The average daily quantity of solid waste disposed of at landfills in 2018 was 16,096 tonnes.

The findings were announced in a report by the Environmental Protection Department today.

The department said the average daily quantity of municipal solid waste disposal at landfills was 11,428 tonnes last year.

It noted typhoon Mangkhut, which hit the city last September, resulted in extensive damage and generated a large amount of unconventional waste.

Discounting the typhoon’s effect, the daily municipal solid waste disposal rate was 1.5kg per capita in 2018.

Food waste was the largest component of municipal solid waste for the year, accounting for 31%, followed by paper waste and plastic waste.

Regarding construction waste, the recovery rate of inert construction materials delivered to public fill reception facilities and other outlets in 2018 remained over 90% compared with 2017.

Construction waste disposed of at landfills fell 3% compared with 2017. This could be partly attributable to the increase in construction waste disposal charges which came into effect in April 2017.

The municipal solid waste recovery rate was 30% in 2018, down two percentage points compared with the preceding year. Metal recyclables continued to have the highest recovery rate at 90% among all recyclable types.

The Government will continue implementing different policies to reduce waste, the department added.