Letters to the Editors
Letters to the editor of South China Morning Post - Response to reader's letter relating to incinerator
Dear Sir/Madam,
We would like to respond to the letter from Chan Fung-chun (“Incinerator will not solve waste problem”, 18 April).
While the planned first modern incinerator for municipal solid waste (MSW), which can convert waste to energy with a treatment capacity of 3000 tonnes per day, cannot fully solve all the waste management problems in Hong Kong, it is an indispensable part of our sustainable waste management strategy.
Each day, Hong Kong produces more than 9000 tonnes of MSW per day. Even when the first MSW incinerator is built, there would still be about 5000 to 6000 tonnes of MSW per day that require waste reduction and/or final disposal.
As stated in various papers to the Legislative Council, the need for the second MSW incinerator will depend on the progress and effectiveness of the waste reduction efforts in the coming years.
The MSW incinerator to be built near Shek Kwu Chau will be designed to meet the latest European (EU) emission standards, which are the highest standards for incinerator in the world.
The recent visit to Europe made by the Administration and the Legislative Council members has confirmed that modern incinerators remain to be the mainstream thermal treatment technology for MSW and that they will not cause adverse impact to human health.
Furthermore we will adopt the selective catalytic reaction system to further reduce the emission of nitrogen oxides to levels further below the EU’s prescribed level.
As for the PM2.5, the incinerator will be equipped with baghouse filter, which is the best available technology to control the PM2.5 emission and can achieve a removal efficiency of 99%.
With the stringent design and emission standards and additional measures adopted, the predicted cumulative air quality impact at Shek Kwu Chau, Cheung Chau and Lantau South can meet the new Air Quality Objectives.
In parallel with actions to improve our waste management infractructure, we are fully committed to implementing various initiatives and programmes such as quantity based waste charging, producer responsibility schemes, social mobilization on recycling and reuse to achieve the target of reducing the per capita MSW disposal rate by 40% in 2022.
Elvis WK Au
Assistant Director of Environmental Protection