Incineration and landfill extensions are essential to tackle Hong Kong's waste crisis
Wong Kam-sing says after over a decade, Hong Kong must act on plans to extend its landfills and build an incinerator as they are indispensable parts of a comprehensive strategy
The plans for landfill extensions and building an integrated waste management facility have taken more than a decade - Hong Kong must act now. These projects are currently being scrutinised by the Legislative Council's Finance Committee.
They are also essential elements in our blueprint for sustainable use of resources up until 2022, published in May last year.
Unfortunately, there are still various misunderstandings that landfilling and the integrated waste management facility could be deferred or even shelved if only Hong Kong would work harder on waste reduction and recycling. Some say Hong Kong should build waste separation facilities for better recycling first; another demand is for us to adopt "new" technology to treat waste.
The truth is Hong Kong treats more than 9,000 tonnes of residual municipal solid waste a day and, one by one, our three landfills are going to reach capacity by 2019. This means we have to extend them to give Hong Kong the breathing space to put in place the full complement of waste reduction, recycling and treatment infrastructure.
We are moving ahead concurrently on these and many other waste-related measures. As they fall into place, there will be less dependence on landfilling. Our target is a 40 per cent reduction in municipal solid waste sent to landfills by 2022. From where we stand, this is an ambitious goal.
As for the choice of municipal solid waste treatment technology, we are opting for advanced moving grate incineration because this is the most reliable one available for large-scale treatment with proven experience today, which is why it remains the leading choice around the world. It is certainly not true that it is outdated, as some new incinerators just commissioned or being built adopt this technology.