Press
Release
Technology
for Municipal Solid Waste Management
In
response to media enquiries, the Permanent Secretary for the Environment,
Transport and Works (Environment), Mr K. K. Kwok said today (May
13) that in view of the urgency and seriousness of the waste problems
that the territory faced, a clear direction on the technologies
to manage municipal solid waste (MSW) is necessary.
"An effective waste management strategy comprises three key elements:
waste avoidance and minimization; recovery, recycling and reuse;
as well as bulk reduction and disposal of unrecyclable waste. Although
all three elements are interrelated, the first two determines the
final volume of waste that needs to be disposed through advanced
and efficient technologies," he added.
"First and foremost in the strategy is waste avoidance and minimization",
said Mr. Kwok. "Environmental education and public participation
play a key role in this area." The Environmental Protection Department
(EPD) has devoted a lot of efforts in enhancing community involvement
through campaigns and partnerships with green groups. These educational
efforts need to be complemented by economic incentives such as product
responsibility schemes (PRS) to enhance the recovery, recycling
and reuse of waste. The EPD has accordingly conducted studies of
PRS and other schemes based on the "polluter-pays" principle.
The Government is also developing a policy to facilitate the development
of a circular economy as effective recycling of locally produced
waste is an important element in waste management.
As there would inevitably be unrecyclable wastes, Mr Kwok said that
adopting landfill as the only waste disposal method was clearly
not sustainable in the long term and that alternative waste treatment
methods had to be adopted to reduce the volume of waste before final
disposal.
An Advisory Group (AG) was set up in April 2002 comprising academics
and professionals to assist and advise the Government in selecting
the most appropriate waste treatment technologies based on environmental,
technological, social, economical as well as consumer considerations.
In the light of the heterogenous nature of our MSW, the AG recommended
that an Integrated Waste Management Facilities (IWMF) should adopt
a multi-technology approach so that the most suitable technology
could be applied to deal with different waste streams of MSW.
The Government is considering an IWMF that includes a mechanical
biological treatment plant and an incinerator. "In 2004, the recovery
rate in HK was 40 per cent which is quite high especially in this
part of the world. Our aim is to reach 50% by 2014 but that will
still mean that about 7,200 tonnes of MSW per day would need to
be treated in bulk," he added.
"The proposed approach will be built upon and complement the existing
efforts to promote waste reduction and recovery. Waste will be reduced
as far as practicable through various measures such as community
education and economic incentives," Mr Kwok said. "The remaining
unrecyclable waste will then be processed at the IWMF before final
disposal at landfills."
Ends/ May 13, 2005 (Friday)
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