Household food waste recycling in Hong Kong : issues and potential

Abstract

The food waste problem has recently been put in the spotlight in Hong Kong and around the world. Food waste is the largest part of the municipal solid waste in Hong Kong, which accounts for more than a third of all solid waste. In 2011, there was approximately 3,600 tonnes of food waste generated everyday, with two-thirds coming from households and one-third from the commercial and industrial sector. The capacities of the three strategic landfills in Hong Kong are going to be exhausted soon. Therefore, new policy strategies are needed to combat the food waste problem.

A questionnaire was conducted with residents in the Tuen Mun district of Hong Kong, which focused on finding out their level of awareness of the food waste problem in Hong Kong; general behaviours of handling and generation of food waste; views and attitudes towards recycling food waste and perceived need for a household food waste recycling scheme in Hong Kong. The findings show that the majority of the respondents have a high level of awareness of the food waste problem in Hong Kong. However, the general behaviour of handling and generation of food waste does not seem to be in keeping with a reduction of food waste. There are a number of hindering factors that discourage food waste reduction and food waste recycling, such as the lack of food waste recycling facilities, hygiene and public health issues, and other social issues such as convenience. Nevertheless, the respondents agree that Hong Kong should introduce compulsory food waste recycling facilities for households in order to combat the food waste problem.

With the vast amount of domestic food waste generated, the introduction of a household food waste recycling scheme has great potential to reduce food waste in Hong Kong. The obstacles of introducing household food waste recycling can be overcome by government provision of food waste recycling facilities, as well as maintaining a good hygiene standard. Full government provision of such facilities would increase the level of convenience, including financial convenience, and hence people would be more willing to participate in recycling and reducing their food waste.