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Hong Kong urged to learn lesson on waste from Japan

Chloe Lai

Imagine an outdoor spa and indoor swimming pool next to an incinerator. The idea may seem strange, but it is an integral part of Japan's answer to its mounting waste problem.

A Hong Kong green group that recently visited Tokyo's recycling and waste-treatment facilities said Hong Kong should learn from Japan's experience.

The government is to issue a new consultation paper next month on how to deal with the growing amount of waste that will fill all landfills by 2012. Options include recycling and incineration.

Lister Cheung Lai-ping, chief executive of the Conservancy Association, said the government should set a comprehensive waste-treatment policy rather than keep expanding landfills.

In Japan, where the government wants to create a recycling-based society, recycling, incineration and landfills are all used.

Japanese families are required to sort their waste. Reusable waste, such as tin, paper and plastic bottles, is recycled. Bulky rubbish, such as appliances and furniture, is either resold or pulverised and dumped in landfills. Only non-recyclable and combustible refuse is sent to incineration plants.

Japan has adopted the thermal technology of gasification, which turns waste into gases at extremely high temperatures, significantly reducing dioxin emissions.

Power generated from the gas supports nearby community facilities, while the rest of the electricity is sold to power companies. The incineration process also provides slag for the construction industry.

The Asahi Environmental Centre, located on the outskirts of Tokyo, has a gasification incinerator, as well as an outdoor spa, an indoor heated swimming pool and bath for the community. It also has a second-hand centre selling unwanted clothes, books, furniture and toys, and runs environmental education programmes.

The Ariake Incineration Plant at Tokyo Bay, well known for its sharp-edged, triangular stacks, is a waterfront landmark that won a top Japanese design award.

The plant also provides a gym and swimming pool for the neighbourhood. An electronic board tells the public of its daily emissions of dust, sulfur, hydrogen chloride, nitrogen oxide and dioxin.

Massashi Kishioka, a manager at Japan Environmental Consultants, said: 'Although the technology has been greatly improved and it is safe to use incinerators now, many people still have negative feelings about incinerators. So it is important to ... build facilities to compensate residents.'

Mr Kishioka said recycling and reducing waste were essential for persuading the community to accept thermal technology.

'My suggestion to Hong Kong is that you have to win the trust of the local community. Transparency and setting your own stringent emissions standards is crucial.'

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