No horse manure will go to waste during the Olympics. From this weekend, the Environmental Protection Department's HK$37 million plant will compost all of it.
The Animal Waste Composting Plant in Ngau Tam Mei, Yuen Long, will produce up to 25 tonnes of fertiliser a day starting from tomorrow - the day after the first horses arrive - until after the Paralympics in mid-September.
The department's assistant director, Ellen Chan Ying-lung, said the measure was part of an effort to make the Olympics environmentally friendly.
Jardine Engineering Corporation, the contractor, worked overtime to complete the plant in time for the Games, said the company's project manager, Alex Law Chi-wai.
Greenpeace project manager Edward Chan Yue-fai said that whether the Olympic compost would make for 'green' Games remained to be seen after the department announced results. However, he added: 'A simple showcase is good. It can demonstrate the use of composting and make people think about ordering that kind of fertiliser.'
The plant started its two-year trial two months ago, producing 20 tonnes of compost a day using manure and grass and newspaper bedding from the Jockey Club's Sha Tin stables.