Bulletin Number One 1984

In te rna tiona l Conference on Ecological Aspects o f Solid Waste Disposal An International Conference on Ecological Aspects o f Solid Waste Disposal, held from 19th to 22nd December, 1983 ， was organized by the Departments o f Biology and Geography o f the University. The Conference aimed at providing a forum for inter- disciplinary discussions and interactions between scientists and engineers relating to the disposal o f domestic, agricultural, industrial and toxic mine wastes. The new perspective in waste disposal is not only to be found in the development o f waste collection and disposal technology, but also in the advancement o f our understanding o f the ecology o f the generation, flow and transformation o f wastes in our surrounding environment. The two keynote speeches were on ‘Conversion o f agricultural and industrial wastes into fungal protein', given by Professor S.T. Chang, Chairman o f the Biology Department, CUHK, and 'Monitoring and long-term planning: essential ingredients o f waste management', given by D r. S.B. Reed, Commissioner for Environmental Protection, Hong Kong Environ mental Protection Agency. Thirty-four papers were presented in five sessions: I. Collection, treatment and disposal; 11. Management, planning and ecological aspects; III. Recycling; IV . Sampling and analysis; and V. Environmental impacts. In view o f the rapid development that is taking place in the Southeast Asian region, it was particularly appropriate to hold the conference in Hong Kong. The rising population, the increasing affluence o f the society, and the changing nature o f our industry have all made waste disposal a d ifficu lt task for Hong Kong. This is further complicated by the shortage o f land, especially land suitable for the provision o f disposal facilities. The Conference was indeed a timely one, in which over a hundred experts from fifteen countries, including China, Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Sri Lanka, Thailand, U.K., U.S.A. and Hong Kong, actively participated. Among them were administrative and technical officers, and engineers from various government departments and consulting firms, teaching and technical staff from universities and polytechnics. Multi-disciplinary approach is in fact essential in tackling environmental problems nowadays especially when dealing w ith the ever-increasing production o f wastes generated from different origins in a densely populated area like Hong Kong. The large-scale sewage treatment plant at Shatin, which treats domestic wastes produced by a popula tion o f about half a m illion, and the refuse compost NEWS 1