Hong Kong’s Food Waste Treatment Lags Behind

Au Ho Tin (52636429)Lam Kwok Tung (52610985)Wom Kin Chung (52645266)

• Introduction• Situation in Hong Kong• Factors Leading to HK’s Phenomenon• Current Solutions

• Government• Catering trade• Schools

• Drawbacks of Current Solutions• Government• Catering trade• Schools

• Suggestions• Conclusion

Content

What is the meaning of leftover?

How do you treat your leftovers?

Introduction

Pollutions of leftover

Air pollution:

Leftover • Biodegradable

Decomposition • Microorganism

Methane • Greenhouse gas

Pollutions of leftover

» Water pollution:

Leftover contains 80% water

Nutrition of leftovers dissolve

into water

Waste water flow into rivers / sea through the soil

Situation in Hong Kong

Situation in Hong Kong

Hong Kong people produce:

3000 tonnes of leftovers everyday

35kg every second

72 McDonald’s Big Mac Meal

2011

EVERY SECOND!

Fraction of Food Waste Produced by Mass ev-eryday in HK

commercehouseholds

1/32/3

Food waste from the commercial sector increased 2.5 times in the past ten years

Sources of Food Waste in HK

Sources of Food Waste

1. Households

2. Commercial

Take-away food (box meals)

Restaurants and hotels

Economically

Hong Kong Government spend:

$800 X 3, 000 tonnes= $2.40 millions per day

Factors Leading to HK’s Phenomenon

• Marketing strategy1

• Chinese culture2

• Customers’ mentality3

• Lunch box system4

Factors Leading to HK’s Phenomenon

1. Marketing Strategy

Promotion of ‘all u can eat’ scheme

To create an illusion (infinite food) to appease customers’ DESIRE

Prepare food >> customers’ need

Attract customers

However, a lot of food will be

thrown away!

2. Chinese Culture

Leftovers Wealth and Social status

Order/cook a lot of food in a meal

3. Customers’ Mentality

I should eat as much as possible

in a buffet…

4. Lunch Box System in Schools

1. Fixed amount of box meals from providers Students often finish all the food

2. Lunch box providers concern less about students’ appetites many lunch boxes are not finished and create a lot of leftovers

Current Solution

Government

» Municipal Solid Waste Management 2005-2014 Organic Waste Treatment Facilities Scheme

1. Pilot Composting Plant2. Food Waste Recycling Partnership Scheme

» Reduce the amount of leftover» Recycle the leftover effectively» Promotion

Pilot Composting Plant

Kowloon Bay Pilot Composting Plant Process of composting

• Kowloon Bay Pilot Composting Plant

» To collect means of leftover, application technology and waste recycling

» 5 parts to deal with the leftover1. Enclosed pretreatment area2. Composting drum units3. Curing pads4. Product screens5. Bio-filters • Managing 400 tones of leftover

• Produce 80 tones of compost

Food Waste Recycling Partnership Scheme

• Invite around 12 public and private co-operate participants

For example:Food and Environmental Hygiene DepartmentHong Kong Food Council• Practice the source separation of leftovers and

send to the Plant• Hosting discussion• Formulate guideline of food waste management

Catering Trade

» Co-operation with the Organic Waste Treatment Facilities Scheme

» Efficiently collect food waste

The sources of experimental leftovers

Sectors Type of Waste

Food Production Factory Bean curd waste

Lunch box caterers Post-consumption food

Hotel Food processing and post-consumption food

Shopping Mall Food processing and post-consumption food

Supermarket Food processing

Chinese Restaurant Food processing and post-consumption food

Western Restaurant Food processing and post-consumption food

Bakery Food processing

In-flight catering service Food processing

Wet Market Vegetables, fruit and meat

Food Production Centre Food processing

Fast Food Restaurant Coffee and tea residue

Charity Organization Food processing

(http://www.epd.gov.hk)

Catering Trade

» Establish waste disposal machine » Flexible amount of meal» Provide special meal for reducing food waste» Send surplus food to charities and food bank Especially buffet and flight meal

School

» Develop green eating habit Eat all food Decide how much you can eat» Apply the style of buffet to distribute lunch» Co-operation with food waste industries

School

» Promote reduction of food waste City University Training and experiment of composting leftover

evaluation

Government

» Old technology» Slowly establish facilities Another food waste treatment will work in 2015» Not enough transport subsidy for catering trade

Catering Trade

» Not cover all branches McDonald’s, only Amoy Plaza and Maritime

Square

School

» Only around 40 schools applied the buffet style for lunch

Suggestions» Government:

New technology - treatment

The supervisory committee

Legislation - fine

Suggestions

» Catering trade:

Marketing strategy of buffet

Leftover Recycling

Reduce the source

Suggestions

» School:

Education Lunch system

Influencing of

surrounding

Suggestions

» Public:

Reduce source

Respond the scheme of housing leftover

All you can eat, not all you can waste

Suggestions

New technology -

ITADÞ Innovative Thermophilic Aerobic Digestion

Function:Organic wastes

High effective fertilizer; Enzymes;

Other biological products

(http://www.itadbiotech.com)

Benefits ofITAD

Environmentally

Friendly

Economically Viable

Valuable End-Products

Composting V.S. ITAD

Composting • larger place • long treatment period• Organic waste

ITAD• Small place• Short treatment period• Inorganic & organic

waste

Solve problem

of leftover

Government

School

Catering trade

Public