CHAPTER 6

Solid waste management

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system in Hong Kong

OVERVIEW OF SOLID WASTE FLOW
The activities involved with the management of
solid wastes from environment to environment
can be grouped into 6 functional elements.
1. Waste Generation
2. Storage
3. Collection
4. Transfer and Transport
5. Processing and Recovery
6. Disposal

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1. WASTE GENERATION
Activities in which materials are identified as
no longer being of value and are either thrown
away or gathered together for disposal.

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2 STORAGE: REFUSE ROOM
Activities associated with the handling, the
storage and the processing of solid wastes
at or near the point of waste generation.

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3 COLLECTION (1)
Activities with the gathering of solid wastes
and the hauling of wastes after collection to
the location where the collection vehicle is
emptied.
Private
or
FEHD

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3 COLLECTION (2)
Some amount of collecting services are gradually taken up
by Commercial - Industrial Collection Services. They are
private firm for collection of rubbish.

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4 TRANSFER AND TRANSPORT

Activities including
(i) the transfer of wastes from a
smaller collection vehicle to a
larger transport equipment
and
(ii) the subsequent transport of
the waste, usually over long
distance to the disposal site.
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TRANSFER AND TRANSPORT (1)
 The functional element of transfer and
transport refers to the means and
facilities used to effect the transfer of
wastes from relatively small
collection vehicles to larger vehicles
and to transport them over extended
distances to either processing centres or
disposal sites.

1.6.1 Transfer Stations

1.6.2 Transport Method Page

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TYPE OF TRANSFER STATION
- STORAGE DISCHARGE (1)
 Wastes are emptied into a storage pit or onto a platform.

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TRANSPORT METHOD
The following facilities are usually used to
transport solid waste in Hong Kong:

a. Motor vehicles;

b. Ocean-going vessels.

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MOTOR VEHICLES (1)
- CRITERIA FOR HIGHWAY TRANSPORT
 Motor vehicles used to transport solid wastes on
highways should satisfy the following
requirements:
1. The vehicles must transport wastes at minimum
costs,
2. Wastes must be covered during the haul operation,

Wastes must be
covered or
confined

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MOTOR VEHICLES (2)
- CRITERIA FOR HIGHWAY TRANSPORT
3. Vehicles must be designed for highway traffic,

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MOTOR VEHICLES (3)
- CRITERIA FOR HIGHWAY TRANSPORT
4. Vehicles capacity must not exceed the allowable
weight limits, and
5. Methods used for unloading must be simple.

Unloading in
Landfill

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OCEAN-GOING VESSELS
 Barges have been used in the past to transport solid
wastes to designated locations for dumping.

 However, this method is banned in some countries

nowadays as ocean disposal is no longer allowed.

 The most common practice is to use vessels towed by

tugs (拖船).

 One of the major problems encountered when ocean

vessels are used for the transport of solid wastes is that
it is often impossible to move the barges during times of
heavy seas. Page
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5 PROCESSING AND RECOVERY
Those techniques, equipment and facilities
used both to improve the efficiency of the
other functional elements and to recover
usable materials, conversion of products, or
energy from solid wastes.

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SOLID WASTE PROCESSING
 Processing techniques are used in solid
waste management systems to
1. Improve efficiency of solid – waste disposal
system,

2. To recover resources (usable materials),

3. To prepare materials for recovery of

conversion products and energy.
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SORTING (1)
 Sorting can be done at the point of
generation, i.e. at sources, at a
construction or demolition site, transfer
station prior to shipment to a landfill, or
at the sorting facilities, etc.

 Any Difficulties ?
If yes, why and
in what extent ?
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SORTING (2)
 Sorting after collection can be either
mechanical or manual. Mechanical
sorting involves the usage of large
magnets, compressed air while manual
sorting with a wide conveyor belt.

