Dealing with Hong Kong's food waste
Even as Hongkongers throw out more food, only a fraction is reaching recyclers. Elaine Yau discovers what lies behind the paradox
It's telling that when a district scheme to recycle food waste succeeds beyond expectations, the organisers still struggle with excess.
About 550 households signed up when the Cheung Chau Island Women's Association's project began in August. Now enthusiastic volunteers turn up daily to help transport tubs of kitchen waste from two collection points to a community facility, where the material is sorted and turned into compost.
The problem is, there's more food waste than they can handle, says project manager Kwok Wai-man.
Last year the association secured a HK$1.7 million government grant, which was used to construct the waste recycling facility and to lease a composter for two years
"We receive 250kg of leftovers every day, but the [composting] machine can handle only 100kg, so the rest has to be thrown away," Kwok says.
Hong Kong's mounting waste disposal problems, aggravated by a throwaway culture, are well known. Less understood is how food waste now makes up as much as 40 per cent of the material dumped in landfills every day (about 3,500 tonnes). Worse, discarded food accounts for a rising proportion of the solid waste from households, rising from 37 per cent in 2002 to 42 per cent in 2011.