Chief Secretary Carrie Lam has visited Lap Sap Wan, or rubbish beach, in Shek O, to inspect four departments' work in cleaning up the shoreline.
The Environmental Protection Department convenes an inter-departmental working group on clean shorelines which studies marine refuse in Hong Kong.
Wind direction and water currents have a marked effect on refuse accumulation in coastal areas, it found.
It has identified 27 priority sites, including Lap Sap Wan, prone to refuse accumulation where clean-up activities must be stepped up.
Mrs Lam noted that Lap Sap Wan is located in a remote area and it has accumulated refuse over time, but on-site clearing is confined to between May and August every year due to geographical constraints. This makes its clean-up difficult.
The Food & Environmental Hygiene Department and the Marine Department worked together to clean up the site.
As at July 26, the departments had collected about 8,290 bags of refuse. It is expected to clear most of the refuse accumulated there by the end of this month.
Mrs Lam said that she understood the difficulty for clearing refuse along coastal areas, but she still urged relevant departments to step up their efforts to keep the shoreline clean.
In 2014, the departments collected 15,200 tonnes of marine refuse. Most of it is disposable plastic items, foam plastic and fishing nets.
Mrs Lam called on the public not to discard rubbish in or near the sea as keeping the environment clean and promoting the marine ecosystem's healthy development is not solely the Government’s responsibility.
