ENG-2015 — Page 299

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The Environment

Hong Kong has 13 restored landfills and some of them have been developed for public use. A Restored Landfill Revitalisation Funding Scheme was launched in November 2015 to fund the development of recreational facilities or other innovative proposals.

Planned Infrastructure

Hong Kong needs state-of-the-art, cost-effective facilities to deal with the large volume of non- recyclable waste and reduce the volume that requires landfill disposal. A multi-technology approach is needed so different types of waste can be dealt with by the most suitable technology. The first phase of the government's large-scale Integrated Waste Management Facility, to be built on an artificial island near Shek Kwu Chau, will adopt advanced incineration as its core technology to reduce the waste volume by 90 per cent and to turn waste into energy, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emission. LegCo has approved the funding proposal and the facility is scheduled for commissioning in 2023. The territory also plans to build a network of five or six organic waste treatment facilities that will use biological treatment technologies to turn source-separated food waste into useful resources such as biogas, with compost as a by-product. For the first phase of a new treatment facility at Siu Ho Wan, North Lantau, the Design-Build-Operate contract was awarded in December 2014. Construction started in May 2015 and the contractor is working on the detailed design, with the project due to be commissioned in 2017. However, even with such facilities, waste reduction at source is still necessary and the residual waste will still need to be disposed of at landfills. The government has begun a study on planning future waste management and transfer facilities to identify additional strategic and regional waste facilities for handling solid waste.

A new, dedicated sludge treatment facility at Tsang Tsui near Nim Wan, Tuen Mun, has been put into operation since April 2015. It adopts advanced incineration technology to treat sewage sludge generated from sewage treatment works and can treat up to 2,000 tonnes per day. A waste-to-energy installation at the facility helps export surplus electricity generated from sludge incineration to the public power grid.

Chemical, Clinical and Special Waste

All chemical waste producers are required to pack, label and store their chemical waste properly before disposal at licensed treatment facilities. A trip ticket system tracks the movement of chemical waste from its origin to the final disposal point. In 2015, a daily average of 31.4 tonnes of chemical waste including MARPOL Annexes I and II waste from ocean-going vessels, and 6.2 tonnes of clinical waste were treated at the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre on Tsing Yi Island, which is operated by a government contractor. Waste producers using its services are required to pay part of the treatment cost.

The Low-level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility at Siu A Chau is purpose-built to meet stringent international standards for the safe storage of low-level radioactive waste. Most of such waste generated in Hong Kong has been transferred to the facility for long-term storage.

Construction Waste

The construction industry generated 24.5 million tonnes of construction waste in 2015. Of that, about 94 per cent was inert and suitable for reuse. To maximise the recovery and reuse of inert

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