Waste Reduction

In November 1998, the Government launched a 10-year Waste Reduction Framework Plan. This was a response to the rapid growth in the amount of waste being dumped in the landfills, leading to a significant reduction in their expected lifespan. Given the shortage of land in Hong Kong and the keen competition for any available space, it will be difficult to find sites for any new landfills. The plan aims to reduce the amount of waste produced, to encourage re-use and recycling, to promote greater efficiency and economy in the management of waste, and to prolong the usable life of Hong Kong's landfills.

    Waste recovery continues to play an important role in waste management, resulting in the export of substantial quantities of recovered waste materials for remanufacturing outside Hong Kong. In all, about 1.7 million tonnes of waste materials — including waste paper, metals and plastic — were exported in 2002, generating export earnings of about $2 billion.

    Waste prevention and recovery has been the Government's main focus in tackling the waste problem. The Government introduced a package of initiatives in 2001 to further promote waste prevention and recycling and has been making progress in this regard.

    Landfill charging is an important element in the waste management strategy adopted in Hong Kong. It can provide economic incentives for waste producers to reduce waste and to carry out sorting to facilitate re-use and recycling which will, in turn, help conserve landfill capacity. The Government intends to start levying a landfill charge on construction and demolition waste in the first phase, and to implement the charging scheme in 2004.

Landfills

All municipal solid waste is disposed of at three large modern landfills in the New Territories. Specialist waste management contractors operate these landfills to high environmental standards.

    The community disposed of about 9 420 tonnes of municipal solid wastes every day. Of this, 7 540 tonnes comprised domestic waste and 880 tonnes comprised commercial and industrial waste. On average, each person in Hong Kong disposed of about 1.39 kilograms of municipal solid waste daily in 2002.

    Rapid development in Hong Kong over the past decade has contributed to a dramatic increase in the amount of construction and demolition (C&D) material. On average, some 43 300 tonnes of such material were generated every day and about 80 per cent of it was re-used in reclamation projects. Material unsuitable for reclamation purposes, amounting to about 10 200 tonnes daily, was sent to landfills for disposal.

    The current three landfills will have a remaining lifespan of only nine to 14 years. The Government will soon complete a study to explore the extension potential of the existing landfills and to identify potential new landfill locations. The study includes assessments on environmental performance, socio-economic impacts and technical feasibility of different options. Planning work will proceed after completion of this study.

    Hong Kong has 13 old landfills. For safety and environmental reasons, restoration measures have been taken at these landfills, and restoration of 12 of them is completed. It is intended to restore the last landfill, the Pillar Point Valley landfill, by late 2005. After full restoration, the sites may be used primarily for community and recreational activities.

Refuse Transfer Stations

The network of refuse transfer stations forms an important component of the Government's waste disposal facilities. Waste collected in urban centres is delivered to these stations, where it is compacted into sealed containers for delivery to the three landfills.

    Seven modern transfer stations and one set of Outlying Island Transfer Facilities (OITF) handle a total of 5 800 tonnes of waste every day. This is mostly domestic waste, and represents around 75 per cent of Hong Kong's total daily domestic waste production. Six of these transfer facilities — the stations at Hong Kong Island East and West, West Kowloon, North Lantau and North-West New Territories and the OITF on Ma Wan — also provide service to private waste collectors.

Chemical and Special Wastes

Comprehensive controls on the handling and disposal of chemical waste have been in place since 1993. The formerly widespread malpractice of dumping chemical waste into the sewers and surface waters has stopped. All chemical waste producers are required to properly pack, label and store their chemical wastes before disposal at proper treatment facilities. A trip ticket system — involving the waste producers, licensed collectors and licensed disposal points — tracks the movement of chemical waste from its origin to final disposal.

    A daily average of 144 tonnes of chemical waste, including waste from sea-going vessels, is treated at the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre on Tsing Yi Island, the main treatment facility for chemical waste. A government contractor operates the treatment centre. Waste producers using its services are required to pay part of the treatment cost.

