Hong Kong Municipal Waste Management Research
In any developed society, waste increases as population grows, Hong Kong has no exception. The Environmental Protection Department has been promoting waste reduction and recovery for many years as it is the most important aspect of environmental protection. However, in one of its latest report, it pointed out that the three strategic landfills would start to approach their capacity one by one in the early to mid 2010s. Therefore, there is an urge for the adoption of sustainable technologies to reduce the volume of waste and recover resources so as to deal with the municipal solid waste generated in Hong Kong more effectively.
ETF launched a research in 2008 to investigate recent innovative solid waste technologies as well as the current solid waste management system in Hong Kong to see if there is any room for improvement.
Based on this research, among different solid waste treatment and management technologies, the waste separation refuse chute technology (WSRCT) is found to be one of the most viable and suitable solid waste treatment technology for increasing the amount of recyclables in Hong Kong Estates. The system, which can be retrofitted in the same space as the chute and container now in use, can segregate glass, plastic, paper, metal, and other rubbish conveniently, at the press of a button, to go into separate boxes. Sorting recyclables before they are collected saves labour, space and offers efficiency and hygienic environment. Obviously, it is suitable for high-rise buildings. We believed that this type of technology could increase recycling activities in Hong Kong housing estates.