The amount of yard waste collected by government departments that ended up in landfill this year was triple the amount of last year, according to official data, a reflection of a noticeable increasing trend over the past five years.
A total of 44,600 tonnes of yard waste was sent to landfill this year. Trees felled by Typhoon Mangkhut in September accounted for 20,480 tonnes, almost half the total.
The amount dumped in landfill was three times as much as last year’s total, which was 14,506 tonnes, according to statistics released by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to lawmaker Jeremy Tam Man-ho on Wednesday.
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The government has been criticised for failing to handle the tree waste resulting from the typhoon, which was stored at a temporary collection area on the former airport runway at Kai Tak, the size of 12 soccer pitches. It was later revealed that most of the waste ended up in a landfill in Tuen Mun. Only about 900 pieces of wood were selected for reuse.
The West Kowloon Refuse Transfer Station on Stonecutters Island. Photo: Edward Wong
Aside from the waste generated by the super typhoon, some 24,000 tonnes of yard waste was collected and sent to landfill by nine government departments, including Leisure and Cultural Services, Lands, and Civil Engineering and Development, by the end of October this year.
