************************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Choy So-yuk and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (December 12):
Question:
Officials of the Environmental Protection Department and the Pollution Control Department of the State Environmental Protection Administration signed the Cooperation Arrangement on Control of Waste Movements between the Mainland and HKSAR (Cooperation Arrangement) on November 15 in Shenzhen. The aim was to better reflect the nature of cooperation by renaming the Memorandum of Understanding - Cooperation on Control of Waste Movements between the Mainland and HKSAR (MOU) as Cooperation Arrangement, and to include supplementary provisions on application and approval procedures regarding waste shipments to overseas countries via ports on the Mainland or the HKSAR. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of vessels intercepted by the relevant authorities in each of the past three years to combat illegal waste movements between the Mainland and HKSAR, the details of the cases involving such movements, the number of convicted cases and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons;
(b) of the reasons for including supplementary provisions in the MOU;
(c) of the difference between the application and approval procedures regarding waste shipments to overseas countries via ports on the Mainland or the HKSAR before and after the implementation of the Cooperation Arrangement, and the relevant details; and
(d) whether it has assessed if the inclusion of supplementary provisions in the MOU will render Hong Kong becoming a transfer station for foreign refuse and the Mainland becoming a reception centre for international refuse; if it is assessed so, how the authorities will curb such movements; if it is assessed otherwise, of the justifications for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
Since the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and the State Environmental Protection Administration signed the Memorandum of Understanding - Cooperation on Control of Waste Movements between the Mainland and HKSAR (MOU) in 2000, both sides, as agreed under the MOU, have maintained liaison through regular meetings and exchange visits to strengthen communication. As for collaboration on enforcement, both sides have been working with other relevant departments, mainly the customs authorities of both places and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ), to combat illegal waste movements. Both sides signed the Cooperation Arrangement on Control of Waste Movements between the Mainland and HKSAR (Cooperation Arrangement) on November 15 this year in Shenzhen to include supplementary provisions to the MOU and to rename the MOU as Cooperation Arrangement.
(a) The EPD controls the export or transshipment of controlled waste, such as glass waste of cathode ray tubes, used batteries and waste oil, to the Mainland in accordance with the Waste Disposal Ordinance. The number of intercepted cases of suspected contraventions in the past three years (some cases involved more than one vessels) is listed by port or place of interception in the table below:
Year 2005 2006 2007
(as at end
Oct)
No. of suspected 4 2 7
cases of illegal
export from
piers/public
cargo
handling
areas
No. of suspected 1 9 6
cases of illegal
export intercepted
at Hong Kong's sea
boundary
No. of convicted 2 10 4@
cases#
Penalty (HK$) $3,000- $0- $0-
$6,000 $5,000* $6,000*
Notes:
@ Not including cases under prosecution
# Some cases involved more than one summons
* For cases where "0" fine was imposed, the penalty was either imprisonment or community service order
(b) The original MOU did not include specific provisions on the application, control and approval procedures regarding export of controlled waste to overseas countries via ports on the Mainland or the HKSAR. With the rapid development of ports in both places, it is inevitable that the number of ships that stop-over at each other's ports for outbound routes will increase. To properly control the aforementioned movements of controlled waste, both sides, after negotiation, agreed to include supplementary provisions in the MOU.
According to existing information, it is not common for illegal waste movements between the Mainland and the HKSAR to make use of stop-over at each other's ports as cover up. Nevertheless, the new agreement can help plug the potential loophole.
(c) Prior to implementing the new agreement, both sides had to negotiate on every case and discuss the control measures with the relevant departments, such as the customs authorities of both places, the Ministry of Communications and the AQSIQ. With the implementation of the Cooperation Arrangement, relevant applications would be processed according to the advance notification and consent mechanism stipulated in the agreement. In addition, the control over stop-over at each other's ports such as the details of notification, contact points and return shipment arrangement has to comply with the new agreement as well. As the new agreement sets out the control measures in detail, both sides and the trade can follow the established procedures. This in turn helps to speed up the application and approval processes.
(d) The supplementary provisions of the MOU mainly stipulate in detail the control measures for the export of waste by both sides to overseas countries, the route of which involves stop-over at each other's ports. This new agreement imposes more comprehensive and stringent control on the export of waste via Hong Kong or Mainland ports. As a standing practice to curb illegal movements of waste, the EPD exercises stringent control under the Waste Disposal Ordinance on waste to be imported into Hong Kong or transshipped via Hong Kong to other places including the Mainland. To this end, the EPD has fostered partnership with the control authorities of major exporting countries, the shipping industry and other control authorities in Hong Kong such as the Customs and Excise Department for intelligence exchange and joint operations to intercept dubious waste shipments. Offenders will be prosecuted and illegally imported waste will be returned to places of origin.
Ends/Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Issued at HKT 13:21
NNNN
