******************************************
The Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, today (April 5) concluded his visit to Korea by touring a range of waste management facilities and projects.
In the morning, Mr Wong visited the popular Cheonggyecheon stream in Seoul. It used to be a neglected watercourse filled with waste, and was revitalised after a large-scale restoration project initiated by the government in 2003. Mr Wong said he was glad to see this urban revitalisation project. He then visited a key works project in the city centre in Dongdaemun to gain an understanding of the city's environmental compliance, design and green measures in construction aiming to reduce and treat construction waste.
In the afternoon, Mr Wong visited the Sudokwon landfill to learn about its daily operation and future development. The largest sanitary landfill in the world, it occupies an area of 20 million square metres. Its daily intake is about 18,000 tonnes of waste on average, and its landfill gas is used to generate electricity. Mr Wong toured various environmental facilities at the site and also saw the production of site cover materials using organic waste. Mr Wong said he was impressed by various waste-to-energy features at the landfill, and noted that the experience will be a useful reference for Hong Kong in managing its existing landfills.
During the three-day visit, Mr Wong toured a number of waste treatment and waste-to-energy facilities treating food waste and municipal solid waste in Seoul. He also learned about the implementation of a waste charging system, which successfully reduced waste generation and increased the recycling rate in the city. Mr Wong said he believed that the experience gained on the visit will be valuable for Hong Kong in charting future waste management policy.
Mr Wong will conclude the visit in the evening and return to Hong Kong.
Ends/Friday, April 5, 2013
Issued at HKT 18:02
NNNN