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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 (January 9):
Question:
It has been reported that as the reorganisation of policy bureaux of the Government Secretariat on 1 July last year has led to transfer of functions among bureaux, the Environment Bureau has recently undertaken major office removal and renovation works, with an estimated cost of over 10 million dollars. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the office removal or renovation works undertaken by each policy bureau and the departments under its purview as a result of the above-mentioned reorganisation, as well as the following details of these works:
(a¡^the respective amounts of expenditure on removal and renovation works;
(b) the respective amounts of various types of construction waste and electronic waste generated;
(c) the measures taken by the authorities concerned to recover such waste; and
(d) the respective amounts of various types of waste disposed of eventually?
Reply:
Madam President,
To enable the Government Secretariat to meet the challenges which the third term of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) has to address and to ensure a rational distribution of work among policy bureaux, the Chief Executive has decided to reorganise the Government Secretariat with effect from 1 July 2007. The reorganisation involves the addition of a new bureau and the re-distribution of the policy portfolios of eight existing bureaux and the Administration Wing of the Chief Secretary for Administration¡¦s Office. To enhance the operational efficiency between the reorganised bureaux and their related departments, we have to reorganise offices in accordance with the various degrees of changes in the policy portfolios of individual bureaux, and to undertake corresponding, though limited, office removal works with due consideration to their costs and benefits and feasibility.
The Environment Bureau referred to by the Honourable Member is a new policy bureau. Indeed, the Administration is fully aware of the global concern over climate change and a host of environmental problems that we face locally. As such, the objective of establishing the Environment Bureau is to enable a single bureau-department entity that possesses professional expertise on ¡§environmental protection¡¨, ¡§sustainable development¡¨ and ¡§energy¡¨, as well as experience in public administration and macro policy formulation to handle these issues in a holistic manner. As the Environment Bureau comprises the existing Environmental Protection Department (EPD), as well as the Energy Division and the Sustainable Development Division which respectively came under the then Economic Development and Labour Bureau and the Chief Secretary for Administration¡¦s Office before the reorganisation, it was decided at the time of establishing the Bureau that divisions scattered at various locations should be re-located as early as possible to the headquarters of the EPD at the Revenue Tower. By providing a working environment that is conducive to better communication and efficiency among different divisions within the bureau-department and closer collegial relationship, this arrangement will help maximise synergy. In addition, we can share resources at one location and minimise unnecessary logistical and travelling needs to enhance overall operational efficiency. The temporary office of the Secretary for the Environment at the Central Government Offices and the commercial premises in Central occupied by the former Environment, Transport and Works Bureau can also be vacated for other purposes.
Regarding the questions raised by the Honourable Member, our reply is as follows:
(a) In the light of the reorganisation of the HKSAR Government, individual bureaux and their underpinning departments have incurred about $2370000 and $2700000 respectively for the corresponding building works and building services works. The office removal cost was about $78,000.
(b), (c) & (d) The HKSAR Government very much encourages the avoidance and reduction of waste, as well as the recovery of useful materials for reuse and recycling. In carrying out the works concerned, we have given full consideration to the principle of waste reduction, recovery and recycling so as to minimise waste generation and disposal.
Before commencement of works projects, the contractors concerned must prepare waste management plans in accordance with the technical circulars issued by the Development Bureau and the terms of the works contracts. The Architectural Services Department would ensure that the contractors carry out waste sorting, reuse and recycling during the project period to minimise waste generation in accordance with the waste management plans. With regard to the construction waste generated, inert materials (such as broken bricks and concretes, tiles, soil, etc.) would be transported to the public fill reception and sorting facilities for reuse and recycling, while a small amount of non-recyclable and non-inert waste (such as bamboo, woods, etc.) would be disposed of at landfills.
Regarding the office removal works, the bureaux and departments concerned would continue to make use of existing furniture and office equipment, including computers, photocopiers, printers, etc. The carton boxes for office removal purposes would also be reused or recycled. In the cases where the merging of offices has led to surplus supplies, the bureaux and departments concerned would follow established procedures to minimise wastage and make full use of the surplus supplies. For instance, they can offer the surplus supplies to other bureaux and departments for reuse, donate the surplus supplies to non-profit charitable organisations, sell the surplus supplies to recyclers, or dispose of the surplus supplies through auctions. The waste arising from office removal is, therefore, minimal.
Through the above-mentioned waste reduction measures, the works projects arising from the reorganisation of bureaux of the HKSAR Government generated a total of about 13.5 tonnes of construction waste. Thirteen tonnes of which, being inert materials, were transported to public fill reception and sorting facilities for reuse and recycling. Only the remaining 0.5 tonne of non-inert waste was disposed of at landfills. The works projects did not produce any electronic waste.
Ends/Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Issued at HKT 17:46
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