The city's first household waste incinerator will begin the final phase of trial operations tomorrow after the environment watchdog said its emissions tests met standards. Green Island Cement's plant at Tap Shek Kok will burn up to 24 tonnes of waste a day. Waste will be sorted to ensure anything recyclable is screened out - and to gather data on waste composition. The trial is expected to end early next year. The results of monitoring of the trial will be posted on the company's website. Since it was launched in 2000, the project, a collaboration with the University of Science and Technology, has faced heavy scrutiny and strong opposition from Tuen Mun residents and has undergone technical fine-tuning. Green Island was asked to carry out another commissioning test in August after 'process fluctuations' were found in the first test in April. In the latest test, which involved burning 75 tonnes of waste from 25 July to 7 August, the emissions of dioxin, a cancer-causing substance released in the waste-combustion process, were found to be significantly below maximum permitted levels. 'These are excellent test results which demonstrate that the process is capable of meeting the specified process conditions,' said Don Johnson, executive director of Green Island Cement. Mr Johnston said the company had written to the Tuen Mun District Council, informing it of the emissions results and the start of the formal trial. The plant's operating licence expires on November 24, and Green Island Cement has applied for its renewal. The Environmental Protection Department would take into account performance during the operational trial in deciding whether to renew the licence, a spokeswoman said.
