Bin night in Hong Kong

Time to take out the rubbish.

'Stop Illegal Dumping - Someone is Watching' banner and CCTV cameras beside a rubbish bin on Hollywood Road

It all starts with a bin.

Hong Kong's distinctive round rubbish bins

Until it gets full.

Overflowing rubbish bin on Nathan Road

Time to empty it.

Cleaner emptying a street rubbish bin

And walk down the street.

Pushing a trolley loaded with rubbish down Nathan Road

Until you reach the refuse collection point.

Parkes Street Refuse Collection Point

The rubbish is transferred into a truck.

UD Trucks rubbish truck in Hong Kong

And driven to a transfer station.

Rubbish trucks lined up at the West Kowloon Refuse Transfer Station

Located by the water.

Island West Transfer Station on Hong Kong Island

The rubbish is compacted into containers.

'Mo Sing Leng' being loaded with more rubbish at the Island West Transfer Station

Then loaded onto a ship.

'Mo Sing Leng' loading rubbish at the Island West Transfer Station

Setting sail.

Loaded waste transfer vessel 'Nim Wan' off Hong Kong Island

Leaving urban Hong Kong behind.

Loaded waste transfer vessel 'Nim Wan' off Hong Kong Island

On their way to the New Territories.

Loaded waste transfer vessel 'Nim Wan' off Hong Kong Island

Where the containers of waste are unloaded, then dumped into landfill.

On transfer stations

The transporting of waste in bulk from transfer stations to landfill has has greatly reduced the number of road vehicle movements previously associated with collecting refuse around Hong Kong.

Today the Environmental Protection Department operates thirteen waste transfer stations – four large faculties serving urban Hong Kong and serviced by ship.

  • Island East Transfer Station
  • Island West Transfer Station
  • North Lantau Transfer Station
  • West Kowloon Transfer Station

Six smaller facilities on Outlying Islands.

  • Mui Wo, Lantau Island
  • Peng Chau
  • Hei Ling Chau
  • Cheung Chau
  • Yung Shue Wan, Lamma Island
  • Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island
  • Ma Wan

And two transfer stations that transport outgoing waste by road by road.

  • North West New Territories Transfer Station
  • Shatin Transfer Station

Waste transfer vessels

“Ngon Shuen” and “Lai Wan” are the largest waste transfer vessels, serving the West Kowloon Transfer Station.

  • 210 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) capacity
  • 4505 tonnes deadweight
  • 95 metres long
  • 20.83 meters wide
  • 4.4 meters draught

Next are “Chai Wan”, “Nim Wan”, “Tsing Chau” and “Mo Sing Leng” which serve the Hong Kong Island and North Lantau transfer stations.

  • 95 TEU capacity
  • 1763 tonnes deadweight
  • 69.2 meters metres long
  • 18.17 meters wide
  • 3 meters draught

And finally, “Yung Shue Wan” and “Mui Wo” are two small vessels to serve the Outlying Island transfer stations.

  • 29 TEU capacity
  • 659 tonnes deadweight
  • 43 meters long
  • 15 metres wide
  • 2.4 metres draught

And landfills

Hong Kong operates three “Strategic Landfill” sites.

  • West New Territories (WENT) Landfill at Tuen Mun – receives waste by sea and by road.
  • North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill at Ta Kwu Ling – only served by road.
  • South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill at Tseung Kwan O – only accepts constructions waste due to odour complains, and is served by road.

Further reading

Footnote: sludge ships

The Drainage Services Department also operates waste disposal vessels – “Clean Harbour 1” and “Clean Harbour 2”.

They transport sludge from the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works (SCISTW) to a treatment facility in Tuen Mun for processing and disposal.

  • 50 TEU capacity
  • 2176 tonne deadweight
  • 69.9 metres long
  • 17.5 metres wide
  • 3 meters draught
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2 Responses to Bin night in Hong Kong

  1. Geoffrey Hansen says:

    One thing I found interesting in Hong Kong is seeing people pushing carts along the streets. You would never see that happening in Sydney.

  2. Pingback: Visiting Tai Lei - Peng Chau's boring little brother - Checkerboard Hill

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