Lawmakers Halt Tseung Kwan O Landfill Expansion Plan

It is unclear where Hong Kong’s waste will go if the government withdraws the Tseung Kwan O landfill expansion plans or bans urban waste at the site, warned Tam Chi-wan, chairman of Hong Kong’s Waste Disposal Industry Association in a press conference late last week.

When the Tseung Kwan O dumping ground reaches its capacity or stops taking in urban waste in two years, waste disposal companies will have to redirect the waste to the other two landfills in the northeastern New Territories and Tuen Mun respectively, said the association's chairman, whose members include more than 70 percent of Hong Kong’s private waste collection companies.

That would require an extra 80 or more garbage trucks to transport the waste across districts, he said. The modification of such trucks would take at least a year and a half, and the additional trucks will affect residents near the New Territories landfills and spike waste disposal costs.

“Without enough trucks to handle Hong Kong’s waste, there will be a rubbish catastrophe,” said Tam in an official statement. “There is no practical alternative waste disposal plan if the Tseung Kwan O landfill shuts down.”

The Tseung Kwan O landfill currently takes in around 2,500 tonnes of solid waste collected from the the Hong Kong island and the Kowloon area, Tam said, with garbage trucks unloading at least 400 times every day at the site.

Tam held a press conference last week after lawmakers said no to the Environment Bureau’s plan to expand the Tseung Kwan O landfill, passing the non-binding motion by a 9–4 vote at the Legislative Council’s environmental panel meeting on Monday.