| 3.5.4.1 |
This
section discusses the forces relevant to the
future of Hong Kong's solid waste management.
Factors contributing to pressures on waste
arisings, re-use/recycling, and landfill and
other disposal facility capacity are discussed
below and key issues are summarised in Figure
3.5a. |
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Pressures
on Waste Arisings
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| 3.5.4.2 |
The
future trends in the waste arisings requiring
final disposal will depend primarily on
population growth, consumer habits, and
the ability to reuse or otherwise recycle
materials. The Hong Kong SAR Government's
Waste Reduction Framework Plan provides
projections for the volumes of MSW (domestic,
commercial and industrial), and C&D
material delivered to landfills over the
next 15 years. These estimates identify
that while commercial and industrial and
C&D wastes will grow steadily, domestic
waste arisings will nearly double the 1997
levels by 2015. This projection is attributed
to the combined effects of increasing population
and rising levels of affluence.
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| 3.5.4.3 |
In response to this trend, one of the primary
goals of the Waste Reduction Framework Plan
is to reduce domestically-generated municipal
solid waste arisings through a combination
of waste prevention, bulk waste reduction,
public education, and supports to the local
recycling industry. Data from a 1994 survey
show that at that time only 8% of domestic
MSW was recovered (around 175,000 tonnes per
annum). Although the efforts of NGOs and some
Government Departments have probably increased
the rate of recovery in recent years, it is
estimated in the Waste Reduction Framework
Plan (HKSARG 1998) that up to 60% of all arisings
of MSW can be potentially recovered, and this
level of waste reduction is targeted for 2007
in the Plan. This is equivalent to reducing
the projected level of MSW requiring final
disposal in 2007 by 40% compared with today
(or a reduction in MSW of around 1.8 million
tonnes per annum). |
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| 3.5.4.4 |
Another
factor in the increasing levels of waste arisings
is likely to be the improved capture of waste
materials within authorized waste disposal
systems. For example, as a result of improved
sewerage and sewage treatment schemes, the
arisings of wastewater treatment sludges is
expected to more than triple between 1996
and 2006 (ERM 1997a). The same effect would
be observed if volumes of waste material increase
as a result of curtailment of illegal dumping
and remediation of existing Black Spot areas.
In each case, although the increase in arisings
would place an additional demand on existing
disposal facilities, it is actually a positive
step in improving the proportion of waste
materials which are handled properly. |
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Pressures
on Reuse/Recycling |
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| 3.5.4.5 |
As
discussed above, the Waste Reduction Framework
Plan aims to reduce the amount of MSW requiring
final disposal in 2007 by 40%. A component
of this initiative involves achieving a rate
of municipal waste prevention of 20% over
the same timeframe. Although recent recycling
initiatives have been launched at 188 public
housing estates (see above), the results of
these source separation schemes have not been
entirely satisfactory due to the small volumes
collected and the high level of contamination
with other wastes. As a result, less than
30% of the total quantity of material recovered
from the estates was collected under these
schemes (CET 1999) with the remaining 70%
gathered by facility cleaners. Another household
waste recycling campaign has been organised
by the Environmental Campaign Committee, Housing
Department and Housing Society over three
phases from 1998 to 2000 (Waste Reduction
Committee 2000). This initiative has resulted
in increased recovery of paper and aluminium
cans as the number of housing estates involved
in the initiative has increased from 41 estates
in phase I to 227 estates in phase II, although
trends in the quantities recovered per household
per month are difficult to identify. |
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Consequences
of Improper Waste Disposal for Local Groundwater
and Soils
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| 3.5.4.6 |
These inefficiencies in collection of recoverable
materials have a direct effect on the recycling
industry in Hong Kong which operates on a
low profit margin and thus depends on high
volumes and/or high value materials to ensure
financial viability. The local recycling industry
has recently suffered under falling market
prices, competition from Mainland operators,
and the regional economic crisis, resulting
in a further diversion of recyclable materials
to the Mainland. One drawback associated with
export to the Mainland is that approximately
20% of recovered materials cannot be transhipped
without re-processing in Hong Kong. A finding
of the Materials Recovery/Recycling Facilities
Study undertaken recently for EPD is that
both re-processing and the transportation
costs associated with transhipment of materials
adds to the cost of recycling and diminishes
the financial appeal to prospective local
operators. |
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| 3.5.4.7 |
Perhaps
the greatest disincentive to recycling in
Hong Kong is the lack of charging schemes
for waste management and particularly for
disposal. While the costs of waste disposal
are effectively subsidised by Hong Kong taxpayers,
there is little impetus for waste generators,
including the public, to separate recyclable
materials in order to reduce the quantity
of waste requiring final disposal. |
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