Biology ProjectWastes recycling industry,

Examples of 4R(reduce,recycle,reuse,replace)

Cheung Wan Ming(3)Yip Kit Yu (16)

Why the wastes recycling is Why the wastes recycling is important to Hong Kong?important to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong ‘s waste problem

• Hong Kong, like many developed places, has seen its waste loads grow as its economy has grown. Municipal waste loads have increased an average of about three per cent per year since 1986

• The per capita level of domestic waste has risen from 0.95 kilograms per person per day in 1990, to 1.11 kilograms in 2002.

•About 6million ton of waste dumped in landfills each year

– 55% (3.4million ton) municipal solid waste –38% construction and demolition waste– 7% other wastes (sludge, animal carcass)

•The 3 Strategic Landfills (Nim Wan, Tseung Kwan O and Ta Kwu Ling ) are filling up fast

– Remaining capacity: around 110million tonnes– Expected to last another 10-15 years– Annual operating cost = HK$420 Million

• The continued growth in waste loads means Hong Kong is running out of landfill space far earlier than expected.

• The remaining landfill space will last only for 7 to 11 years if waste levels continue to increase at current levels.

• We will face a crisis in the next decade of having nowhere to put the thousands of tonnes of waste thrown away each day.

* Thus, Hong Kong needs to regenerate several different types of waste in order to reduce the waste loads.

Solid waste transfer & disposal in Hong Kong

Source: http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/

What is recycling?What is recycling?

• It includes recovery and utilization

Recovery: • The collection of waste materials that

can be used

Utilization:• The processing of diverted waste into

new and useful materials and products

The importance of recycling of waste materials

• Reduce the rate of depletion of natural resources

• Reduce the air pollution• Reduce the needs for landfill

sites• Save energy used in some

process

Waste recycling industry in HK

• According to the Environmental Protection Department ,there are about 300 active waste collectors and 50 waste recyclers in Hong Kong.

Waste recycling industry in HK

1)Recycling of Municipal solid waste• comprises solid waste from households, com

mercial and industrial sources.• (eg: plastic, paper, aluminium)

– 2.38million tonnes (36 % of the total generated) were recovered

– 9 % recycled locally– 91 % exported to the Mainland & other cou

ntries• The waste recycling industry of the solid wastesin HK is small.

Recycling of paper

• In 2002,about 58% of the waste paper generated in Hong Kong Was recovered.

• They were either recycled locally or exported to China for recycling.

• 18 % of the wastes are recycled locally 82 % of them are exported to the

Mainland or other countries

• In Hong Kong, there were about 156 private waste paper collectors and 2 paper recyclers in operation.

Recycling of metals

• Metal wastes are classified into 2 types: ferrous metals (eg: alloy steel scrap) non ferrous metal ( eg:aluminium ,lead)

In 2002, about 91% of the ferrous metal wastes and 76%of the non-ferrous metals wastes were recovered.

There are about 137 ferrous and 177 non-ferrous wastes metal dealers in Hong Kong.

Recycling of plastics

• In 2002 ,only 38% of the plastic wastes was recovered

because there is very limited re-processing of post-consumer plastics due to the complicated processing procedures.

•

• 3 % of the wastes are recycled locally

• 97 % of them are exported to the Mainland or other countries

• An internationally recognized coding system of plastics has been adopted to facilitate separation and treatments of plastic wastes.

The Plastic Coding System

Types & quantities of Municipal solid waste recycled by the waste recycling industry in HK in

2003

Source: http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/

Statistics of Municipal Solid Waste Recovered

in 1990-2003

Source: http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/

Source: http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/

Key players in MSW recovery in HK

EPD; green groups;

corporateStreet collectors;

cleansing workers

Medium or small size enterprises

More exporters, few recyclers

Example: Industrialized Recycling

Shredder

Unsorted municipalwaste

Plastics

Aluminum foil

Metals

Glass

Inert debris

Hydro-Crusher

Primarybio-treatment

SecondaryBio-treatment

Compost

Clear effluents

Bio-Gas

Heat

Electricity

Control Unit

Arrow EcologyBio-Treatment ofMunicipal Waste

Recycling

Example: The Process for Municipal Solid Waste

2)Recycling of construction and demolition waste

． Materials arising from construction, demolition, renovation -Inert materials: rock, debris, rubble, excavated soil, concrete, etc-Non-inert substances :bamboo, timber, paper, vegetation, packaging waste, organics, etc.