 The ideal method is for the material to

be sorted at the point of generation, by
the residents or businesses, source
separation increases the amount of
materials that can be recycled, and it Page

has been shown to be effective. 18

 SORTING (3)
Recyclable Material from MSW Types of Materials or Uses
Aluminium Soft drink and beer cans
Paper
Old Newspaper newspaper
Cardboard packaging cardboards
High – grade paper computer paper and trim cuttings
Mixed paper newsprint and magazines
Plastics
PETE/1 Soft drink bottles, photo films
HDPE/2 Milk jugs, water containers, oil bottles
PVC/3 Pipes, some food packaging and wraps
LDPE/4 Thin-film packaging and wraps
PP/5 Battery castings, bread and cheese wraps
PP/6 Packaging for electronic components
Glass Clear, green and brown glass bottles Page
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Ferrous metal Tin cans, galvanized tin metal
SORTING (4)
Recyclable Material from Types of Materials or Uses
MSW
Non – ferrous metals Aluminium, copper and lead

Construction and Demolition Soil, asphalt, copper, wood, steel

Wastes reinforcement.
Wood Packaging materials and used wood
materials from construction projects
Tires (Rubber) Tires of cars

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PROCESSING
Operations used for the processing of
separated wastes are designed.
1. To modify the physical characteristics of the
waste so that waste components can be removed
more easily.

2. To remove specific components and

contaminants from the waste streams, and

3. To process and prepare the separated

materials for subsequent uses.
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PROCESSING
Unit Operations
Shredding
(Hammer mills, flail mills, materials
shear shredder, glass
crushers and wood grinders)
Screening
Cyclone Separator
Density Separation
Magnetic Separation
Function
Size reduction for different types of
Separation of over- and under-sized
materials
Separation of light combustible materials
from air stream
Separation of light combustible materials
from air stream
Separation of ferrous materials from wastes

Densification Compaction of wastes Page

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Wet Separation Separation of glass and aluminium
 6 DISPOSAL (1)
Activities associated
with ultimate
disposal of solid
wastes.

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MAJOR WASTE MANAGEMENT FACILITIES
IN HK

1. Landfills (3 strategic
+13 closed landfill sites)
2. Refuse Transfer
Stations and Facilities
3. Waste Sorting Facilities
4. Public Fill Reception
Facilities
5. Chemical Waste
Treatment Centre
6. Sha Ling Composting
Plant
7. Sludge treatment Page

facility and T-Park 24

LANDFILLING WITH SOLID WASTE (1)

 Disposal on or in the earth's surface

is, at present, the one of the viable
methods for the long-term handling of
solid wastes.

Landfill
堆填區

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LANDFILLING WITH SOLID WASTE (2)
 Landfilling involves the controlled disposal of solid wastes
on or in the upper layer of the earth's mantle in a manner
that minimises environmental hazards.

 Important aspects in the implementation of sanitary

landfills include:

1.8.1 Site selection,

1.8.2 Landfilling methods and operation,
1.8.3 Landfill leachate and gases:
a. Occurrence;
b. Movement; and Page
c. Control. 26
 SITE SELECTION
Factors that must be considered in evaluating potential
solid-waste disposal sites are summarised below.
Factors Remarks
Available land area Site should have a useful life greater than 1 year
Haul distance have impact on operating costs
Soil conditions and cover material must be available at or near the
topography site
Surface water hydrology drainage requirements
Geologic and important factors for the construction and the
hydrogeologic operation on the landfill
conditions
Climatologic conditions provisions made for wet-weather operation
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Local environmental noise, odour, dust, etc. control requirement
conditions
LANDFILLING METHODS AND
OPERATIONS
The principal methods used for landfilling
dry areas may be classified as

a. Area method,

b. Trench method.

