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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) Panel on Environmental Affairs departed for Amsterdam, the Netherlands today (March 5, London time), to continue the duty visit in Europe.
On the second day of the visit in the United Kingdom (UK) yesterday, the delegation received a briefing by representatives of the Teesside gasification plant and met with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE), and the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN), a green group advocating against waste incineration, to better understand thermal waste treatment in the UK from different perspectives as well as the concerns of the local communities.
The delegation then had a meeting with the Mayor of London's Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in the afternoon, and learned that after the UK Government has substantially raised the landfill tax, there is strong economic incentive for the growth of the recycling industry. The delegation also received a briefing by the Lakeside Energy from Waste Plant. The plant won the "Best Designed Renewable Energy Facility" and "Energy from Waste Facility of the Year" under the "Renewable Energy Infrastructure Awards". A small amount of generated electricity is used to power the plant itself while the vast majority is exported to the National Grid which is enough to meet the domestic needs of 50 000 homes.
Members of the delegation then departed from London to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where they will visit the Afval Energie Bedrijf Waste Fired Power Plant and meet with the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment of the Netherlands.
Ends/Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Issued at HKT 15:19
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