HK urged to develop more waste-to-energy incineration plants

As Hong Kong faces a shortage of landfill space, an environmental professor is urging the city to proactively develop more sustainable and large-capacity waste-to-energy incineration plants.

"The waste-to-energy incineration technology has been developed for years and is reliable, mature, highly efficient and cost-effective," said Jonathan Wong Woon-chung, an emeritus professor in the Department of Biology at Baptist University.

In an interview with The Standard's sister newspaper Sing Tao Daily, Wong said modern waste-to-energy incineration plants using moving grate technology can have a large treatment capacity and reduce waste volume by over 90 percent.

"Many European cities are working on waste reduction at source while using incineration plants to replace landfills. Mainland cities such as Shenzhen are also adopting this approach," he added.

Hong Kong is currently building its first integrated waste management facility, I Park1, on an artificial island near Shek Kwu Chau.

Scheduled to commence operations next year, I Park1 will be able to process about 3,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day and generate 480 million kilowatt hours of surplus electricity annually - enough to power around 100,000 households.

However, Wong said I Park1 alone is insufficient to handle the 11,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste dumped in landfills daily.

The government is therefore preparing to construct a second waste-to-energy incinerator in Tsang Tsui, Tuen Mun, with a daily processing capacity of 6,000 tonnes.

"Coupled with the government's ongoing efforts to promote waste reduction and recycling, it is expected that Hong Kong will achieve the goal of 'zero landfill' by around 2035 and move away from the reliance on landfills for disposing municipal solid waste," Wong said.

The public appears to support the construction of more incinerators, as it recognizes the efficiency and space-saving benefits of such facilities compared to landfills.

"There is too much garbage in Hong Kong, and incineration can process more waste compared to other methods," said one citizen.

Another said that "waste-to-energy would be a more feasible method as everyone will always produce waste and landfills will be saturated one day."

ayra.wang@singtaonewscorp.com