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The Environment

Landfills

Three large strategic landfills are operated to high environmental standards in the New Territories to serve as the final repositories for the city's considerable amount of residual solid waste. With the South East New Territories Landfill accepting only construction waste since 2016, all municipal solid waste is disposed of at the other two landfills.

All three landfills need to be extended to maintain an uninterrupted waste disposal service to the public. With the ongoing extension of two of the landfills, the landfill space is estimated to be able to cope with the city's waste disposal needs up to the late 2020s. A detailed study is under way on how to extend the serviceable life of the remaining landfill space to the mid-2030s.

Hong Kong has 13 restored landfills. The government promotes the development of recreational facilities and innovative after-uses at the restored landfills, some of which have been developed for public use. A non-profit-making organisation selected in 2018 under the Restored Landfill Revitalisation Funding Scheme is carrying out site investigation and detailed design to develop a campsite at the Tseung Kwan O Stage 1 Landfill.

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 amount that requires landfill disposal. The first Integrated Waste Management Facility, being built on an artificial island near Shek Kwu Chau, will adopt advanced incineration as its core technology to cut waste volumes by 90 per cent and turn waste into energy so as to cut greenhouse gas emission. It is capable of treating 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste daily and is scheduled for commissioning in 2024.

The city also plans to build a network of five or six organic waste treatment facilities that will use biological technology to turn food waste separated at source into useful resources such as biogas, with compost as a byproduct. Construction of the second such facility, at Sha Ling in North District, began in 2019 after the commissioning of the first one, at Siu Ho Wan in North Lantau, in 2018. The two facilities can treat 500 tonnes of food waste each day. In addition, the government is exploring the use of existing sewage treatment plants for the anaerobic co- digestion of food waste and sewage sludge. It launched the first trial scheme in 2019 at the Tai Po Sewage Treatment Works, which can process about 50 tonnes of food waste a day.

These high-tech facilities do not eliminate the need for waste reduction at source or for landfills to hold residual waste.

Chemical, Clinical and Special Waste

All chemical and clinical waste producers are required to pack, label and store their chemical and clinical waste properly before disposal at licensed treatment facilities. A trip ticket system tracks the waste movement from its origin to the final disposal point. The Chemical Waste Treatment Centre on Tsing Yi Island, operated by a government contractor, treated a daily average of 35.8 tonnes of chemical waste and 7.4 tonnes of clinical waste in 2019. Waste producers using its services pay part of the treatment cost.

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