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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Environmental Affairs concluded its duty visit to the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden today (March 8). The delegation had an intensive programme and visited four countries in five days to obtain an understanding of the facilities that supply electricity and heat to local districts by waste incineration, and the comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of combustion and gasification.
The delegation leader and Chairman of the Panel on Environmental Affairs, Ms Cyd Ho, said, "The delegation had meetings and exchanges of views with the operators of various plants and representatives of Government authorities, green groups and professional bodies. Members have gained a better understanding of the latest development of various thermal waste treatment technologies in Europe, including the mainstream moving grate incineration technology and the emerging gasification, pyrolysis and plasma gasification technologies, as well as the advantages and disadvantages and public acceptance of thermal waste treatment facilities."
"Members also learned that the Governments of the four countries have integrated waste management into economic development through legislation, taxes and community education, and have reduced reliance on fossil fuel energy. Denmark, which is well-known for design, has even transformed incinerators into iconic buildings with recreational, leisure and catering facilities," said Ms Ho.
The delegation visited Malmo of Sweden where members went to the Sysav Waste-to-Energy Plant to observe its operation and application of moving grate technology yesterday. They also received briefings on the overall waste management strategy of Malmo by Deputy Mayor of Housing and Infrastructure of Malmo, Mr Milan Obradovic, and representatives of the city government. Members of the delegation then attended a luncheon hosted by Mayor of Malmo, Ms Katrin Stjernfeldt Jammeh, before they departed for Hong Kong.
The delegation arrived at Hong Kong this evening and completed the overseas duty visit.
Ends/Saturday, March 8, 2014
Issued at HKT 22:01
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