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AREA METHOD (1)
 The solid wastes are placed
on the surface in thin
layers and compacted.
 Each layer is compacted as
the filling progresses until
the thickness or the
compacted wastes reaches a
height from 2m to 3m.
• At the end of each day's
operation, a 150 to 300 mm
layer of cover material is
placed over the completed
fill. A final layer of cover
material is used when the
fill reaches the final design
height.
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AREA METHOD (2)

Layers of
Cover Materials

Layers of Solid Waste

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AREA METHOD (3)

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AREA METHOD (4)

 An earthen level is built against which wastes are

placed in thin layers and compacted. Wastes are
unloaded and spread in long narrow strips on the
surface of the land.
 This method is used when the terrain is unsuitable for
the excavation of trenches to place the SW and the
groundwater level is high.

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TRENCH METHOD (1)
 This method is ideally  To start, a trench is
suited to areas where excavated.
an adequate depth of
 Wastes are then
cover material is placed in the trench,
available at the site and spread into thin
where the water table is layers and compacted.
well below the surface.
 The operation continues
until the desired height
is reached. Cover
material is obtained by
excavating an adjacent
trench.
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TRENCH METHOD (2)

Barrier

Clinical Waste in
a Trench

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TRENCH METHOD (3)

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TRENCH METHOD (4)

 To start the process, a portion of the trench is dug

and the dirt is stockpiled to form an embankment
behind the first trench. Material is covered from
excavating an adjacent trench or continuing the
trench that is being filled.
 Ideally suited to areas with an adequate depth of
cover material and the water table is not near the
surface. Avoid costly delays for collection vehicles
waiting to unload.

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LANDFILL GASES & LEACHATE
LEACHATE
a. Occurrence
 When material is placed in a landfill, it undergoes
gradual chemical and biochemical changes.
 Liquids are usually present in small volumes in some
solid wastes, and water enters during the landfilling
process from runoff and infiltration associated with
rain.
 This WATER both promotes biologic activity and
acts as a transport mechanism for contaminants
that dissolve in the water.
 If this water, now termed leachate, is allowed to enter
the groundwater below, contamination of a valuable
natural resource results. Page
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 LEACHATE
 The following biological, physical, and chemical
events occur when solid wastes are placed in a
sanitary landfill:
i. biological decay of organic material with
evolution of gases and liquids;
ii. chemical oxidation of waste material;
iii. movement of liquids caused by differential heads;
iv. dissolving and leaching of organic and inorganic
materials by water and leachate moving through
the fill;
v. movement of dissolved material by concentration
gradients, and
vi. uneven settlement caused by consolidation of Page
material into voids. 38
LEACHATE
b. Control

As leachate percolates through the underlying

strata, many of the chemical and biological
constituents originally contained in it will be
removed by the filtering and adsorptive
action of the material composing the
strata.

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 LEACHATE
b. Control

In order to prevent groundwater contamination, strict

leachate control and pollution measures are required:
1. underdrain pipes
2. plastic liner
3. second layer of underdrain pipes
4. second liner
5. impermeable clay
6. locating the site at a safe distance from streams,
lakes and wells
7. avoiding site locations above porous soil
8. using an earth cover that is nearly impervious 40
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LANDFILL GASES
a. Occurrence
 Gases found in landfills include NH3, CO2, CO,
H2, H2S, CH4, N2, O2 and air.

 Carbon dioxide and methane are the main

components.

 The anaerobic conversion of organic compounds

can be divided into 3 steps:
complex organics + enzyme → simple organics
simple organics + bacteria → alcohols + acids
alcohols + bacteria → CO2 + CH4
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LANDFILL GASES
a. Occurrence

 Therate of decomposition in an
unmanaged landfills can reach a peak
within the first 2 years.

 It
will slowly tapers off for a period up to
25 years or more.

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LANDFILL GASES
b. Movement

The molecular weights of the gases

produced are
CH4 = 16
CO2 = 46
NH3 = 17
air ≈ 28.8 (80% of N2 + 20% of
O2)
The relative weight measure for the gases
are
(CH4,NH3) Air CO2 Page
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0 1.0 2.0
LANDFILL GASES
b. Movement

 Therefore,
carbon dioxide tends to
move towards the bottom of the landfill.

