Waste plan for Lantau waters

The Standard
Colleen Lee
Friday, February 18, 2011

The government prefers building an incinerator south of Lantau Island over another site in Tuen Mun, environmental minister Edward Yau Tang-wah said yesterday.


The Integrated Waste Management Facilities will involve the creation of an artificial island south of Shek Kwu Chau and west of Cheung Chau, sparking concerns from environmentalists it may affect the habitat of protected dolphins.

The facilities are expected to be completed in 2018 should the Legislative Council's finance committee approve the funding.

The government expects the incinerator will be able to treat about 3,000 tonnes of waste a day.

Secretary for the Environment Yau said the site was chosen over Tsang Tsui in Tuen Mun partly because of the shorter transportation time and the lower impact on the neighborhood.

The city's three refuse transfer stations are now located at Island West, Island East and West Kowloon. He described the route for shipping the waste from the stations to Shek Kwu Chau as "a much shorter one, at least one third or one quarter shorter than the journey taken to Tuen Mun."

There is only a drug rehab center on Shek Kwu Chau, which houses about 200 people.

Yau said the new facilities may also may help boost economic activities in the area.

The project will require the reclamation of 15.9 hectares for the facilities, a berthing area and a breakwater.

On worries about the environmental impact, Yau said an assessment report released yesterday showed the project is considered environmentally acceptable if mitigation measures are carried out.

The report said 31 hectares of habitat will be lost due to the reclamation and the creation of an embayment area within a breakwater.
 
The government consultancy proposes to set aside a marine park of about 700 hectares in the waters between the Soko Islands and Shek Kwu Chau as compensation.

WWF senior conservation officer Alan Leung Sze-lun said: "It is a very important habitat for the finless porpoise. The project has a direct impact on the species."

Leung and Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society chairman Samuel Hung Ka-yiu urged the government to set up the marine park as soon as possible.

Greenpeace campaigner Gloria Chang Wan-ki said she is worried about potential air pollution brought by the operation of the incinerator.

Cheung Chau residents are concerned about the fly ash and smell problems, Island district councilor Lee Kwai-chun said.