Hong Kong, like many cities worldwide, has a troubled historic relationship with incineration as a waste management option. A 1989 white paper published by the government identified the incineration of solid waste as a key contributor to air pollution and decided to cease the practice for good, leading to the closure of the four local incineration plants between 1991 and 1997.
With this legacy and baggage, coupled with viable concerns over air pollution in a high-rise city, the community understandably is hostile to the incineration concept. It was not until 2008 that incineration re-emerged as the preferred approach but, after so many years of stigma, the government faces an uphill struggle to get it accepted.
The situation today is different elsewhere. During an environmental tour to Japan last October, arranged by several industry groups including the Hong Kong Waste Management Association, I was astounded by the quality and extensive use of incineration technology for waste management. Technology has advanced such that modern incineration constitutes a state-of-the-art, hi-tech, clean and sustainable waste management solution, much different from the dirty, smelly, smoke-belching incinerators of the 1990s.
Japanese companies are designing and building plants that incinerate waste at a much higher temperature, with negligible levels of emitted pollutants, including dioxins. Bearing in mind these dramatic advances, negative perceptions regarding incineration are no longer as pertinent as they once were. In this context, the government is right to recognise incineration as a key strategy in the fight to stave off an impending waste management crisis - as it has with recent proposals for integrated waste management facilities. In terms of environmental sustainability, the concept represents a welcome step away from the expansion of landfills as Hong Kong's sole waste management strategy - one that has begun to display dangerous tendencies. The recently approved expansion of the Southeast New Territories landfill into a section of Clear Water Bay Country Park, for example, is a travesty. When deciding the details of the integrated facilities, environmental and social sustainability must be key. To be sustainable, incineration should satisfy three conditions. First, any plant built in Hong Kong must be a "waste-to-energy" facility, whereby heat and/or electricity are supplied back to the surrounding community either at a discount or free. Second, the facilities must be a community asset with a recognised civic role. Third, the facilities need not be an industrial eyesore. In Japan, incinerators are often architecturally outstanding contributions to the skyline. All of Tokyo's non-recyclable waste has been incinerated since 1996. With limited space and a need to protect our country parks, Hong Kong has a lot to learn. We must now further educate the public and nurture their acceptance of incineration as a safe, sustainable and effective solution for non-recyclable waste. Habits must also be transformed to counteract the very "wet" nature of our waste, which makes the process less efficient. Importantly, the public must be encouraged to recognise that incineration of non-recyclable or residual waste - the fourth "R" - is only part of the solution, and embrace the "three Rs" of "reduce", "reuse" and "recycle". Some have argued for another "R" to be added: "responsibility". We are part of the problem, and we are part of the solution. Through education, increased awareness and a willingness to follow the high standards of nations such as Japan, the integrated waste management facilities could be just one element of a truly sustainable waste management revolution. Timothy J. Peirson-Smith is managing director of Executive Counsel Limited, a sustainability-focused public affairs and strategic communication consultancy based in Hong Kong. He is also chairman of the Business Policy Unit, British Chamber of Commerce, Hong Kong |
