************************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Ip Kwok-him and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (May 25):
Question:
The daily average quantity of municipal solid waste disposed of in Hong Kong is nearly 10 000 tonnes, and food waste accounts for around 40 per cent of such waste. It has been reported that the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) has successfully developed a technology through natural fermentation to convert food waste with high sugar contents, such as bread and cakes, into pellets and then into eco-friendly yarns, which could be used as textile raw materials. Such a research and development (R&D) result has recently won an international award. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has implemented food waste recycling initiatives in collaboration with eateries, hotels as well as the food production and processing industries; if it has, of the effectiveness of such initiatives and whether it will enhance such initiatives; if there is no collaboration, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it will assist the HKRITA in promoting the aforesaid R&D result to persons engaged in local textile industry and encouraging them to use eco-friendly yarns as textile raw materials; if it will, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it will examine focusing its efforts on promoting to overseas markets the textile products made with eco-friendly yarns, and building, through such textile products bearing "made in Hong Kong" labels, the international image of Hong Kong as an environment-friendly city; if it will, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Our replies to the questions raised by the Hon Ip Kwok-him are as follows:
(1) In 2009, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) launched the Food Waste Recycling Partnership Scheme (the FWRPS) with commercial & industrial (C&I) organisations to promote good practices on sustainable food waste management and to prepare for delivering food waste to organic waste treatment facilities (OWTFs) for recycling in future. The FWRPS has encouraged the C&I sectors to adopt a sustainable approach in food waste management good practices. It has also successfully motivated the C&I sectors to avoid or reduce food waste at source and to perform source separation and recycling for unavoidable food waste, thereby alleviating burden at landfills. Since the implementation of the FWRPS in June 2010, the EPD has provided training on source separation of food waste for the staff of over 210 participating organisations including catering and shopping mall management. Food waste has been collected and delivered to the pilot composting plant in Kowloon Bay for recycling and production of compost products. Based on experience of the FWRPS, the EPD has also set out food waste source separation and recycling guidelines for reference by the catering industry, shopping malls and markets respectively.
In addition, the EPD has drawn up and promoted good practices on food waste reduction in collaboration with the C&I sectors through the Food Wise Hong Kong Campaign. In November 2015, the Food Wise Eateries Scheme (the FWES) was launched to further encourage the food and beverage sector to offer portioned meals, allowing customers to order the amount of food according to their needs and hence reducing the generation of food waste. By mid-May 2016, 484 eateries have joined the FWES.
To tie in with the commissioning of the OWTF Phase 1 in Siu Ho Wan, North Lantau in 2017, the EPD is actively communicating with various stakeholders including catering organisations and hotel groups, chain eateries, large food factories, public organisations, shopping malls and waste collectors to encourage the C&I sectors to separate food waste from municipal solid waste and deliver separated food waste to recycling facilities. In this regard, the EPD will provide the trade with technical support, codes of practice and relevant training for their reference. At the same time, the EPD will strengthen the liaison between the C&I sectors and waste collectors to facilitate their implementation of food waste reduction, source separation, collection and transportation, etc.
To enhance the development of the recycling industry including food waste recycling, the EPD has provided various assistance to the recycling industry, including providing long term accommodation through the EcoPark, to encourage investment in advance technology and value added process. A food waste recycler located in EcoPark has commenced operation since May 2015 to turn food waste collected from customers to fish feed, providing a sustainable outlet for food waste management.
In addition, the EPD encourages enterprises and housing estates to reduce food waste at source through education and promotion. Moreover, small scale on-site food waste recycling activities are carried out at housing estates through the "Food Waste Recycling Projects in Housing Estates" funded by the Environment and Conservation fund to promote waste reduction.
(2) and (3) The Government, through the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA), has been promoting research and development (R&D) work of the textiles and apparel industry, including environmental protection technologies. In 2014, the HKRITA received funding of about $2.1 million from the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) to commence a research project to turn food waste into polylactic acid fibre which could be spun into fabric. This novel process won a Gold Medal with jury's commendation in the 44th International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva in April 2016. As this research project is still at laboratory scale and cannot be immediately applied to production, the HKRITA is considering further research in this technology area. The Government will continue to encourage and support the HKRITA to realise and commericalise its R&D outcomes through the ITF.
The Government will keep in view the progress of local research and experimentation with food waste treatment technologies, and consider incorporating successful experience into our food waste management projects.
Ends/Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Issued at HKT 12:16
NNNN