Clinical Waste

In recognition of the public health risks associated with the improper handling of clinical waste generated by health-care activities, the Government plans to implement legal controls on the handling, collection and disposal of this type of waste. The Government also proposes to modify the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre so that it can receive clinical waste for proper treatment, replacing the current practice of disposing of clinical waste at landfills. The health-care sectors and other related parties have been consulted and they generally supported the proposal. Law drafting is in progress with a view to implementing the controls in 2004.

Large-scale Waste Treatment

No matter how effective it is in dealing with waste prevention and recycling, Hong Kong still needs to handle a large volume of non-recyclable waste. New facilities to treat waste and reduce its volume will have to be put in place, accordingly. Such facilities would need to meet the highest international environmental standards and be cost-effective. In April 2002, the Government invited the local and international waste management industries to express their interest in proposing latest technologies for the development of large-scale waste treatment facilities in Hong Kong. An Advisory Group has been set up to assist the Government in considering the proposals received on various waste treatment technologies. However, even with such large-scale waste treatment facilities, there are residual wastes that must be handled safely. Hence, Hong Kong will continue to require landfills for final disposal of waste.

Import and Export of Waste

Controls on the import and export of waste under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO) came into operation on September 1, 1996. A ban on the importation of hazardous waste from developed countries (mainly of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development and the European Union) was introduced on December 28, 1998. The controls are in line with the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal.

    The convention's main control mechanism requires notification and consent by authorities of the states of origin, destination and transit before the shipment of hazardous or non-recyclable waste can begin. The import or export of hazardous waste into or out of Hong Kong without a permit, regardless of the purpose of the import or export, is an offence under the WDO. Maximum penalties include a fine of $200,000 and six months' imprisonment for the first offence, and a fine of $500,000 and two years' imprisonment for subsequent offences. In 2001, there were 15 prosecutions for illegal import or export of waste, with fines totalling $266,500.

    In January 2000, a memorandum of understanding with the State Environmental Protection Agency was signed on the control of hazardous waste shipments between the Mainland and the HKSAR.

Floating Refuse in the Harbour

The Marine Department deploys a fleet of seven government vessels and 68 contractors' vessels to collect floating refuse. In 2002, 11 868 tonnes of floating refuse were collected. The Government has made considerable efforts in tackling the floating refuse problem by raising public awareness through publicity and educational activities, and deterring marine littering by means of enforcement action.

Marine Dumping

Hong Kong's development projects continue to generate vast quantities of dredged mud that is unsuitable for reclamation or other uses (67.4 million cubic metres in 2002). It is dumped at sea in specified mud disposal areas under a permit system. Regular monitoring is undertaken by the Government to make sure that dumping operations would not create an unacceptable impact on the marine environment. Because of the serious potential impact illegal dumping has on the marine environment, the EPD maintains strict control over dumping operations under the Dumping at Sea Ordinance. These operations follow the requirements of the London Convention on marine dumping.

    Marine dumping permits only allow operations carried out by a vessel equipped with an automatic self-monitoring device. This device tracks all marine dumping operations by recording the position and draught of the vessel, so that the authorities can trace any illegal dumping in a cost-effective manner. Moreover, the department's inspectors operate frequent patrols. There were five convictions for illegal dumping offences in 2002.

Monitoring and Investigation

The assessment of progress towards policy goals is one of the EPD's key activities. Its routine monitoring and special investigations form the basis for much of the strategic planning, provision of facilities and statutory controls aimed at improving the environment. The department has 93 sampling stations in the marine waters, including enclosed bays and typhoon shelters, and another 82 stations for inland waters. It also keeps 41 bathing beaches under surveillance.

    The current monitoring programme started in 1986. It provides a comprehensive record of the chemical, physical and microbiological quality of Hong Kong's waters. All monitoring data are published regularly in the form of annual reports and are also available at the EPD's home page. Members of the public are usually more interested in the latest water quality of bathing beaches, details of which are issued to the mass media and published in the department's home page every week during the bathing season.