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The Environment
contamination of recyclables, improve the quality of recyclables collected and lessen the burden of subsequent treatment.
In each of the last five years, the recovery rate of paper in municipal solid waste was between 57 per cent and 65 per cent and that of metal was between 86 per cent and 93 per cent. Over the same period, the recovery rate of plastics dropped from 69 per cent to 12 per cent.
More than 90 per cent of recyclable municipal solid waste is exported for recycling every year, with plastics, paper and metals contributing over 90 per cent of recovered waste. To promote local recycling, the government has developed a 20-hectare EcoPark in Tuen Mun Area 38 to provide long-term land at affordable costs for the development of the recycling industry so as to encourage investment in advanced technologies and value-added recycling processes.
Between 2010 and 2014, the overall recovery rate of solid waste, including municipal and construction waste, was between 78 per cent and 85 per cent each year, with an annual average of 22 million tonnes recovered. This annual average was 67 per cent higher than the 13 million tonnes between 2005 and 2009.
Recycling Fund
A $1 billion Recycling Fund was launched in October 2015 and open for applications for five years. The fund aims to support projects that raise the quantity and quality of recyclables recovered, thus reducing landfill disposal, and to support projects that promote markets for recycled products and enhance the recycling industry's overall capability and capacity.
Waste Treatment and Disposal Infrastructure
Refuse Transfer Stations
Municipal solid waste is collected and delivered to refuse transfer stations by refuse collection vehicles, containerised and then taken to landfills in bulk by sea or land transport. A network of six transfer stations and seven outlying islands transfer facilities handled 2.51 million tonnes of such waste in 2015. At present, about 75 per cent of domestic waste is delivered via this network to landfills.
Landfills
All municipal solid waste is disposed of at three large strategic landfills in the New Territories, which are operated to high environmental standards. To maintain an uninterrupted waste disposal service to the public, extension works for all three landfills are necessary.
In 2015, 3.71 million tonnes of municipal solid waste were disposed of at landfills. About 64 per cent was domestic waste and the remainder was commercial and industrial waste. On average, each person disposed of about 1.39kg of municipal solid waste daily. Even with the ongoing extension of two of the three landfills, it is estimated that the limited landfill space could cope with disposal needs only up to late next decade. The department has commissioned a detailed study on how to extend the serviceable life of the remaining landfill to mid-2030s.
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