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Following is a speech made by the Secretary for the Environment and Food, Mrs Lily Yam, at the "Quarrying Conference Hong Kong 2000" today (November 17):

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here today to open this conference. Your invitation to me reflects your interest in improving the environmental performance of your industry. Indeed, I am encouraged to see more and more of the business community grappling with the question of how to ensure that the economic and social contribution that they make to the city is not marred by the impact of their operations on the environment. Many companies are also finding that paying attention to environmental performance is not just a regulatory necessity but also good business practice.

Hong Kong has experienced rapid economic growth over the past three decades. During this period, we have invested heavily in the expansion of our infrastructure to support our social and economic development. Our urban landscape has seen dramatic change. The Anderson Road quarry is a stunning demonstration of man's capacity to alter the natural landscape. The buildings that now stand around it provide secure homes to tens of thousands of families, replacing the flimsy squatter shacks of 40 years ago.

The scale of infrastructure development and building activities continues at frenetic pace. Over the past ten years, the amount of construction and demolition materials produced annually by local construction activities almost doubled. Last year, all types of construction works combined produced some 13.5 million tonnes of construction and demolition materials. That is sufficient to fill the Happy Valley Racecourse to a height of 16 storeys.

Hitherto, most of these materials have been used as public fill for reclamation projects, while the wastes have been sent to landfills. But both landfills and reclamation projects are fast running out.

I am all for protection of our harbour and preservation of our beautiful skyline. Nonetheless, one consequence of the scaling back of reclamation projects is that we will have to look for other ways to take public fill.

As for landfills, present lack of effort by the construction industry to separate inert materials from wastes means that about 1,800 tonnes a day of inert materials ends up unnecessarily in landfills. Although this is only about 6% of the total volume of inert construction and demolition materials produced each day, it accounts for 10% of the total volume of wastes going into landfills. These facilities are filling up rapidly and will be hard to replace.

What is the relevance of these details to the quarrying industry?

The growth in demand for construction materials and the limit on the availability of public filling space underscore the importance of the construction industry reviewing the method, the technology and the nature of materials that it uses to put up buildings. At the moment, new materials are almost always used for new construction while old materials either go to public fills or are thrown away. About a quarter of the old materials could be recovered and reused as aggregates and base materials for new construction.

To help reduce pressure on limited public filling areas, it makes sense to recover and reuse old materials. But worry not : the quarry industry will still thrive as this won't remove the need for new materials and this new direction would provide you with business opportunities. Even if we were able to start reusing all the recyclable old materials today, it would amount to only 3.4 million tonnes a year, as compared with the 14.5 million tonnes of new quarry products excavated in Hong Kong last year. If we do not take steps today to reduce the output of construction and demolition materials in the decades ahead, it is doubtful whether we will still be able to manage the flows of materials without creating intolerable pressure on our physical environment.

The problem with landfill capacity also points to the importance of better sorting and separation of useful inert materials from wastes on construction sites. Government is committed to the development of more effective systems for the recovery and reuse of suitable old construction materials. We are now preparing new specifications for public works projects that would allow the use of recycled aggregates. We are also establishing pilot recycling facilities for construction and demolition materials. We are carrying out performance testing for recycled aggregates. We are studying the measures that will be needed to ensure that recycled materials are used in place of new materials. In addition, we are working on the introduction of a charging system that will discourage wastes and encourage innovation.

With its experience in processing rock products, the quarrying industry is well positioned to participate in these endeavours. You know the different sectors of the construction industry. You understand their concerns, their problems and their constraints. You have kept up with new developments in quarrying and construction methods worldwide. I hope to work closely and constructively with you to examine new approaches to the use of materials in this city.

Our common goal is to make Hong Kong a city in which economic and social hopes can be sustained thanks to the care we give to the environment. I am confident that through concerted efforts between Government, the construction industry and individuals like yourselves, we will be able to foster sustainable construction and improve the environment of Hong Kong. I look forward to your support and cooperation in the months to come.

I wish you a successful and productive conference. Thank you.

End/Friday November 17, 2000

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