Hong Kong is a city with a population of 7 million people in an area of 1,104 km2, almost the size of London, UK (1572 km2). Limited land created a dense infrastructure and the territory became a centre of modern architecture, and one of the world’s most vertical cities.
Hong Kong has a long-term commitment to environmental protection and conservation, and an Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) was established in 1994. Hong Kong government has injected $5 billion into the ECF, which serves as seed money to generate annual investment returns to support such green projects and activities. Since establishment, the ECF has provided funding to support over 4,290 educational, research, and other projects and activities in relation to environmental and conservation matters.
The ECF has allocated $50 million HKD to fund the food waste recycling project in housing estates, where 35 estates has been chosen to set-up on-site food waste treatment facilities, like food waste composting machines, and organize food waste collection and recovery programmes. Food waste composting machines approved in this project should be able to produce compost in solid powder form, as discharge of wastewater or dumping of the product to landfill site is prohibited.
Oklin’s composters are one of the approved food waste composting machines as food waste is turned into an immature compost in 24 hours. Participating residents from 70-120 households are provided with a food waste container, and the container is collected from a centralized collection point in housing estates, often at the lobby. Designated staff then emptied the accumulated food waste into the composter daily.
The compost generated from Oklin’s composters are then mixed with soil and cured so it is a mature compost product. The compost is used in the planting areas inside the estates, given to residents for home-use, or donated to local schools or farms.
Read the technical guideline for composting in housing estates co-written by Environmental Protection Department, Hong Kong SAR Government and Hong Kong Productivity Council here.
| Install Location | Hong Kong SAR |
| Model Number | GG30/50 |
| Year Installed | 2012-2014 |
| Food Waste Processed/Day | 80-120kg/day |
| Food Waste Source | Food waste collected from particiapting resident units |
| Compost Usage | Compost applied to plants in estate gardens, given to residents for domestic planting, donated to nearby schools and local farms |