． Recyclable C&D Material

-Reusable / Recyclable Materials-eg: soil, concrete, rock, asphalt, etc.

Alternative Uses of C&D Materials

C&D Materials

Inert Hard

• road sub-base

• hardcore

• drainage works

• concrete

Others

Soil/Clay

• topsoil

• synthetic lightweight concrete

Metals

• reuse steel bars

Wood

• for energy recovery

• fibre board

• landscape works

Solid Waste (eg: construction and demolition waste) Disposal in 1998-2002

Government measures to enhance the waste reduction

• the government has established a Waste Reduction Committee which works out measures for reduction of waste production.

• The food and Environmental Hygiene Department has provided recycling bins for different types of wastes in around 200public areas

• The Agriculture Fisheries and Conservation Department has provided 300 recycling bins for BBQ forks in over 100 recreational sites

• supports the local waste recycling industry

Efforts

(B) Difficulties faced by recycling industry

- No incentive for building constructors to separate and recycle waste

- The public awareness of the importance of environment protection is low

- Small flat sizes in Hong Kong restrict waste separation and storage

- Relatively small-scale recycling enterprises discourages investment on advanced waste recovery technology

• What can we do to reduce the solid wastes?

• Reduce• Recycle• Reuse

• Replace

Reduce ,recycle ,reuse and replace

* Reduce *

• Simplify your life as much as possible. Only keep belongings that you use/enjoy on a regular basis. By making the effort to reduce what you own, you will naturally purchase less/create less waste in the future.

-Examples:• Use less paper. • Reduce the use of over-bleached tissue paper

which may contain dioxins. . • Cut down on gift wrapping paper. • Separate waste paper at home and in office for

paper recycling. • Use less plastic bags and use durable bags or

baskets. Plastic bags take years to decompose. • Encourage the use of reusable dishes and utensils

in fast food shops. • Minimize the number of document copies. • Use blank side of used paper to make note pads. • Reuse envelopes. • Use pencils for drafting rather than ball pens.• Reduce the use of fluorescent pens. You can

always underline your text. • Bring your own mug to office. Avoid using paper

cups

* Recycle *

• To reduce the amount of raw materials used to make products and the amount of wastes that needs to be landfilled.

Examples: • Waste Paper Recycling Program in offices and

homes• Recycle- White office paper: letterhead, businessforms,- offset paper, scratch paper, copy paper , Coloured paper ,Photo copies -Index cards -Computer printout paper -Standard business cards-Brochures and Newsletters (if not on glossy pap

er)

• Waste Recycling Program in residential buildings

Examples: Newspapers, paper, cardboard, plastic, glass, aluminium

Other wastes can also be recycled: tin cans, scrap metal, alkaline batteries

* Reuse *

• Just don’t throw the wastes away without deeply consideration

Examples:• Save reusable decoration e.g. plastic Christmas treesetc.

for next year • Donate unwanted gifts to needy• reuse the paper which has been used on one side only for

scrap paper • Donate your old clothes and other products to charity • Pick up books from your local library or used book store • Donate your old computer equipment

* Replace *

• New materials are used to replace the original one

Examples: -Replace your newspaper and magazines with

the online news (save the papers) -Replace durable utensils with disposable foa

m-blow plastic containers, polystyrene utensils, paper cups and disposable wooden chopsticks.

-Use handkerchiefs to replace the tissues

References

• http://www.globalstewards.org/main.htm• http://www.epd.gov.hk• http://www.epa.gov/recyclecity/mainmap.htm• http://www.susdev.org.hk/b5/paper/paper_ch2.asp• http://www.epd.gov.hk/epd/textonly/english/environ

mentinhk/waste/guide_ref/files/wr_plastics.pdf

• Advanced-level Biology for Hong Kong 2

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