The document discusses plans to overhaul Hong Kong's waste collection and disposal system. It outlines a proposal to ban household waste from the Tseung Kwan O landfill in order to gain support for its expansion. This would require diverting an estimated 2,000 tons of waste per day to other landfill sites, increasing collection routes and costs. The government plans to help private operators upgrade their trucks to reduce nuisance and spend over $18 million on the changes. The overhaul aims to better prepare the city's waste management for its long term strategy, but funding approval for landfill expansions could impact the plans.

1. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
Lesson Fourteen – News
Corner (September 1)
1 Theme: the Environment – Waste Disposal
垃圾 堆填區
廢物處理

2. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
Cement plan not yet viable refuse solution
South China Morning Post
2013-8-16
We refer to the letters by Charlie Chan (“Come clean on waste disposal strategy”, August 13) and Frank Lee
(“V____________________ (adj. 切實可行的) waste management plan snubbed”, August 5), regarding the
proposalby GreenIsland Cement (Holdings) to develop a waste i____________________ (n. 焚化) facility in
Tuen Mun.
Since the early 2000s, this firm has asked the government to adopt eco-co-combustion technologyand develop
a facility at its cement plant to treat 4,800 tonnes of m____________________ (adj. 市政的) solid waste
(MSW) each day. The Environmental Protection Department reviewed the technology and findings and made
its conclusions known to the Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) and the Legislative Council
(relevant papers are available online). This technology has not been used for MSW treatment anywhere in the
world for large t____________________. (n. 總噸數)
Although the company had conducted a trial at a scale of several tonnes per day for about two months in 2005,
it did not cover all the eco-co-combustion process. Also, potential market risk associated with the demand for
cement will affect its reliability as a means of waste treatment.
The recommendation not to adopt this technology for the Integrated Waste Management Facilities Phase 1 was
e____________________ (v. 認可) by the ACE in December 2009.
Since there are a number of existing emission sources in the v____________________ (n. 附近地區) of the
cement plant and it is not far from the population clusters in Tuen Mun, the company should first conduct a
iable
青英泥有限公司
ncineration
環保廢物熔化
水泥廠
uncipal
onnages
ndorsed
廢氣排放源
ieinity
人口密集
青山發電廠,鋼鐵

3. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
t____________________ (adj. 全面的) environmental impact assessment study to address concerns about
the c____________________ (adj. 積累的) air quality impact of the proposal if it is to be considered further.
This has not been done. Green Island Cement would also need to address the land-use issue and public
acceptability of its proposal.
We have told the firm that if it is serious about this project, it must first deal with technical
f____________________ (n. 可行性) and reliability, environmental acceptability and planning issues. At this
stage, it is p____________________ (adj. 過早的) to state that the company’s proposal is a viable solution
readily available to assist in a____________________ (v. 緩和) Hong Kong’s p____________________
(adj. 迫切的) MSW problem.
The government’s “Hong Kong: Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022” points out the value
of resources that can be recovered from waste.
It m____________________ (詳細提出) a c____________________ (adj. 全面的) strategy and action plans
for waste reduction, reuse, recovery, waste-to-energy (modern incineration) and land filling. Each waste
management initiative contributes to the whole strategy. We need the j____________________ (adj. 共同的)
efforts of the entire community and co-operation with the business sector for the benefit of Hong Kong.
環評
horough
umulative
a
Viable
easibility
remature
立即投入運作/得到
tackle
solve
lleviating
alleviate
proposition 後面有Gerund
ressing
藍圖 垃圾有價
aps out omprehensive
減廢
at sounce
重用 轉廢為能 焚化
oint
攜手

4. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
Sustainable strategy on waste disposal
South China Morning Post
2013-09-06
One of the topics of h____________________ (adj. 激烈的) debate in local politics today
p____________________ (v. 有關) landfill and what to do with waste that our citizens generate every day.
Around the world, such a topic has drawn so much concern and attention from city d____________________
(n. 居民) that any city leader with a claim and ability to produce even a semi-acceptable result in addressing
the problem might earn a ticket not only to the mayor’s office, but also the presidency of the country.
The difficultyof producing a solution to the city’s waste problem lies with the NIMBY, or not-in-my-backyard
mentality. Yes we all understand that the garbage will have to be dumped somewhere and treated somewhere in
the city, but definitely not anywhere close to my home, my property, nor even in my district. As a matter of
fact, the dump site and treatment plant should be situated as far from the urban centers as possible.
On the other hand, Hong Kong often p____________________以某事物而自豪 being an international city
that upholds universal standards and values, one of which is sustainable development. However, I
t____________________ (adv. of true) wonder how many of us living in Hong Kong really understand what
the term “sustainable development” means.
eated
argument
discussion
ertains to
弔來關注
wellers
半數
垃圾
處理廠堆填區
rides itself on
普世的 可持續
ruly

5. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which included what is now one of the most
widely recognized definitions: “Sustainable development is development that m____________________ (v.
滿足) the needs of the present without c____________________ (v. 放棄) the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.”
Also, according to the same report, the above definition contains within it two key concepts: first, the concept
of “need”, in particular the essential needs of the poor in the world, to which o____________________ (adj.
最重要的) priority should be given; second, the idea of the limitations of development, drawing attention to
the limitations of today’s technology and the environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.
Put plainly, if we, the human race as a whole, consume the world’s resources at a rate faster than nature’s
ability to r____________________ (v. 補充) these renewable resources, d____________________ (n. 惡化)
of the environment will result and the situation will then be not sustainable for future generations to meet their
own needs.
Only when we consume nature’s assets at a rate less than nature’s ability to replenish, allowing environmental
renewal to take place, can sustainable development be possible.
Now back to our local problem of city waste, which includes residential and industrial waste. These wastes
廣泛認同
eats
meets a demand
require
ompromising
verriding
eplenish egradation
resounces 慢過

6. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
have to be managed through a system of collection, transportation, processing and final disposal to reduce their
effect on health, the environment, aesthetics, and to provide a sense of well-being in our daily lives.
Waste management, usually the responsibility of local government authorities, generally (consists of /
comprises / composes of) a set of strategies to c____________________ (ph. 遵守) the principle of
sustainable development.
The core strategy is prevention, which could only be made possible by public and civic education, the habitual
indoctrination教導 of s____________________ (n. 自覺意識), and through social participation. Only when
every citizen is clearly aware of the necessity of s____________________ (n. 自我克制) and the
self-imposed responsibility for the needs of future generations, can a successful and meaningful waste
management program be implemented without the social d____________________ (n. 分歧)and the political
q____________________ (n. 困境) we are witnessing in Hong Kong today.
The issue of waste must be minimized, either by a conscious act of s____________________ (n. 自律), or
through a “_______________________________” 污者自付原則, followed by a policy of re-use and
recycling, which involves bio-processing through composting and digestion methods.
“Energy recovery” comes next with thermal treatment, gasification, pyrolysis, and biogas capturing. The last
處理 廢置
美學
由XXX造成
XXX
is composed of
omply with
核心策略
elf consuiousness
elf-restraint
倒裝句
實行
irisiveness
uagmire
elf-discline
polluters pay principle
轉廢為能

7. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
step is disposal, with incineration and landfills.
The aim of such a cascade of waste management strategies is to extract the maximum practical benefits from
waste products and to generate the minimum amount of “disposable” waste.
Hong Kong has limited space for development and extension. We have one of the highest population densities
[U / C] in the world. We have very little choice but to be our family members’ keeper, our neighbors’ keeper,
and our fellow citizens’ keeper. And please also remember, we are also our future generations’ keepers of a
sustainable environment called Hong Kong.
The author is deputy chairman and secretary-general of China Energy Fund Committee, a think tank onenergy
and China-related issues.
密度

8. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
Waste disposal systemset for huge o____________________ (n. 改革)
South China Morning Post
2013-10-26
The city’s waste collection and disposal network and operation will u____________________ (v. 經歷) an
overhaul to prepare for a proposed ban on smelly household waste at the Tseung Kwan O landfill.
Under the plan, d____________________ (v. 設計)to win support from nearby residents for an extension of
the landfill, only construction r____________________ (n. 垃圾) will be dumped there with all other waste
being sent to t____________________ (n. 垃圾棄置場) in Tuen Mun and Ta Kwu Ling.
Disclosing the plan yesterday, the Environmental Protection Department said the diversion of an estimated
2,000 tonnes of waste a day would require the creation of about 30 new collection routes and would also
p____________________ (ph. 推高) costs.
At the same time, the government plans to spend about HK$18 million to help private operators fit tailgate
covers and wastewater tanks to their trucks to reduce n____________________. (n. 滋擾)
“This is an initiative we’re launching that will benefit the whole of Hong Kong, and not just Tseung Kwan O
residents,” Secretary for the Environment Wong Kam-sing said.
The ban on offensive refuse in Tseung Kwan O was promised by environment officials as they tried
i____________________ 徒勞 to win residents’ support for extending the landfill – due to reach capacity in
2015.
The plan will also require opening up the Sha Tin refuse transfer station to private operators so they can dump
verhaul
ndergo
臭
evised
取得
efuse
ips
ush up
uisance
n vain

9. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
their waste there after the ban t___________ effect. The station, one of seven across the city where waste is
compressed before being moved to landfills, is now used only by government vehicles.
To encourage operators to use the stations, fees will be lowered from HK$40 to HK$30 at four – Island East,
Western, West Kowloon and Sha Tin.
Tailgate covers and wastewater tanks will be m____________________ (adj. 強制性) on all collection
vehicles. Officials plan to seek funding to give about 300 private operators HK$50,000 subsidies for the work.
An Environmental Protection Department spokeswoman said the government was still in the planning stages
of rerouting the 150 rubbish collection trucks run by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
“Waste diversion is a big move and will need much discussion,” she said. “A comprehensive system is
needed.”
Diverting waste to other sites will bring most transfer facilities close to their full capacity, so the government is
now also searching for suitable sites in Kowloon East for more stations, preferably in rock caverns (洞穴)
with sea access.
Legal amendments and funding requests for the diversion plan as well as the retrofit 翻新 of waste vehicles
will be submitted to the l____________________ (n. 立法機關) by the end of the year.
But an official, speaking a____________________ (adv. 不具名地), said all the plans
h____________________ (v. 取決於) whether the funding application for extensions of all three of the
city’s landfills were approved by the Legislative Council. They will be filed early next year.
ake
生效
refuse
andatory
wmpulsuny
MPF
強積金
egislature
nonymously
inged on

10. Emily Chan
DSE English
Lecture 14
© 2012-2013 College.ee™學府. All rights reserved. 香港科學園科技大道西 5 號企業廣場 3 樓 313 室
“We know landfills are not the best wayto deal with waste, but as other facilities take time to build, we need to
expand our landfills for now,” she said.
The government has said it needed the extensions to take rubbish until a planned i____________________ (n.
焚化爐) – itself a controversial project – could be built.
需要時間解決
擴建
ncinerator