Real-Time Management of Public Fill in Hong Kong Using Information and Communications Technology

Approximately 90%-95% of the construction waste generated by construction, excavation, demolition, and road works in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of China is recyclable or reusable. It is primarily composed of inert materials, such as rocks, concrete, asphalt, rubbles, bricks, stone, and earth. When these inert materials are properly processed, they can be easily reused or recycled as useful construction materials in new construction projects. On December 1, 2005, the Government of the HKSAR implemented the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme (Charging Scheme) to charge for disposal of construction waste of different proportions of inert materials. Financial incentives are given to contractors who sort their construction waste voluntarily by proportions of inert materials. Territorywise automated management systems using information and communications technology (ICT) are developed and implemented to control the quality of public fill (construction waste of 100% inert materials), to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the Charging Scheme, to maximize the quantities of reusable and recyclable materials extractable from construction waste, and to combat illegal land filling and fly-tipping of construction waste. Two separate but similar systems: (1) for delivery of construction waste to public fill reception facilities and (2) for delivery to sorting facilities, are implemented simultaneously, as the operational requirements and procedures of the two different types of construction waste disposal facilities are different. The design and operation of these two systems are presented in this paper. The use of ICT can greatly enhance the management of construction waste. The system can be easily adopted for other logistic applications.