Hong Kong’s waters are polluted – meet the couple who are trying to rid them of marine plastic

Angus Harris and Ellen Ogren founded non-profit organisation Clean Waterways Initiative two years ago. With the backing of HSBC, two zero-emissions boats have hit Aberdeen Harbour to help keep the seas clean

Environment

Kylie Knott

Published: 10:45am, 7 Jan 2021

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Living beachside in Shek O village, on the southern coast of Hong Kong Island, offers an idyllic natural environment for Angus Harris and Ellen Ogren to raise their young family. It also provides reminders of the city’s plastic pollution, with waste washing up on our shorelines and choking marine ecosystems (Hong Kong supports more than 6,000 marine species).

And it’s not just on a macro level: studies have shown that microplastics – pieces of plastic less than 5mm in length – found on Hong Kong beaches now stand at 5,500 pieces per square metre, 40 per cent more than the global average. A 2019 study by Greenpeace East Asia found the average concentration of plastic particles in Hong Kong’s waters had increased elevenfold in just three years.

United efforts by governments, both locally and globally, are needed to find solutions. But there is a growing movement of citizens at the grass-roots level who are doing their bit. Harris and Ogren are part of it.

Two years ago the couple founded non-profit organisation Clean Waterways Initiative (CWI) after Harris hand-sketched drawings of a boat that he thought would be an improvement on the vessels cleaning Hong Kong’s heavily polluted waterways. In November, with support from banking giant HSBC, his vision became a reality when two solar-powered, zero-emission vessels hit the water, in Aberdeen Harbour.

Trash floats in Victoria Harbour. Photo: SCMP / Nora Tam

Two more boats are scheduled for launch in Victoria Harbour next month. The harbours are two of the most polluted waterways in Hong Kong.

“Our ecosystem, including our climate, is affected by the ocean, regardless of whether you live near it or not. It’s vital we keep them healthy,” says Australian-born Harris, who has 13 years’ experience in the marine industry. He says the main objective is to stop waste leaving the waterways and entering the open ocean where it will harm marine ecosystems.

Hong Kong’s Secretary for the Environment, Wong Kam-sing, says the boats – each of which can collect and sort more than 2,500 litres of floating plastic per load – showcases new and innovative energy technology.

“It’s a creative attempt to clean the harbours, reduce waste and cut carbon emissions in an integrated manner, bringing multiple benefits,” says Wong.

CWI also hosts community education and volunteer programmes focusing on the 4 Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Rethink and Recycle.

“By engaging the wider community, we hope to lay the foundations for a more sustainable approach to tackling Hong Kong’s plastic waste crisis,” says Ogren.

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