LCQ7: Recycling of construction waste
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Question:
According to the report "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong - Waste Statistics for 2024" published by the Environmental Protection Department at the end of 2025, the overall quantity of construction waste generated in 2024 increased by about 4 945 tonnes per day compared to 2023, reaching an average of 50 505 tonnes per day. In papers submitted to the Public Works Subcommittee of the Legislative Council, the Government states that it encourages contractors to maximise the use of recycled or recyclable construction waste on site as far as possible, and requires them to submit a plan setting out the waste management measures and how such waste will be reused and recycled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has collected basic data on the recycling of construction waste in Hong Kong, including the total weight (in tonnes), the types of recycled products (such as concrete and aggregates) and their respective weights, as well as the main recycling channels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) of the existing standard procedures and specific measures for managing the recycling of construction waste, including the government departments involved and their detailed division of responsibilities, the number and locations of storage facilities for such waste and the means of transport; whether it has quantified and assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether the Government is currently using recyclable construction waste in works projects that have commenced or will commence; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) of the average annual cost and total expenditure incurred by the Government in handling and managing recyclable construction waste in each of the past five years; and
(5) of the Government's short-term (about one to two years) and long-term (about three to five years) targets for increasing the recycling rate of construction waste, together with the corresponding policy measures and their implementation timetable?
Reply:
President,
Most of the construction waste generated locally is inert construction waste, commonly known as public fill which includes rock, rubble, sand, concrete, asphalt, brick, tile, etc, and is non-decomposable materials that can be reused as construction materials. Non-inert construction waste (such as bamboo and wood pieces) accounts for a smaller portion of the overall construction waste. The Government has been managing construction waste through reducing generation, proper reuse and recycling, including direct reuse of public fill through matching between projects, or storage of public fill in the two fill banks for future reuse. As local projects cannot absorb all the public fill generated in Hong Kong in recent years, coupled with the limited capacities of the fill banks, surplus public fill has to be delivered to the Chinese Mainland for reuse. Non-inert construction waste that is not suitable for reuse as construction materials will be disposed of at landfills.
In consultation with the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the reply to the question raised by the Hon Tommy Chung is as follows:
(1) The Government compiles statistics on construction waste in Hong Kong regularly, including the disposal and reuse quantities of overall construction waste. According to the latest report "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong – Waste Statistics for 2024" published by the Environmental Protection Department at the end of 2025, in 2024, an average of 45 810 tonnes per day of public fill was received by the fill banks for future reuse (including local reuse and delivery to the Chinese Mainland for reuse) and delivered to works projects for direct reuse (i.e. a total of approximately 16.8 million tonnes in the year). An average of 4 695 tonnes per day of construction waste was disposed of at landfills (i.e. a yearly quantity of about 1.7 million tonnes). The major recycled products or reuse means and the respective quantities are tabulated as follows:
| Recycled products or reuse means | Reuse quantity (million tonnes) |
| Site formation or earth filling purposes (Note 1) | 12.9 |
| Reuse as cover for landfills | 0.5 |
| Recycled as aggregates and manufactured sand to be used as granular fill material in the construction of road sub-base and drainage layer, or as reserve for emergency repair works during extreme weather | 0.5 |
| Storage in local fill bank for future reuse | 2.9 |
| Total | 16.8 |
(2) At present, the recovery rate of overall reusable and recyclable construction waste has reached about 90 per cent. The Government has been adopting a multi-pronged strategy to ensure the proper management of construction waste, primarily driven by three directions: reduction at source, beneficial reuse and recycling, with a view to making the best use of resources, reducing waste and alleviating the pressure on the environment. This work, implemented by the Public Fill Committee established by the Government, includes the vetting of public works projects to minimise the generation of construction and demolition material and maximise the use of public fill .
On the aspect of reduction, we request public works projects to enhance the planning, design and management of various engineering projects, striving to achieve on-site cut-and-fill balance as far as practicable to minimise the generation of public fill at source, thereby alleviating the pressure on existing public fill reception facilities.
Regarding proper reuse, suitable public fill is either directly reused in earth filling, reclamation projects, or transported to the two local fill banks for temporary storage for future reuse in suitable projects, thereby enabling the resources circulation. The remaining portion that cannot be absorbed locally will be transported to the Chinese Mainland for reuse.
With respect to recycling, we actively promote the reprocessing of suitable materials into usable construction materials, which not only enhances resource utilisation efficiency but also helps drive the industry towards sustainable development.
There are currently four public fill reception facilities operated by the Civil Engineering and Development Department, including the two fill banks located at Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O with recycling facilities, and the two public fill transfer facilities located at Chai Wan and Mui Wo (which mainly serve to receive part of the public fill generated in Hong Kong Island and Lantau Island respectively, and to transfer the material to the two local fill banks). The facilities receive public fill from the local industry that cannot be directly reused on site and temporarily store it in the fill banks, pending future reuse.
(3) The Government has been increasing land supply through reclamation, site formation or earth filling projects, etc, which serve as the main outlets for absorbing a large amount of reusable and recyclable construction waste as construction materials. Looking ahead to the coming years, the Government is progressively implementing various projects, including the site formation works for the San Tin Technopole that commenced in December 2024, the reclamation works at Area 132 in Tseung Kwan O for which funding approval will be sought from the Legislative Council later in 2026, as well as the proposed reclamation works at Area 137 in Tseung Kwan O and Lung Kwu Tan, to absorb substantial quantities of reusable and recyclable construction waste. In alignment with the implementation schedules of various projects, we will supply public fill to reclamation, site formation or earthworks projects for reuse. Meanwhile, we will continuously explore recycling public fill into useful construction materials.
(4) In the past five years, the average cost and total expenditure of handling and managing the reusable and recyclable public fill by the Government annually are as follows:
| Financial year | Expenditure on the handling and management of public fill ($million) | Quantity of public fill received at local fill banks (million tonnes) | Average cost ($/tonne) |
| 2021-22 | 855 | 10 | 86 |
| 2022-23 | 796 | 14 | 57 |
| 2023-24 | 1,077 | 11 | 98 |
| 2024-25 | 1,155 | 13 | 89 |
| 2025-26 | 1,690 (Note 2) | 13 (Note 2) | 130 (Note 3) |
Note 3: As many of Hong Kong's large-scale reclamation projects have largely been completed, several upcoming large-scale reclamation projects are yet to commence, the capacity of existing fill banks is nearly saturated, coupled with the gradual release of land from the fill bank at Area 137 in Tseung Kwan O for long-term development, it has become necessary to increase the quantity of surplus public fill transported to the Chinese Mainland for reuse, resulting in a corresponding increase in the expenditure.
(5) The Government will continue to create land in a resolute and persistent manner, so that a steady and continuous land supply for Hong Kong can be maintained to meet future economic and social development needs. In alignment with the implementation schedules of various projects, the Government will strive to use public fill in reclamation, site formation and earth filling projects. However, as the implementation programmes and construction arrangements of various projects will be continuously optimised as they progress, the demand for public fill will be adjusted subject to design and construction progress. It is therefore difficult to provide precise schedules at this stage.
In addition, the Government has been supporting innovative development, continuously collaborating with local universities on multiple research and development projects to recycle public fill into useful construction materials. These initiatives include sorting and recycling suitable hard materials from public fill into manufactured sand for reclamation, studying the use of public fill as final cover for landfills, and implementing a pilot scheme to produce eco-bricks using public fill. We will continue to monitor advancements in frontier technology, maintain close communication with university research teams, and continuously explore other feasible options for recycling public fill.
Ends/Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Issued at HKT 17:23
Issued at HKT 17:23
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