Time to take out the rubbish.
It all starts with a bin.
Until it gets full.
Time to empty it.
And walk down the street.
Until you reach the refuse collection point.
The rubbish is transferred into a truck.
And driven to a transfer station.
Located by the water.
The rubbish is compacted into containers.
Then loaded onto a ship.
Setting sail.
Leaving urban Hong Kong behind.
On their way to the New Territories.
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
- Operation of Refuse Transfer Stations – Environmental Protection Department
- Outlying Islands Refuse Transfer Facilities – Environmental Protection Department
- Waste transfer vessels – HUD Salvage & Towage
- More photos of the waste transfer vessels – Hip Wang Leung
- Closed landfills in Hong Kong – Environmental Protection Department
- West New Territories (WENT) Landfill – Darryl Hennig
- Ships of the West Kowloon Transfer Station – Darryl Hennig
- North Lantau Refuse Transfer Station – Darryl Hennig
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
One thing I found interesting in Hong Kong is seeing people pushing carts along the streets. You would never see that happening in Sydney.
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