Integrated Waste Management Topic 2

• Integrated Waste Management System covers all sources of solid waste: domestic, commercial, industrial, institutional, construction, and agricultural
• Hazardous waste is managed within the system but in a separate stream.

Current Classification of Solid Waste in Hong Kong

• Solid waste classifies into three main categories depending on the sources and the waste collection and disposal arrangements: municipal solid waste, overall construction waste, and special waste.

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)

• More commonly known as trash or garbage.
• Consists of everyday items.
• Originates from homes, schools, hospitals, and businesses.
• Comprises solid waste from households, commercial, and industrial sources.
• In Hong Kong, MSW includes domestic, commercial, and industrial waste.

Domestic Waste

• Refers to household waste.
• It is generated from daily activities in institutional premises like schools and government offices.
• Includes refuse collected from public cleansing services
• Public cleansing waste includes dirt and litter collected by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), marine refuse collected by the Marine Department, and waste from country parks collected by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD.)
• Bins on Hong Kong hiking trails have been removed since 2015 in an effort to reduce litter.
• Putrescibles are the main component in domestic waste

Commercial Waste

• Arises from commercial activities in shops, restaurants, hotels, offices, markets in private housing estates.
• Mainly collected by private waste collectors.

Industrial Waste

• Arises from industrial activities.
• Excludes construction waste and chemical waste.
• Usually collected by private waste collectors or directly delivered to landfills by industries.

Waste Composition and Gross National Income

• Waste composition factors: culture, economic development, climate, and energy sources.
• Composition impacts waste collection and disposal frequency.
• Organic waste is highest in low-income countries (64%) and lowest in high-income countries (28%).
• The total amount of organic waste increases steadily with affluence, but slower than non-organic waste.
• Paper, plastics, and other inorganic materials make up the highest proportion of MSW in high income countries

Overall Construction Waste

• Waste or surplus materials arising from construction activities like site clearance, refurbishment, renovation, demolition, land excavation, and road works.
• Concrete waste generated from concrete batching plants and cement plaster/mortar plants not set up inside construction sites.
• Construction waste sorted into inert materials or non-inert construction/demolition (C&D) waste
• Inert materials are reused in construction or as fill in reclamation sites.
• Non-inert: ~20% of total, includes bamboo, timber, vegetation, packaging, and other organic materials can be recycled/disposed of at landfills.
• Public fill banks managed by the Civil Engineering and Development Department temporarily stockpile inert construction waste for later reuse in reclamation and site formation works.

Waste to be Rejected from Public Fill Reception Facilities

• Marine Mud
• Pond Mud
• Household Refuse
• Animal/Vegetable matter
• Plastic
• Metal
• Industrial Waste
• Chemical Waste

Special Waste

• Requires special disposal arrangement.
• Includes abattoir waste, animal carcasses, asbestos, chemical waste, clinical waste, CWTC stabilized residue incineration ash, dredged mud and excavated materials, sewage/waterworks treatment sludge, T-PARK incineration ash and residue, grease trap waste, livestock waste, sewage works screenings, waste tires, furnace bottom ash and pulverized fuel ash.
• Chemical waste is a substance that contains chemical and can cause pollution to the environment or become a risk to health.
• Chemical waste is a substance under the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation to manage with possible risk to health and/or the environment.