Food waste recycling in Hong Kong

Current situation of food waste in Hong Kong

The amount of food waste accounts for 38% of the municipal solid waste in Hong Kong . According to the statistics published by the Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong generates approximately 3,648 tonnes food waste each day. About one third of the food waste comes from the commercial and industry sectors while the remaining part is from households. The situation of food waste disposal in Hong Kong has become more serious in recent years. The amount of food waste from the commercial and industry sectors increased from 400 tonnes in 2002 to 1003 tonnes in 2013.

Three steps of food waste recycling in Hong Kong

Food waste recycling involves a three-step strategy which includes separation, collection and recycling. This strategy is adopted in Hong Kong. The three steps are interdependent and equally important in operating and generating good results of food waste recycling action.

Separation

The collected sources are separated into two categories: pre-consumer food waste and post-consumer food waste. Pre-consumer food waste includes animal food waste, vegetable food waste, and waste from industrial processed food . Post-consumer food waste is about the left-overs. The source separation also includes a process of removing food packaging and food utensils.

Collection

The Hong Kong government sets up new food waste vehicles to collect and deliver food waste to the recycling facilities. The government creates a network of Organic Waste Treatment Facilities (OWTFs) in different areas. It is planned to construct 5 to 6 networks for collection with a goal of recycling 1300 to 1500 tonnes of food waste between 2014 and 2024. The first facility is planned to be built in Siu Ho Wan to serve Lantau Island and districts nearby. The second and third are projected to be built in Sha Ling and Shek Kong so as to serve the New Territories and West Kowloon.

Recycling

Recycling in Hong Kong refers to two technologies which are turning food waste to biogas and useful products that are then used in Hong Kong. The first technology is a low carbon method that processes 100 to 300 of tonnes food waste per day. By applying this technology, it produces a source of renewable-energy biogas. The second technology is to convert food waste into succinic acid by using enzymes and bacteria. The residues can be processed to be animal feed, fertilizers and environmental-friendly cleansing products.

Food Waste Recycling Partnership Scheme

Food waste recycling partnership scheme is introduced by the Environmental Protection Department in 2009. The scheme was designed to promote a good practice on food waste management and enhance people’s experiences of separating and recycling food waste sources. The scheme collaborated with commercial and industrial sectors. Some members from the Hong Kong Government and that of the commercial and industrial sectors formed a working group for planning and managing the operation of the project. There are about 20 to 30 public and private organizations that participate in the scheme every year. In the project, all the participants will have a chance to practice separation process of food waste sources. The collection process of separated food waste will be carried out by the Environmental Protection Department and the Kowloon Bay Pilot Composting Plant will be responsible to the recycling part. The scheme also consists of discussion sessions for the participating parties to share their experience of recycling food waste. All participants will receive a commendation certificate at the end of the project.

Food Waste Recycling Projects in Housing Estates

From November 2012 to July 2014, The Hong Kong Housing Authority implemented a trial scheme, named as Food Waste Recycling Projects in Housing Estates, with an aim to promote waste recycling in housing estates. The scheme involved 14 estates with about 3200 households. There were two modes adopted in the scheme. One is to convert food waste to fish grain by transporting them to a Central Food Waste Recycling Plant. The other one is to convert food waste into compost for farm by using micro-organisms.

Food Waste Recycling Scheme on Cheung Chau and Lamma Island

On 31 March 2012, The Environmental Protection Department introduced a recycling scheme on Cheung Chau and Lamma Island. The purpose of the scheme is to promote and encourage food waste recycling on both islands. Food waste collected from shops and restaurants would be transported to the food waste treatment facilities on the islands. The food waste would be converted to organic compost.

Hong Kong Organic Waste Recycling Centre

Hong Kong Organic Waste Recycling Centre (HKOWRC) was established in 2011 as the first organic waste management consulting firm in Hong Kong. It combines local and foreign technologies to provide one-stop organic recycling services to customers. The assistance in collection of food waste solves problems of companies in immature recycling. Through commitment to different types of people, HKOWRC can promote and provide waste management training for particular customers.

Daily Food Waste Recycling Service

The objectives of the collection and recycling routine are to educate the general public in cherishing food as well as making good use of resources. The service encourages two-way cooperation for food waste recycling. HKOWRC aims to provide 24-hour recycling services particularly to livestock breeders, farmers, catering industry, schools and large-scale housing estates. For most of the cases, the recycled food waste is to be used by the service targets again for other purposes, therefore avoiding wastage of resources. For livestock breeders and farmers, the recycled food waste is converted to animal feeds and fertilizers that contain richer nutritional values than the conventional ones. It possibly gives higher yield. For catering industry, the recycled food waste is converted to crops which are grown from organic compost from HKOWRC for latest organic food at a special prize. For schools and housing estates, it aims to raise the awareness of food waste reduction when the recycling service reveals the huge amount of food wastes accumulated.