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The following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, at the reception for the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) Conference delegates this (October 23) evening :
Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here this evening to welcome all of you to this reception, especially our visitors from overseas and from the Mainland.
I sincerely hope that those of you who are first-time visitors to Hong Kong will have an opportunity to see something of our wonderful city. If you don't have the time on this occasion, I strongly recommend that you include us in your next travel plan. And I can assure you that you won't be disappointed. Hong Kong is truly a remarkable place, and the Association has certainly made the right choice in holding its millennium conference here even if I say so myself.
The International Solid Waste Association Conference and exhibition is an important event. It allows the world's top experts and professionals to gather and share their valuable experience on environmental control and waste management issues.
Like many of the world's major cities, we face the same challenges of maintaining a fast growing economy without compromising the quality of our environment. We will do our best to sustain Hong Kong's proud record of economic achievements. But at the same time, we are also firmly committed to bringing about a clean environment.
On solid waste management, Hong Kong is amongst the forerunners in the Asia Pacific region. We have spent some $12 billion on the best waste management facilities available. And as an example, we have a state of the art chemical waste treatment facility, which meets the most stringent European emission standards. Our three strategic landfills are well designed, equipped with rigorous environmental control measures and are powered by self-sustaining landfill gas utilisation facilities. And, we have taken one further step in exporting surplus landfill gas for town gas production, as a means of optimising the use of resources and to contribute towards reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emission.
Flexibility and adaptability are not only the key attributes behind the Hong Kong economic success, but also evident in our waste management techniques. The cavern design of one of our refuse transfer stations and the use of water borne transport for carrying municipal waste are examples of how we overcome our physical constraints with unusual and creative solutions.
Hardware aside, our waste management system is developed to emphasise pragmatism, sustainability and cost-effectiveness through the well-practised principles of waste avoidance, reuse, recovery, recycling and disposal. In keeping with our free market approach, these programmes are implemented in such a way as to provide maximum opportunities for private sector participation. This model allows waste management contractors to bring in new approaches and more cost effective solutions whilst maintaining a clear line of responsibility.
Looking ahead, concepts such as fostering more producer responsibility, additional financial tools such as recycling deposits, development of material recovery systems, promotion of green consumerism through green purchasing and eco-labelling are some of the key directions in future.
But waste reduction cannot be achieved simply by relying on the efforts of government and waste management practitioners. We have to create a partnership with the community, academics and the professionals in order to sustain the initiatives to reduce waste. This, coupled with new legislation to introduce charging for waste disposal, would help to create incentives for waste recycling, which should encourage the development of waste recycling industries.
Even with the best implementation of waste management systems, we will still require final disposal facilities. So bulk waste reduction facilities will be an important component of a well-formulated waste management system. Today, many new technologies have been tried with varying degrees of success. And this promises to be an area of considerable interest to Hong Kong.
To the layman, solid waste management can conjure up different images, but it does hold out the prospects for some interesting developments in the future and has potential investment opportunities. In other words, we will see environmental protection, economic gain and social benefits as being complementary rather than mutually exclusive.
I'd like to once again thank all those involved in organising this important event. I am sure that over the next couple of days the interaction and discussions between the policy makers and waste management planners will result in innovative ideas and solutions for addressing some of today's environmental problems. I wish you well in those discussions and in your continuing efforts to solve problems in this increasingly important area of waste management on a global basis.
Thank you very much.
End/Monday, October 23, 2000
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Photo: The Chief Secretary for Administration, Mrs Anson Chan, attended the welcome reception of International Solid Waste Association (ISWA)'s International Symposium on Waste Management in Asian Cities at Government House. Picture shows Mrs Chan proposing a toast together with other officiating guests.
