Waste treatment plant powers eco spa and cafe

All recreation and education activities at Hong Kong’s T.PARK are powered by the on-site waste-to-energy treatment plant.

Waste treatment facilities generally bring to mind industrial landscapes, but Hong Kong’s T.PARK provides a rooftop relaxation center, a café, several spa pools, extensive gardens and exhibition and theatre space. A dual-purpose sustainable environmental and education center, T.PARK is a waste-to-energy sludge treatment plant.

Sludge is a waste by-product of sewage treatment and was traditionally sent to landfill. But as that is no longer a viable option, high temperature incineration has proven to be a sustainable alternative, reducing the volume of waste by 90 percent and the emission of greenhouse gases by more than 250,000 tons. Burning the sludge also produces enough excess energy to run 4,000 households on the public power grid.

A viewing gallery enables visitors to watch the waste treatment process, and all spaces utilize environmentally friendly furnishings and design. Research continues into ways to turn ash and other residue from the sludge burning process into usable products.

We recently saw a power plant that doubles as an observation tower. What other facilities can large-scale industrial complexes provide?