In the densely populated Hong Kong, waste is a complex issue. The territory generates around 6.4 million tons of waste each year but is able to collect and process only a minimal portion of recyclable waste. By 2019, its existing

landfill A landfill site, also known as a tip, dump, rubbish dump, garbage dump, or dumping ground, is a site for the disposal of waste materials. Landfill is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of the wast ...

s are expected to be full.

The government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

has introduced

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

schemes and is working to educate the public on the subject. On the commercial side, producers are taking up measures to reduce waste.

Statistics

Hong Kong EPD (

Environmental Protection Department Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is a department of Hong Kong Government concerning the issues of environmental protection in Hong Kong.The EPD is responsible for developing policies covering environmental protection, nature conser ...

) provides data and statistics about waste management.

Waste management process

In Hong Kong, wastes generated can be categorised as municipal

solid waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste, ...

construction and demolition waste Construction waste or debris is any kind of debris from the construction process. Different government agencies have clear definitions. For example, the United States Environmental Protection Agency EPA defines construction and demolition materi ...

chemical waste Chemical waste is any excess, unusable, or unwanted chemical, especially those that cause damage to human health or the environment. Chemical waste may be classified as hazardous waste, non-hazardous waste, universal waste, and household ha ...

and other special waste, including:

clinical waste Biomedical waste or hospital waste is any kind of waste containing infectious (or potentially infectious) materials. It may also include waste associated with the generation of biomedical waste that visually appears to be of medical or laborator ...

, animal carcasses, livestock waste,

radioactive waste Radioactive waste is a type of hazardous waste that contains radioactive material. Radioactive waste is a result of many activities, including nuclear medicine, nuclear research, nuclear power generation, rare-earth mining, and nuclear weapon ...

, grease trap waste and waterworks/sewage sludges. According to a 2016 report from

Waste Atlas Waste Atlas is an interactive waste management map that visualises global solid waste management data for comparison and benchmarking purposes. Waste Atlas partnership is a non-commercial initiative supported by significant global range non-profi ...

, waste generation in Hong Kong is around 6.4 million

tonnes The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton (United States c ...

per year or 900 kg/cap/year. Wastes in Hong Kong are first collected from disposal bins to refuse transfer stations (RTS). After they are compacted and put in containers, they are delivered to disposal lands or recycling centers. There are hundreds of collectors in the territory where wastes are located before transferring to refuse transfer stations. There are seven refuse transfer stations in the territory. They serve as centralised collection points for the transfer of waste to the strategic landfills.

Landfills

Operated by the EPD, the landfill sites only accept garbage from Hong Kong. Thirteen of 16 landfills were closed from 1988 to 1996. Starting from 6 January 2016, the South East New Territories Landfill (SENT) will only receive construction waste. Hong Kong has three strategic landfills in use. All are located in the

New Territories The New Territories is one of the three main regions of Hong Kong, alongside Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon Peninsula. It makes up 86.2% of Hong Kong's territory, and contains around half of the population of Hong Kong. Historically, it ...

Closed landfills

There are also 13 closed landfills. The closed landfills are converted into facilities such as golf courses, multi-purpose grass pitches, rest gardens, and ecological parks. Greenhouse gases emitted from closed landfills are used for energy. The closed landfills are:

Management of emissions from waste

The degradation of the organic components contained within waste generates both gaseous and liquid emissions.

Landfill gas Landfill gas is a mix of different gases created by the action of microorganisms within a landfill as they decompose organic waste, including for example, food waste and paper waste. Landfill gas is approximately forty to sixty percent methane ...

, principally

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane ...

and

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...

, is formed once

anaerobic Anaerobic means "living, active, occurring, or existing in the absence of free oxygen", as opposed to aerobic which means "living, active, or occurring only in the presence of oxygen." Anaerobic may also refer to: * Anaerobic adhesive, a bonding a ...

conditions are achieved within the landfill, and leachate is formed as liquids percolate through landfilled waste and pick up a cocktail of toxic and contaminating elements from the multiple waste fractions that comprise

Municipal Solid Waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste ...

. Both can be harmful to human health and toxic to the environment. Landfill gas is an important source of greenhouse gases that has been clearly shown to contribute to global warming, whilst leachate can be an important source of local contamination, especially to waterways. As Hong Kong is very close to the sea as well as to heavily built up areas, the control of emissions is of high importance. Wherever possible, landfill gas is used as a fuel for the generation of power and, in Hong Kong, landfill gas is used to generate electricity and to provide power for the treatment of leachate produced from the landfilled waste. The technology used for landfill gas management is well known throughout the world and includes on-site power generation, provision of heat for leachate treatment and off-site use as a source of natural biogas for feeding into the gas main. Leachate is treated using landfill gas to provide heat for reducing the heavy loading of ammonia and ensuring that it can be released into the environment according to strict criteria as specified by th
Environmental Protection Department of Hong Kong
and the process is employed at all three strategic landfill sites cited above.

NGO campaigns

Friends of the Earth

Friends of the Earth (HK) is one of the local environmental groups in Hong Kong. One of its campaigns emphasises on setting up an all-inclusive recycling system.

Green Power

Green Power Green Power is a non-governmental organisation in Hong Kong founded in 1988, concerned with the city's environmental issues. Activities and works Environmental education Green Power established the first Green Schools Network in Hong Kong ...

, another local environmental organisation, has many activities related to waste control and management. Green Power organises an ongoing " Zero Waste Action", aiming to reduce the waste the territory produces.

References

External links

Restoring Hong Kong's Landfills

Friends of the Earth

Green Power

The Struggle for Sustainable Waste Management in Hong Kong: 1950s–2010s
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