The operator of Hong Kong鈥檚 first integrated recycling plant for electronics is hoping to increase the local recovery rate of such waste materials once its new facility and collection network become fully operational 鈥渙n time and on budget鈥� next year.
Packed into yellow steel cages, stacked two storeys high in a Sheung Shui warehouse are 200 tonnes of old bulky television sets, inkjet printers, scanners and refrigerators that the government contractor has been collecting since July. It will reach full capacity at 600.
The junk will be trucked off to the government鈥檚 first integrated treatment and recycling facility when it opens in the middle of next year at the Tuen Mun EcoPark 鈥� one of several measures to accommodate the government鈥檚 new 鈥減olluter pays鈥� laws on certain types of electronic waste.
The producer responsibility scheme will include televisions, fridges, washing machines, computer products and air-conditioning units. Passed in the legislature in March, once in effect, importers or distributors of the appliances will have to pay to help fund collection and disposal of waste electrical goods.
鈥淚n Europe, recycling is something expected, but in Hong Kong we鈥檙e still learning,鈥� said ALBA IWS director Nigel Mattravers, the government contractor tasked with building and operating the facility and network.
The contractor is building five regional collection centres, including the one in Sheung Shui, to sort, store and record the e-waste, and eight satellite centres for collection only. Apart from helping businesses or NGOs conduct 鈥渢ake-back鈥� services, the public can also drop e-waste off directly at the collection centres.
About 70,000 tonnes of waste electrical and electronic equipment is disposed of in the city each year, 80 per cent of which is shipped off to regions such as Africa and Southeast Asia, while the rest is handled locally and dumped in a landfill.
The new facility will be able to handle 30,000 tonnes per year but the operator claims it will be able to increase capacity by extending operating hours if necessary.
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