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Press
Release
North West New Territories Refuse Transfer Station opens
The North West
New Territories Refuse Transfer Station (NWNT RTS), which is the
first refuse transfer station (RTS) equipped with a pilot facility
to recover household electrical and electronic (E&E) appliances,
is officially opened today (July 11).
Speaking at
the opening ceremony, the Acting Director of Environmental Protection,
Mr Mike Stokoe, said that since the release of the Waste Disposal
Plan in 1989, a network of RTSs had been built in Hong Kong to provide
efficient transfer of municipal solid waste to the three strategic
landfills for disposal.
The NWNT RTS
is the eighth RTS in Hong Kong. Located at Lam Tei, the RTS accepts
municipal solid waste from Tuen Mun and Yuen Long.
Mr Stokoe pointed
out that the amount of waste generated had increased a lot faster
than what was envisaged a decade ago and that Hong Kong was running
out of space for waste disposal.
"Waste reduction
and recycling are important elements of waste management, which
would help reduce the demand for our valuable landfill space.
"Apart from
other measures to reduce and recycle waste, the Government has commissioned
the contractor of the NWNT RTS, Swire SITA Waste Services Limited,
to set up a pilot facility at the station to recover household E&E
appliances discarded by the public at refuse collection points in
Tuen Mun and Yuen Long starting July 1, 2002.
"The objective
of the six-month trial is to assess the feasibility of reducing
the volume of this E&E waste by developing schemes to recover from
it usable materials such as metals and plastics," he noted.
The trial started
with discarded washing machines and it will be extended to other
E&E appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners and ovens.
Like other waste
management facilities, the NWNT RTS is developed under a "design,
build and operate" contract arrangement. The contractor is responsible
for operating the station for 15 years.
It has the capacity
to handle 1 100 tonnes of waste a day. The capital cost is about
$220 million with an estimated annual operating cost of $24 million.
"It is highly
automatic and is operated to meet the most stringent environmental
standards.
"A wastewater
treatment plant and an exhaust system equipped with odour removal
devices have been installed at the station.
"Environmental
parameters of wastewater quality, air quality, dust and noise levels
are all stipulated in the operation contract of the station, enabling
stringent environmental monitoring and control," Mr Stokoe said.
Truck loads
of municipal solid waste are discharged inside the refuse transfer
building. The waste is packed into some 40 feet long containers
and transported in bulk by road tractors to the West New Territories
Landfill for proper disposal.
Each of these
sealed containers can take the waste of four typical refuse collection
vehicles. The use of these containers can greatly reduce the number
of vehicle trips going to the landfill, achieving both economical
and environmental benefits.
The station
operates between 7.30 am and 7 pm every day except the first day
of Lunar New Year.
Officiating
at today's opening ceremony was the Chairman of the Panel on Environmental
Affairs of the Legislative Council, Miss Choy So-yuk.
End/Thursday,
July 11, 2002
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