The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) today (November 25) published the report "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong – Waste Statistics for 2018", presenting the 2018 statistics on disposal and recovery/recycling of solid waste generated in Hong Kong, which includes municipal solid waste (MSW), comprising domestic, commercial and industrial waste as well as overall construction waste and special waste.
Waste disposal
Overall, the average daily quantity of solid waste disposed of at landfills was 16 096 tonnes in 2018. Regarding MSW, the average daily quantity of disposal at landfills was 11 428 tonnes in 2018. Typhoon Mangkhut, which hit Hong Kong in September 2018, resulted in extensive damage to the city, and subsequently generated a large amount of unconventional waste. Discounting the effect of typhoon Mangkhut, the daily MSW disposal rate would be 1.50 kilograms per capita in 2018.
Looking at the figures by waste type, food waste was the largest component of MSW in 2018, accounting for 31 per cent, followed by waste paper (24 per cent) and waste plastics (21 per cent). These amounts are comparable with those in 2017. With the commissioning of the Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase 1 (O · PARK1) at Siu Ho Wan and the implementation of the Producer Responsibility Scheme (PRS) on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), disposal of food waste and WEEE dropped by 2.6 per cent and 7.8 per cent year-on-year respectively.
Regarding construction waste, the recovery rate of inert construction materials delivered to public fill reception facilities and other outlets in 2018 remained at a level of over 90 per cent, as in 2017. The disposal of overall construction waste at landfills registered a decrease of 3 per cent compared with 2017. This could be partly attributable to the increase in construction waste disposal charges effective from April 2017, strengthening the incentive for the trade to reduce and reuse construction and demolition materials and reduce disposal.
Resources recovery
Hong Kong relies heavily on service industries, and has extremely limited capacity to utilise raw or recycled materials in local production. The value of and outlets for local recyclables have long been dictated by market conditions outside Hong Kong. The challenging condition of the market outside Hong Kong for recyclables that has persisted in recent years, together with stricter import controls imposed by nearby jurisdictions, have continued to affect the overall performance of the recycling industry. The MSW recovery rate was 30 per cent in 2018, down by two percentage points compared with 2017. However, metal recyclables continued to have the highest recovery rate at 90 per cent among all recyclable types. The commissioning of O · PARK1 in 2018 has led to an 84 per cent increase in the recovery of food waste compared to 2017.
An EPD spokesman said that the Government would continue to work diligently to implement the "Hong Kong: Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022". The Government introduced the bill on MSW charging in the Legislative Council (LegCo) in November 2018. The EPD will continue to facilitate the scrutiny of the bill by LegCo and will continue to launch various policies to promote the sustainable use of resources. Further to the full implementation of the PRS on WEEE from August 2018, the EPD is implementing the PRS on glass beverage containers progressively.
The report and "Hong Kong 2018 Municipal Solid Waste – At a Glance" are both available in an electronic format and can be obtained from the EPD website at www.wastereduction.gov.hk/en/assistancewizard/waste_red_sat.htm.
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