A waste treatment plant in Hong Kong has opened its own spa, to make use of the human waste it uses to generate electricity. The unlikely combination of sludge processing and thermal pools has been created at the T. Park facility, but some are concerned about its impact on the environment.
Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below.
1. Where in Hong Kong is T. Park?
2. What idea has Hong Kong's government had to treat sludge?
3. How many households receive electricity from T. Park?
4. Why do some people complain about T. Park?
This may look like a normal spa but there's more to it than you'd expect. The water is nice and warm but it's heated by burning sludge, that's the waste you get from treating sewage.
This is T Park, a plant on the outskirts of Hong Kong. It treats sludge, the thick mud waste from the sewers and toilets. Sludge is smelly and it's been filling up Hong Kong's landfills. But the government says it's found a solution: turning the sludge into energy.
T Park incinerates more than a thousand tons of sludge each day. Burning the sludge makes it ninety percent smaller and easier to bury. It also generates enough electricity for the whole plant and 4000 households. Even the waste water is treated, so it can be used to water the plants. The government says T Park is key for sustainability in Hong Kong.
T Park is the first waste-to-energy facilities in the Hong Kong. It’s the first step of Hong Kong government's waste-to-energy journey. It reduces the burdens to the landfills. It provides a sustainable solution to the sewage sludge disposal in Hong-Kong.
Hundreds of people visit the plant each day for an educational tour or for a free spa session. But critics say not everyone has benefited.
There are lots of smells from the sludge when it’s being transported and incinerating the sludge causes air pollution too. This affects local residents.
The government says it follows stringent standards and that all emissions are tested before being released, and they'll be hoping visitors leave the plant feeling pampered and with a new interest in sustainability.
Helier Cheung, BBC News, Hong Kong.
Key:
1 ont eh outskirts
2 turn sludge into energy
3 4,000
4 because of the smells and the air pollution
