The government is set to install one food waste smart recycling bin (FWSRB) per public rental housing block within two years, said the Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan.
Speaking at a Legislative Council meeting on Wednesday, the environmental chief noted that more than 90 percent of public rental housing (PRH) estates were installed with a total of 698 FWSRBs.
Tse said authorities aim to achieve “one FWSRB per PRH block” within two years.
The smart bins will be equipped with overflow prevention and odor abatement devices to maintain environmental hygiene. Residents will be incentivized with GREEN$ rewards that can be exchanged for supermarket vouchers, the environmental chief added.
Regarding the pilot scheme for FWSRBs in private housing estates, Tse said over 400 smart bins will be put into service this year. The government plans to continue supporting this initiative after the trial period.
As for the rural areas and “three-nil buildings”, Tse said the government will set up about 100 food waste recycling spots to provide night-time collection services in the coming year in various districts.
However, lawmaker Dennis Leung Tsz-wing was concerned about the implementation timetable as the current food waste treatment facilities can only handle 200 tonnes per day, which is far less than the 3,000 tonnes of food waste generated in the city daily.
Tse acknowledged the challenge, stating that the second food waste treatment plant has a pre-treatment capacity of up to 600 tons per day, and with some food waste being diverted to sewage treatment plants, the city could potentially handle up to 1,000 tons per day.
He also mentioned that the government is exploring the possibility of converting sludge treatment tanks at sewage treatment plants to handle food waste, which would significantly increase the overall processing capacity.
Hong Kong United Times丨香港聯合時報丨HKUT 