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SECTION
3 NATURAL RESOURCES CAPITAL STOCK
| 3.5 |
Solid
Waste |
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| Pressures
on Landfill and Other Facility Capacity
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| 3.5.4.8 |
Current
projections, based on current (1998) daily
waste disposal amounts of 16,500 tonnes
per day, indicate that existing landfills
are expected to reach their capacity by
2015 (HKSARG 1998). The lifespan of existing
landfills (ie existing capital stock) can
be extended through implementation of the
Waste Reduction Framework Plan which includes
waste reduction practices (eg increased
reuse and recycling) and bulk waste reduction
options (eg incineration). A further option
lies in examining the feasibility of expanding
the void capacity of the three existing
strategic landfills in the territory.
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| 3.5.4.9 |
The landfill capacity projection above is
premised on identifying adequate outlets for
C&D materials, which otherwise would be
disposed in landfills (see Paragraph 3.5.3.5).
A recent study on public fill capacity (Mouchel
1998) estimated that 80% of all C&D material
generated from 1998 onward would be placed
in public fill areas rather than landfills.
However, this will depend on the timeframe
and volume of C&D arisings and the timeframe
and volume of public fill requirements, both
of which are difficult to predict with certainty.
The study recommends a hierarchical strategy
for public fill consisting of avoidance/reduction
of arisings, reuse in end-user defined projects,
recycling for production of aggregate, and
as a contingency option, disposal in end-user
undefined projects. |
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| 3.5.4.10 |
Despite
these measures, it is acknowledged that there
will always be a need for disposal of some
waste to landfill. Since the decomposition
rate of wastes buried in landfills is very
slow, the key constraint on landfill capacity
is in effect the availability of suitable
land. In addition to topographical and geological
requirements, the potential for additional
landfill sites in Hong Kong is severely limited
by competing land uses for suitable development
locations and existing zoning and protection
ordinances (see full discussion in Paragraphs
3.2.2.1 - 3.2.2.7). Given the amount of
land required for landfills (the three strategic
landfills occupy a total area of 270 hectares
for example), limited land resources in Hong
Kong mean that not only are new sites for
landfills difficult to find, but they will
also be very expensive to procure. |
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| 3.5.4.11 |
Although
there may be impacts to soils and groundwater
associated with landfill disposal, these impacts
will be relatively localised and controlled
in comparison to current illegal storage/dumping
practices which are responsible for unknown,
but likely substantial, levels of land contamination.
Hong Kong's modern strategic landfills have
been designed to collect, treat and dispose
of contaminating by-products in an environmentally
responsible manner. Other waste treatment
options, such as incineration, may have less
impact on groundwater and soils than landfills,
but relatively greater impact on the assimilative
capacity of local airsheds (see Paragraph
5.4.1.17). |
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