SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1983
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+ALMOST ALL DOMESTIC AND INDUSTRIAL SOLID WASTE IS MANUALLY HANDLED AT SOURCE. THIS METHOD PROVIDES A HIGHLY EFFICIENT MEANS OF INSPECTION AND EXTRACTION OF MATERIAL FOR RECYCLING, HE ADDED.
AT PRESENT ABOUT 65 PER CENT OF HONG KONG'S DAILY SOLID WASTE IS DISPOSED OF AT FOUR CONTROLLED TIPS, AND SOME 35 PER CENT AT THREE INCINERATORS LOCATED IN KWAI CHUNG, KENNEDY TOWN AND LAI CHI KOK. INCINERATION OF REFUSE IN THE DENSELY DEVELOPED URBAN AREAS IS CONSIDERED LESS DESIRABLE BECAUSE OF ASSOCIATED POLLUTION PROBLEMS, MR HOARE SAID.
FOR THIS REASON, HE SAID, IT IS NOT LIKELY THAT ANY MORE INCINERATORS WILL BE BUILT WITHIN THE URBAN AREA WHILE ELECTROSTATIC PRECIPITATORS ARE PRESENTLY BEING INSTALLED AT THE KENNEDY TOWN INCINERATOR TO CUT EMISSION OF POLLUTANTS TO THE MINIMUM. THE KWAI CHUNG PLANT, THE LAST OF THE THREE TO BE COMPLETED IN 1979, WAS FITTED WITH PRECIPITATORS BEFORE COMMISSIONING.
CONTROLLED TIPPING IS THE MOST FLEXIBLE METHOD OF DISPOSAL AS ITS DAILY CAPACITY CAN BE ADJUSTED TO MEET ANY FLUCTUATING NEEDS, HE SAID. EVERY DAY. SOME 4 000 TONNES OF WASTE IS DUMPED AT THE FOUR CONTROLLED TIPS IN MA YAU TONG, JUNK BAY, SIU LANG SHUI AND SHUEN WAN.
THE TIP AT JUNK BAY, IN OPERATION SINCE 1979, IS AMONG THE LARGEST IN THE WORLD, MR HOARE POINTED OUT. IT IS EQUIPPED WITH A MODERN STEEL-WHEEL COMPACTOR WHICH CAN CHOP UP BULKY WASTE, THUS MAKING IT MORE COMPACT. TO EXTEND ITS LIFE EXPECTANCY+, PLANS ARE IN HAND TO DEVELOP THE SECOND STAGE OF THE JUNK BAY TIP, WITH A TOTAL CAPACITY OF SIX TO TEN MILLION CUBIC METRES, LARGE ENOUGH FOR THE TIP TO FUNCTION TILL 1989. THE PRESENT CAPACITY OF FOUR MILLION CUBIC METRES FOR THE STAGE-ONE TIP AT THE SITE WILL BE EXHAUSTED BY 1985.
+WE ARE CONSTANTLY LOOKING INTO NEW TECHNOLOGY AND NEW IDEAS IN WASTE MANAGEMENT. NEW DISPOSAL FACILITIES WILL BE CAREFULLY ASSESSED ON THE BASIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL, COST AND OTHER CRITERIA,+ HE SAID. HE CITED AN EXPERIMENTAL COMPOSTING PLANT IN CHAI WAN WHERE WASTES ARE BEING DISPOSED OF TO DETERMINE WHETHER REFUSE COMPOSTING IS SUITED TO HONG KONG.
+COMPOSTING IS A PROCESS OF CONVERTING ORGANIC CONTENT IN THE WASTE INTO AN INOFFENSIVE PRODUCT FOR BENEFICIAL USES.
+IT IS VITAL THAT A MARKET IS ESTABLISHED FOR THE COMPOST IN ORDER THAT WE CAN MAKE THE BEST ADVANTAGE OF THE PROCESS WHICH COULD HAVE A CONTRIBUTION TO MAKE TO HONG KONG'S WASTE DISPOSAL NEEDS, MR HOARE SAID.
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