Bin and gone: Government gets rid of 40 bins from Hong Kong hiking trails in order to 'reduce waste'

Four country park hiking trails and a nature reserve have had bins removed this month, in a government drive to encourage hikers to take rubbish home.

Littering and overflowing rubbish bins have long been an eyesore in some country parks and authorities hope a new one-year education campaign - jointly organised with 17 green and hiking groups - can help protect the environment and cut waste.

A total of 40 bins have been removed along section three of Lantau Trail on Lantau Peak, Ma On Shan Country Trail, Tai Lam Chung Country Trail near Tuen Mun, the Dragon's Back above Shek O and the nature reserve at Tai Po Kau.

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Angela Chan Ching-han, a country parks official with the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department noted bins got so full in some parks rubbish was often left around them.

"This is never a good sight. ... Excess rubbish can attract wild animals such as monkeys and wild pigs scavenging for food," she said. "I have seen a monkey eating things like spicy potato chips, which is really not good for them."

The impact on the environment is another problem. On coastal trails such as the Dragon's Back, rubbish left lying near full bins could be swept over the mountainside or into the sea by the wind, making clean-up work extremely tedious, she added.