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Consumer packaging
wastes such as plastic bags,
bottles and lunch boxes create a persistent litter problem.
seeking the cooperation of the beverage
The Government is
manufacturers, superma rket
such containers, to find
problems these containers
consumer.
These solutions
satisfactory
chains and other major users of
solutions to the
create when in the hands of the
might include alternatives to
of household wastes, or e ven
plastic bags and separation
statutory controls.
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A strategy will therefore be required for this
difficu lt area.
Increased use of degradable plastic bags
will not solve the litter problem, because although they
decompose quicker, say in one year compared to 100 years
for an ordinary plastic bag
any type of plastic bag
normally reaches a point of disposal well before a year.
Whereas
degradable bags would lead to a useful reduction of
landfill space, they are not SO good for recycling and
their use will discourage efforts to recycle plastics.
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rubble
Construction wastes
timber, concrete and other
are an important and rapidly growing category of
waste that will be exa mined by the EP D to assess the
opportunities for resource recovery and reuse.
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A further su bstantial opportunity
for resource
recovery is the gas produced at landfill sites. There are currently about 80 million m3 of methane generated at which represented 7% of gas used
The quantity of landfill gas
existing
landfill sites,
in Hong Kong in 1988.
generated will increase in future, along with the growing
quantities of wastes, and as a greater proportion of wastes
is
disposed of in
landfills.
This gas will need to be
CONFIDENTIAL