The Secretary for Environment and Ecology, Tse Chin-wan, announced today (Jan. 12) that Hong Kong's first waste-to-energy facility (I·PARK1) is expected to start operations by the end of this year.
The Environmental Protection Department has also tendered for a second facility (I·PARK2). Tse emphasized that the government will no longer indiscriminately incinerate waste and explained the complementary roles of waste-to-energy and recycling.
He noted significant efforts to reduce waste at the source, reversing a trend of increasing waste disposal. This year, further amendments to promote waste reduction will be proposed. However, Hong Kong still faces a large amount of discarded waste.
Tse highlighted that while recycling reduces resource waste and environmental impact, it becomes less viable when costs exceed benefits. In such cases, waste-to-energy, which generates energy through incineration, can be a more suitable approach.
Modern waste-to-energy facilities offer advantages like reducing landfill use and lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Residual ash can be repurposed, and metals can be recycled, maximizing resource use.
In conclusion, recycling is ideal for high-value materials, while waste-to-energy is better for non-recyclable waste. This complementary system maximizes both environmental and social benefits, aligning with global trends toward expanding waste-to-energy solutions.
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