Food waste recycling in Hong Kong

Food waste recycling is a process to convert food waste into useful materials and products for achieving sustainability of the environment.Food waste is defined as all inedible and edible parts of food that creates preceding and succeeding food processing, production and consumption.Greenhouse gases, especially methane can be reduced by food waste recycling. Food waste recycling can also alleviate the saturation of landfill sites 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 1033 tonnes in 2014.

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.

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.

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. The Environmental Protection Department also plans to construct the Organic Resources Recovery Centre (ORRC) to collect the food waste and turn it into compost for recovery. The first centre is planned to be located in Siu Ho Wan too. The construction works is already in progress and will be started operation in 2017.

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