The average daily quantity of solid waste disposed of at landfills was 14,739 tonnes in 2020, a 5.7% drop compared to the previous year.

The findings were announced in a report by the Environmental Protection Department today.

The department said the average daily quantity of municipal solid waste disposal at landfills was 10,809 tonnes last year.

The daily municipal solid waste disposal rate was 1.44kg in 2020.

Food waste was still the largest component of municipal solid waste for the year, accounting for 30%, followed by paper waste and plastic waste.

The quantity of municipal solid waste recovered for local recycling was about 230,000 tonnes last year, representing a year-on-year increase of 11%.

With the department progressively launching the Plastic Recycling Pilot Scheme, and expanding the Pilot Scheme on Food Waste Collection and the community recycling network, the quantities of locally recycled plastic and food waste increased 27% and 19%.

The quantity delivered outside Hong Kong for recycling dropped from about 1.44 million tonnes in 2019 to about 1.31 million tonnes in 2020.

Regarding construction waste, the quantity of waste generation increased 17% compared with 2019, the quantity transferred for direct reuse registered a 48% increase and the amount delivered to public fill reception facilities rose 8%. The quantity disposed of at landfills decreased 13%.

The recovery rate of construction materials rose from 92% in 2019 to 94% in 2020.

The Government will work at full steam to implement various waste reduction and recycling measures in the Waste Blueprint for Hong Kong 2035 to achieve the vision of waste reduction, resources circulation, zero landfill.

The department added it is actively preparing for the implementation of municipal solid waste charging.