Waste management in Hong Kong

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In the densely populated Hong Kong, waste is a complex issue. [1] The territory generates around 6.4 million tons of waste each year [2] but is able to collect and process only a minimal portion of recyclable waste. [3] By 2019, its existing landfills are expected to be full. [4] The government has introduced waste management schemes and is working to educate the public on the subject. On the commercial side, producers are taking up measures to reduce waste.

Contents

Statistics

Hong Kong EPD (Environmental Protection Department) provides data and statistics about waste management. [5]

Waste management process

In Hong Kong, wastes generated can be categorised as municipal solid waste, construction and demolition waste, chemical waste and other special waste, including: clinical waste, animal carcasses, livestock waste, radioactive waste, grease trap waste and waterworks/sewage sludges. According to a 2016 report from Waste Atlas, waste generation in Hong Kong is around 6.4 million tonnes per year or 900 kg/cap/year. [6]  

Wastes in Hong Kong are first collected from disposal bins to refuse transfer stations (RTS). After they are compacted and put in containers, they are delivered to disposal lands or recycling centers.

There are hundreds of collectors in the territory where wastes are located before transferring to refuse transfer stations. [7] There are seven refuse transfer stations in the territory. They serve as centralised collection points for the transfer of waste to the strategic landfills. [8]

Landfills

Operated by the EPD,[ clarification needed ] the landfill sites only accept garbage from Hong Kong. Thirteen of 16 landfills were closed from 1988 to 1996. Starting from 6 January 2016, the South East New Territories Landfill (SENT) will only receive construction waste.[ needs update ] Hong Kong has three strategic landfills in use. All are located in the New Territories: [9] [10] [11]

LandfillLocationArea (ha)OpenedCapacityStatus
West New Territories Landfill (WENT) Nim Wan, Tuen Mun 110199361 million m³Active (Full by 2018/2019)
South East New Territories Landfill (SENT) Tseung Kwan O 100199443Active (Full by ?)
North East New Territories Landfill (NENT) Ta Kwu Ling, North District 61199535Active (Full by 2016/2017)

Closed landfills

There are also 13 closed landfills. [12] The closed landfills are converted into facilities such as golf courses, multi-purpose grass pitches, rest gardens, and ecological parks. Greenhouse gases emitted from closed landfills are used for energy. The closed landfills are: [10] [12]

LandfillLocationArea (ha)OpenedCapacityStatusRehab periodCurrent use
Gin Drinkers Bay Kwai Chung, Kwai Tsing District 2919603.5 million tonnesClosed1999–2000now Kwai Chung Park
Ngau Tam Mei Tam Mei, Yuen Long District 219730.15 million tonnesClosed1999–2000Green Belt
Plover Cove Tai Mei Tuk, Tai Po District 50197315 million tonnesClosed1996–1997golf driving range
Ma Tso Lung Kwu Tong, North District 219760.2 million tonnesClosed1999–2000recreation centre for Tung Wah Group of Hospitals
Ngau Chi Wan Wong Tai Sin District 819760.7 million tonnesClosed1997–1998 Ngau Chi Wan Park
Sai Tso Wan Kwun Tong District 919781.6 million tonnesClosed1997–1998 Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground opened in 2004
Siu Lang Shui Castle Peak 1219781.2 million tonnesClosed1999–2000Green Belt
Junk Bay Stage I Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung District 68197815.2 million tonnesClosed1997–1999proposed site for football academy and driving range
Ma Yau Tong West Kwun Tong 619796 million tonnesClosed1997–1998planned recreation facilities
Ma Yau Tong Central Kwun Tong 1119811.0 million tonnesClosed1997–1998future Lam Tin Park
Pillar Point Valley Tuen Mun District 38198313 million tonnesClosed2004–2006N/A
Jordan Valley Kwun Tong 1119861.5 million tonnesClosed1997–1998Jordan Valley Park, Opened 2010.
Junk Bay Stage II-III Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung District 42198812.6 million tonnesClosed1997–1999temporary home for Hong Kong Air Cadet Corps model plane training facilities

Management of emissions from waste

The degradation of the organic components contained within waste generates both gaseous and liquid emissions. Landfill gas, principally methane and carbon dioxide, is formed once anaerobic conditions are achieved within the landfill, and leachate is formed as liquids percolate through landfilled waste and pick up a cocktail of toxic and contaminating elements from the multiple waste fractions that comprise Municipal Solid Waste. Both can be harmful to human health and toxic to the environment. [13] Landfill gas is an important source of greenhouse gases that has been clearly shown to contribute to global warming, [14] whilst leachate can be an important source of local contamination, especially to waterways. [15] As Hong Kong is very close to the sea as well as to heavily built up areas, the control of emissions is of high importance. [16] Wherever possible, landfill gas is used as a fuel for the generation of power and, in Hong Kong, landfill gas is used to generate electricity and to provide power for the treatment of leachate produced from the landfilled waste. [17]

The technology used for landfill gas management is well known throughout the world [18] and includes on-site power generation, provision of heat for leachate treatment and off-site use as a source of natural biogas for feeding into the gas main. [19] Leachate is treated using landfill gas to provide heat for reducing the heavy loading of ammonia and ensuring that it can be released into the environment [20] [21] according to strict criteria as specified by the Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong, and the process is employed at all three strategic landfill sites cited above. [22]

NGO campaigns

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth (HK) is one of the local environmental groups in Hong Kong. One of its campaigns emphasises on setting up an all-inclusive recycling system. [23]

Green Power

Green Power, another local environmental organisation, has many activities related to waste control and management. Green Power organises an ongoing "Zero Waste Action", aiming to reduce the waste the territory produces. [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

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A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, trash dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, refuse was simply left in piles or thrown into pits; in archeology this is known as a midden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipal solid waste</span> Type of waste consisting of everyday items discarded by the public

Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, as in a garbage disposal; the two are sometimes collected separately. In the European Union, the semantic definition is 'mixed municipal waste,' given waste code 20 03 01 in the European Waste Catalog. Although the waste may originate from a number of sources that has nothing to do with a municipality, the traditional role of municipalities in collecting and managing these kinds of waste have produced the particular etymology 'municipal.'

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental Protection Department</span>

Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is a department of Hong Kong Government concerning the issues of environmental protection in Hong Kong.The EPD is responsible for developing policies covering environmental protection, nature conservation; enforcing environmental legislation; monitoring environmental quality; providing collection, transfer, treatment and disposal facilities for many types of waste; advising on the environmental implications of town planning and new policies; handling pollution complaints and incidents; and raising awareness and support in the community for environmental initiatives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Waste Management (company)</span> American waste and environmental services company

Waste Management, Inc., doing business as “WM”, is a waste management, comprehensive waste, and environmental services company operating in North America. Founded in 1968, the company is headquartered in the Bank of America Tower in Houston, Texas.

Landfills are the primary method of waste disposal in many parts of the world, including United States and Canada. Bioreactor landfills are expected to reduce the amount of and costs associated with management of leachate, to increase the rate of production of methane for commercial purposes and reduce the amount of land required for land-fills. Bioreactor landfills are monitored and manipulate oxygen and moisture levels to increase the rate of decomposition by microbial activity.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Construction waste</span> Unwanted material produced directly or incidentally by the construction industries

Construction waste or debris is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition materials as “debris generated during the construction, renovation and demolition of buildings, roads, and bridges.” Additionally, the EPA has categorized Construction and Demolition (C&D) waste into three categories: non-dangerous, hazardous, and semi-hazardous.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sai Tso Wan Recreation Ground</span>

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Further reading