ENG-2016 — Page 301

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The Environment

Surplus Food Donation

The government supports non-governmental organisations in collecting edible surplus or 'close-to-expiry' food from supermarkets, wet markets, restaurants, clubs and hotels for donation to the needy. NGOs can apply for funding from the Environment and Conservation Fund for projects to reduce food waste.

Waste Recycling

The department supports the recycling trade and educates the public to reduce waste at source, separate waste properly to prevent contamination of recyclables, improve the quality of recyclables collected and lessen the burden of subsequent treatment.

Between 2011 and 2015, the recovery rate of paper in municipal solid waste was between 52 per cent and 64 per cent, and that of metal was between 87 per cent and 92 per cent. The recovery rate of plastics dropped from 58 per cent to 11 per cent.

Between 2011 and 2015, 81 per cent to 85 per cent of solid waste, including municipal solid waste and overall construction waste, was recovered each year, working out to an annual average of 23 million tonnes recovered. This annual average was 74 per cent higher than the 13 million tonnes recovered between 2006 and 2010.

EcoPark

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. The 20-hectare EcoPark in Tuen Mun Area 38 promotes the development of the local recycling industry by providing long-term land at affordable costs so as to encourage investment in advanced technologies and value-added recycling processes.

As at December 2016, the EcoPark had leased 13 lots to private recyclers and non-profit-making organisations to recycle cooking oil, metals, wood, electrical and electronic equipment, printed circuit boards, plastics, batteries, construction materials, glass, rubber tyres and food waste.

Recycling Fund

A $1 billion Recycling Fund, launched in 2015, is open for applications for five years to support projects that raise the quantity and quality of recyclables recovered, as well as projects that promote markets for recycled products and enhance the recycling industry's capability and capacity. Forty-eight applications had been approved by November 2016, involving total funding of about $54 million.

Waste Treatment and Disposal

Refuse Transfer Stations

Municipal solid waste is collected and delivered to refuse transfer stations by refuse collection. vehicles, packed into containers and then taken to landfills in bulk by sea or land. A network of six transfer stations and seven outlying islands transfer facilities handled 2.51 million tonnes of such waste in 2015, delivering about 75 per cent of domestic waste to landfills.

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