailwatch.hk/blog/984
Event Review: Waste Audit 2022 – Wilson Trail Section 3: https://www.trailwatch.hk/blog/999
Waste Audit Summary: Sept – Nov 2022: https://www.trailwatch.hk/blog/1011