At a Legislative Council's Panel on Environmental Affairs meeting today (March 31), Secretary for the Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan reported that Hong Kong has made significant strides in improving air and water quality.
Major air pollutants have decreased to their lowest levels since the handover, with annual average concentrations dropping by 40% to 90% compared to 2004. Pollution levels at drainage outlets in Tsuen Wan, Sham Shui Po, and Kowloon City have also fallen by nearly 90%.
Tse noted that the government is actively promoting waste reduction and expanding the recycling network, which has led to a 7.5% decrease in daily municipal solid waste disposal over the past three years. The Environmental Protection Department is developing advanced waste-to-energy facilities, with I·PARK1 processing 3,000 tons and I·PARK2 handling 6,000 tons of waste daily. To meet short- to medium-term disposal needs, moderate expansions of the Northeast and West New Territories landfills are necessary.
He emphasized the need for amendments to the Waste Disposal Ordinance to allow for the regulation of the new facilities and landfill expansions.
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