Hong Kong’s only clinical waste incinerator struggles with sharp increase in refuse created by surge in Covid-19 infections
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Hong Kong’s sole incinerator for clinical waste can no longer cope with the surge in refuse, which has increased nearly six-fold since the coronavirus pandemic began two years ago.
The city produced 48.7 tonnes of clinical waste each day between March 19 and 23, according to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Department.
The figure represents an increase of 5.6 times from 8.7 tonnes a day during the same period in 2019, before the pandemic. It also was nearly four times more than the 12.5 tonnes collected daily over the same period last year, reflecting the impact of the city’s ongoing fifth wave of infections.
Clinical waste refers to a wide variety of potentially hazardous substances generated by clinics, medical establishments and laboratories, including used syringes, discarded bandages, contaminated materials and body tissue.
Because of the potential health risk, clinical waste cannot be recycled and must be incinerated or buried in a landfill after being treated.
The recently reported levels of refuse are twice the amount the city’s clinical waste incinerator can handle, with the facility in Kwai Chung only capable of processing 20 to 24 tonnes per day.