Why incinerators won’t solve Hong Kong’s rubbish disposal problem if we don’t reduce waste at source

I refer to Brian Cheng’s letter (“Hong Kong can burn away its rubbish problem and boost green drive”, June 15). I don’t think incineration is a good option for treating municipal solid waste.

In the waste management hierarchy, prevention, or reducing waste at source, is the most favoured option. Some restaurants are taking small steps towards this by providing plastic straws only on request. The least favoured options are disposal methods such as incineration and landfills.

According to the environmental impact report on integrated waste management facilities, the incinerator will treat about 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste a day, but it will also generate more than 900 tonnes of ash daily, which will be disposed of at the West New Territories landfill.

Instead, we should be focusing on the organic resource recovery centres at Siu Ho Wan and Sha Ling, which could help to treat food waste.