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John Cremer

Waste Management

Frank Wan Chi-hung  is an expert in solid waste management and knows that the success of recycling schemes in Hong Kong ultimately depends on two things.

'People's behaviour and the 'polluter pays' principle are the key to improving the materials recovery rate,' said Mr Wan, the technical director for Environmental Resources Management (ERM),  an international consultancy advising governments and the private sector on strategic environmental issues and related risks.

He emphasised that in the domestic sector the waste management system had to start with individual households.

Only by achieving better source separation of recyclable materials at that level would it be possible to hit the ambitious targets set by the government under its 10-year plan to 2014.

These include reducing the amount of municipal solid waste by  1 per cent a year, boosting the overall material recovery rate to 50 per cent from 45 per cent  and substantially cutting the volume sent to landfills.

'We still need to improve the quality of recyclable domestic waste,' Mr Wan said.

He said to achieve this it was important to provide separate colour-coded bins for plastic, metal and paper on each floor of residential buildings, not just in the car park or basement. Such schemes are in place for about 60 per cent of local households and the government target is to have 80 per cent actively participating by 2010.

However, Mr Wan said that further progress also depended on minimising the generation of non-recyclable materials such as food waste, toiletries and used aerosol cans. Different options are under consideration but he favours a model now operating in Taiwan. This requires householders to buy transparent plastic bags in which they can separate and dispose of such items.

'In a way, you are charging by volume and that is a relatively easier option,' said Mr Wan, adding that any system based on charging by weight at the household level was not so feasible in Hong Kong.

He said no matter how  co-operative people were it was unrealistic to expect completely 'zero' waste.

Therefore, further mechanical sorting would be necessary as an integral part of the full waste management process, which also had to include facilities for incineration and biological and thermal treatment.

Mr Wan said that the biological treatment included anaerobic digesters - large oxygen-less enclosed tanks - and aerobic treatment of source-separated food waste.

With the former, bacteria worked on the organic component of material, and the methane and carbon dioxide produced could generate limited amounts of electricity.

Depending on its quality, the solid residue could be used as compost for landscaping or as a 'refuse-derived fuel' producing energy for an incinerator.

Going a step further, estimates have shown that an incineration plant processing 1 million tonnes of municipal solid waste a year would have an annual output of 40 to 60 megawatts. If linked to the grid, this would offset the present consumption of coal or gas used to generate power locally.

'Waste to energy has been on the agenda for the past 10 years,' Mr Wan said.

'Politically it is quite a controversial topic on account of the siting of facilities and green group concerns about emissions of dioxins. But the strategy should be to push minimisation and recovery first and to allow for waste-to-energy schemes as well.'

He said the technology involved was proven and already being used in cities such as Singapore, Tokyo and London. Furthermore, by not using all the available methods of solid waste processing it would be difficult to cut the volume of waste going to landfills and to make it inert.

Construction waste falls into a separate category, but here too, better source separation is the key to a higher rate of recycling. Mr Wan said that the scheme implemented last year to regulate the disposal of construction waste in Hong Kong had reduced the amount going to landfills by about 20 per cent, and the charges introduced had provided the necessary economic incentive.

'If contractors put some effort into sorting on site and providing more 'clean' material that can be sent for recycling rather than to landfills they can reduce their costs,' Mr Wan said. He added that it was also essential to establish a 'polluter pays' principle for the disposal of vehicle tyres, rechargeable batteries, and electrical and electronic waste. Hong Kong lags  many cities in this respect, being one of the few without a related landfill charge to cover disposal.

Regarding employment in the sector, Mr Wan said that other than roles with government departments, most openings were with consultancy firms and contractors. In most cases applicants were expected to have relevant experience and a background in environmental or civil engineering, or a science-based discipline. The firm employs about 70 specialists in Hong Kong with expertise in diverse areas such as marine sciences, landscaping, as well as air and noise pollution. They provide strategic advice and environmental impact assessments for local infrastructure and global industrial operations.

'We have involvement in the whole project cycle,' Mr Wan said. 'If it's not up front with the government, then we have the opportunity to work with the contractor.'



Behaviour key to change