Dump sites may be expanded
With concern rising that landfills will run out of space in the next few years, a study also proposes building two more
The life of waste-dumping sites in Hong Kong could be extended until the mid-2020s under a proposed landfill expansion plan.
The proposal has been drawn up by the Environmental Protection Department after it completed a study launched two years ago amid growing concern that the three landfills would be overflowing much earlier than expected.
The latest projections have shown that the three landfills - at Pak Nai in Tuen Mun, Ta Kwu Ling and Tseung Kwan O - will be full in between four and seven years, depending on the amount of construction waste dumped there and whether recycling rates can be further boosted.
Under the proposals, the landfills in Pak Nai and Ta Kwu Ling would be expanded.
The study also said that two new landfills could be built - one in Pillar Point and another at sea, south of Cheung Chau - without affecting the environment.
Nine more sites, all at sea - including three around Lamma and one off Tai Long Wan - were also studied, but it was decided they would be less suitable for environmental reasons.
The three existing landfills cover 287 hectares, with a combined capacity of 139 million cubic metres.
It is estimated that they could be expanded to 310 hectares, adding an extra 90 million cubic metres of landfill space.
Preliminary estimates indicate that the enlarged landfills could support waste dumping until the mid-2020s, postponing the need for new landfills by several years.
To cope with demand beyond 2020, the study proposes that a 100-hectare landfill be built in a valley north of Pillar Point, which is located west of Tuen Mun.
The site would provide 65 million cubic metres of landfill space.
A much more aggressive and expensive plan to build a huge waste island south of Cheung Chau has also been proposed.
It is estimated that it would occupy 850 hectares and yield 140 million cubic metres of dumping space. But it would cost tens of billions dollars to build and is unlikely to be pursued.
However, the study stresses that further studies will be needed to gauge the environmental impact of the new landfills and extensions.
The study came after the government introduced landfill-charging regulations to the legislature last week.
The charging scheme aims to save landfill space by controlling the unlimited dumping of construction waste that can be reused or recycled.
Secretary for Environment, Transport and Works Sarah Liao Sau-tung has said that the landfills might be filled in four to seven years if charges are not put in place.
Under the charging scheme, dumping one tonne of waste at the landfills will cost $125.
But the government will also offer outlets for sorted waste for between $27 and $100 a tonne, depending on how well the waste has been sorted. Edwin Lau Che-fung, a waste reduction committee member and assistant director of Friends of the Earth, said the landfill charge should pose no conflict with plans to expand the landfills.
'It is wrong to think the charging scheme could be delayed or modified if we found more landfill space. Both should be pursued simultaneously,' he said.