 For
methane and ammonia, they tend to
move upwards.

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LANDFILL GASES
c. Control

The control of gas movement can be controlled:

i. Vents;

ii. Barriers; and

iii. Recovery systems.

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LANDFILL GASES
c. Control

 Thelateral movement of gases produced in a

landfill can be controlled by installing
vents made of materials that are more
permeable than the surrounding soil.

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LANDFILL GASES
c. Control

 Themovement of landfill gases through

adjacent soil formations can be controlled by
constructing barriers of materials that are
more impermeable than the soil.

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LANDFILL GASES
c. Control
 Controlof the downward movement of
gases can be accomplished by installing
perforated pipes in a gravel layer at the
bottom of the landfill.

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 LANDFILL GASES
c. Control
 EPD is closely monitoring the air quality in landfill.
 Methane is collected underground.

Gas Monitoring under

ground surface
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IMPERVIOUS LAYER, PLASTIC LINER
 The
surface of formation soil is covered with
Synthetic Membrane Liner.
Impervious
Lining

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IMPERVIOUS LINER AND LEACHATE
CIRCULATION
Leachate Collection Sump
(Leachate is pumped to
Treatment Plant)

Drainage

Synthetic
Membrane
Liner
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TYPICAL SECTION OF A LANDFILL

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INCINERATION (1)
 When land is no longer abundant or
where geotechnical and environmental
considerations would limit the use of a
sanitary landfill, incineration has been
used to reduce the bulk of the solid waste.

 Incineration is used for approximately 10

to 15 % of all municipal solid waste.

 Bulk volume reduction in incineration

is about 90%. Page
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INCINERATION (2)

 Incineration destroys the toxic

organics in waste in just a minute
whereas those chemicals might lie for
decades in a landfill.

 Because of the large amount of

particulate matter generated in the
combustion process, some form of air
pollution control device is required. Page
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INCINERATION (3)

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INCINERATION
- COMBUSTION OF WASTE (1)
As the principal element of solid waste are
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and
sulphur, the gaseous end products after
combustion is carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen
and sulphur dioxide.

The amount of oxygen required can be

obtained as:
For carbon: C (12) + O2 (32) → CO2 (44)
For hydrogen: 2H2 (4) + O2 (32) → 2H2O (36)
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For sulphur: S (32) + O2 (32) → SO2 (64)

 INCINERATION
- COMBUSTION OF WASTE (2)
It can be assumed that 23.15% of air is oxygen.
Therefore, we can obtain the air requirement
for combustion. i.e.
Mass (kg) Air required (kg)
Carbon 1 11.52

Hydrogen 1 34.56

Sulphur 1 4.31 Page

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INCINERATION
- COMBUSTION OF WASTE (3)
Example:
Determine the air requirement expressed in kg per
tonne of solid waste for the complete combustion of
a waste with composition C50H100O40N.

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INCINERATION
- COMBUSTION OF WASTE (4)
Example: Solution (1)
To combust 1 tonne of C50H100O40N, we need to know
the mass of elements C, H, O, N. This is the ratio of
their molecular mass.
i.e. molecular mass= 50C + 100H + 40O + N
= 50*12 + 100 + 40*16 + 14
= 1354
mass of carbon = 50*12/1354 * 1000 kg
= 443.1 kg
mass of hydrogen = 73.9 kg
mass of oxygen = 472.7 kg
mass of nitrogen = 10.3 kg
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INCINERATION
- COMBUSTION OF WASTE (5)
Example: Solution (2)
The oxygen required for combustion is
= [443.1 * (32/12) + 73.9 * (32/4)] kg
= 1772.8 kg of oxygen is required

As 472.7 kg O2 is available, oxygen from outside

= (1772.8 - 472.7) kg
= 1300.1 kg

Air required = 1300.1 / 0.2315 kg/tonne

= 5616 kg/tonne of solid waste

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