A municipal solid waste management strategy will be published in September by the Environmental Protection Department.

The strategy will work parallel to community education to promote separation of domestic waste at the source and other reduction and recycling schemes.

The department told legislators today that in view of the urgency and seriousness of waste problems, a definitive strategy is needed to overcome them, adding a solution lies in a multifaceted plan that tackles the issues from all fronts.

As landfills are not sustainable, alternative waste treatment methods have to be adopted to reduce the volume of waste before disposal.

8 options

The Government has identified six major technology types that will have potential applications in Hong Kong and short-listed eight suitable strategy options.

They are: incineration with energy recovery; gasification; close-coupled gasification-combustion; material recovery and combustion of refuse derived fuel for cement production; mechanical-biological treatment; composting and incineration; anaerobic digestion and incineration; and mechanical-biological treatment and gasification.

In the light of the heterogenous nature of the municipal solid waste, a multi-technology approach should be adopted so the most suitable technology can be applied. The department said the approach will be built upon and complement existing efforts to promote waste reduction and recovery.

The target is to raise the recovery rate from 40% in 2004 to 50% by 2014, which is equivalent to about 7,200 tonnes of solid waste per day. Through separation, recyclable materials will be recovered for recycling, biodegradable materials will be separately collected for biological treatment, while the remaining mixed solid waste may then be treated by both mechanical-biological treatment and thermal technologies.