This photo taken on March 6, 2013 shows a landfill in the New Territories of Hong Kong as the mainland city of Shenzhen looms in the background. (PHOTO / AFP)

HONG KONG – The average daily quantity of municipal solid waste disposed of at Hong Kong's landfills was 11,128 tons in 2022, a 2 percent decrease compared to the previous year, according to the Environmental Protection Department.

Food waste took up 30 percent of the disposed waste, while waste plastics and waste paper accounted for 21 and 20 percent respectively. The percentages are comparable to those in 2021, the EPD said in a statement on Friday.

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The per capita municipal solid waste disposal rate per day in 2022 was 1.51kg, down from 1.53kg in the previous year, it added.

The EPD said a bill will be introduced into the LegCo early next year to regulate the proper handling of recyclables in residential buildings, targeted for implementation by end-2024

The overall waste recovery rate rose from 31 percent in 2021 to 32 percent in 2022, of which the quantity recovered for local recycling was about 420,000 tons, an increase of more than 50 percent compared to 2021, mainly driven by local recycling of plastic recyclables and ferrous metal recyclables.

Regarding construction waste, the quantity of waste generation dropped by 6 percent to 49,865 tons per day on average when compared with 2021, with 92 percent recovered either through transferring to projects for direct reuse or storing at public fill reception facilities for reuse in the future. 

The remaining 8 percent was disposed of at landfills.

The average daily quantity of solid waste disposed of at landfills in 2022, taking into account the disposal of both municipal solid waste and construction waste, was 15,725 tons, an increase of 1.2 percent from 2021.

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In addition to the implementation of municipal solid waste charging and the preparation of a bill to regulate disposable plastic tableware and other plastic products from April next year, the government will launch a host of new initiatives, according to the statement.

A bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council early next year to regulate the proper handling of recyclables in residential buildings, targeted for implementation by end-2024, said the EPD.

Another bill will be introduced in 2024 to establish a legislative framework to extend the producer responsibility schemes to gradually cover plastic beverage containers, beverage cartons, electric vehicle batteries, vehicle tires and lead-acid batteries from 2025 onwards, it added.

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There will also be an expansion of the GREEN@COMMUNITY and the development of recycling stores’ networks in 50 public rental housing estates from the end of 2023, while the installation of smart recycling bins has progressively started in all public rental housing estates to collect food waste, with 2024 as the target date for completion.