Dioxin & Incineration

Background

Waste incineration has always been a common waste management policy in Hong Kong. Incineration of medical waste, which often consists of PVC medical supplies, was still a common practice up until early 1999. Although the government has already banned incineration of PVC medical waste, the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre in Tsing Yi is still believed to be pumping out dioxins. Dioxins are generated mostly from the burning of hospital and municipal waste (represents 40% of total dioxin releases in Europe according to a EU study), and hazardous waste. The government has proposed to build two mega incinerators to tackle at least 6000 tonnes of municipal waste per day, a portion of Hong Kong’s daily volume. Greenpeace is concerned with the long-term health risks these incinerators will pose to the local population and the environment.

Prime Concerns

  1. Toxic emissions : Solid waste when burned emits acidic gases that contribute to acid rain; heavy metals that pollute our environment, and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as dioxins accumulate in our foods and our ecosystem.

  2. Toxic ash : A heavily contaminated unwanted product as the incineration plant tries to purify its air emission. The rule of thumb is that the cleaner the smoke, the more toxic the ashes will become. Disposal of ash is an expensive business if done properly but even so absolute safety is not guaranteed.

  3. Huge cost : Apart from being a major civil engineering project, much of the money is spent on pollution control equipment. It also requires expensive expert personnel to run it, so-called "safely". Other major hidden costs include money spent on its decommissioning, after it has been generating toxins for at least 20 years.

  4. Waste of energy : Incinerator promoters use waste-to-energy recovery as a selling point. In fact, only very little electrical energy can be retrieved and the energy that was first put into the manufacturing and the transportation of the products can never be recovered.

  5. Public opposition : Understandably no one likes an incinerator being built near his home. It is the case in Hong Kong as well as abroad. Hundreds of incinerators and pending proposals have been shelved in the US and Europe. Locally, the Lung Kwu Tan and Tsing Yi residents are also up in arms fighting the government’s proposal to incinerate medical waste and another plan for two mega municipal waste incinerators.

  6. Alternatives : There are always better ways than incineration. Reduce, reuse together with recycle (3Rs) are the ultimate motto to sustainable waste management anywhere. Not only can the 3Rs solve our waste problem intelligently but also they can create new jobs and turn waste into profits.

  7. Non-Sustainable : Incineration systemically generates toxic emissions and ashes. The question is "Do we really want our future generations to deal with a toxic aftermath that we could easily have avoided?"

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Greenpeace Demands