Absence of waste sorting, separating and recycling policy

The Environment Bureau proposes expanding landfills and building an incinerator to dispose of Hong Kong's waste. It claims these measures, with waste charging, will reduce the per capita waste generated by 40 per cent by 2022.

A comprehensive sustainable waste management policy must be based on an integrated programme of waste sorting, separating and recycling. Such a programme requires the cooperation and commitment of at least the three departments concerned: the Environmental Protection, Housing, and Food and Environmental Hygiene departments.

Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor is aware of the dysfunction and inefficiency of civil service bureaucracy that hinders cross-departmental cooperation essential in the implementation of her policies. She made a commitment on this and chairs an interdepartmental committee to address the issue. However, there is no evidence of any inter-departmental cooperation in the planning and implementation of a comprehensive waste management policy based on waste sorting, separating and recycling.

The bureau's planning effort in the past 10 years has focused only on expansion of landfills and construction of an incinerator based on outdated polluting technology. This plant will cost the Hong Kong taxpayer between 100 per cent and 300 per cent more than comparable installations elsewhere. The Finance Committee has been asked to approve around HK$30 billion for the project.

In the past 10 years, no comprehensive sorting and separation of waste has been seriously investigated for Hong Kong, nor is it in the bureau's current plan. Without such a programme, waste management is confined to putting an increasing volume of waste in landfills and incinerator(s). This is not a sustainable strategy. The bureau's plan requires an eight-year lead time before the incinerator is operational in 2022. Comprehensive waste sorting and separation can be established in much less time and at far lower cost. As this infrastructure is developed, along with waste charging, the goal of reducing Hong Kong's per capita waste by 40 per cent would be achievable.

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