****************************
Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (July 2):
Question:
In January this year, the authorities recommended that studies be conducted on the development of Integrated Waste Management Facilities (¡§IWMF¡¨) with incineration as the core technology, on the grounds that the capacity of the three existing strategic landfills will be exhausted in the next four to eight years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the current work of the authorities in promoting the reduction, reuse and recycling of waste; if so, of the assessment outcome; and whether it will consider further enhancing the work in the above three areas, and consider levying waste disposal fees, in order to reduce waste generation and the pressure on landfills; and
(b) given that it has been reported that an enterprise had proposed converting cement plants into incineration facilities and pointed out that, in terms of construction costs and waste-handling capacity, such proposal was better than the Government's proposal to build the above IWMF in Tsang Tsui or Shek Kwu Chau, whether the authorities have assessed the feasibility of the enterprise's proposal; if so, of the assessment outcome, and whether the authorities will consider consulting the public on this proposal, other proposals put forward by the community and its own proposals at the same time, so as to enable discussion by the community?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) The Government published the "Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (2005-2014)" (Policy Framework) in 2005, which set out clear waste management targets and proposed a series of initiatives under a comprehensive waste management strategy to achieve the targets. We have been committed to implementing the initiatives in the Policy Framework and already achieved a 45% recovery rate for municipal solid waste (MSW) back in 2006, three years ahead of the target laid down in the Policy Framework.
We launched a territory-wide source separation programme of domestic waste in January 2005. As at the end of May 2008, there were about 900 housing estates participating in the programme, covering about 1.1 million households and some 47% of the population. The participating estates have reported an average of about 10% reduction in waste disposal since their participation in the programme. To further promote source separation of waste, we propose amendments to the Building (Refuse Storage and Material Recovery Chambers and Refuse Chutes) Regulation (Cap. 123H). The scrutiny of which by the Legislative Council (LegCo) is nearly completed. Under the proposed amendment, it is proposed that every new domestic building and the domestic part of every new composite building be provided with a refuse storage and material recovery room on every floor with effect from December 1, 2008. As for commercial and industrial (C&I) waste, since the launch of the Source Separation Programme of Commercial and Industrial Waste in October 2007, over 400 C&I buildings have joined the programme. We will step up promotion of the programme to encourage more C&I buildings to participate.
On development of a MSW charging scheme to achieve the waste reduction targets and facilitate waste recovery, we plan to conduct a comprehensive territory-wide baseline survey to collect information on the waste generation pattern and waste collection modes under different types of buildings and C&I operations. The information collected would form the basis for formulating feasible options for introducing the MSW charging scheme.
To facilitate the development of the local recycling industry, we have developed EcoPark phase I in Tuen Mun to provide long-term land at affordable rents for the local environmental and recycling industries. In addition, the scrutiny of the Product Eco-responsibility Bill by the LegCo is nearly completed. The Bill aims to provide a legal framework for implementing Producer Responsibility Schemes (PRS's), the first being the environmental levy on plastic shopping bags, with a view to enshrining the principle of polluter-pays to address the indiscriminate use of plastic shopping bags and control waste generation at source. As regards other products, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been discussing with suppliers on ways to recover relevant products for reuse and recycling. In collaboration with the rechargeable battery, computer and lighting industries, we have successfully implemented the trade funded Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme, Computer Recycling Programme and Fluorescent Lamp Recycling Programme respectively. We will continue to promote the introduction of voluntary PRS's in light of the experience gained and review their effectiveness at suitable juncture. We will also, taking into account the views of the public and the trade, consider further amending the future Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance to provide for statutory PRS's applicable to individual products. The Administration will consult the relevant trades before introducing new statutory PRS's.
Notwithstanding the progress made in waste reduction and recovery, there remains huge volume of unavoidable waste that needs to be disposed of properly. To dispose untreated waste by landfill extensions alone is not in line with the sustainable development principle. We have a pressing need for the adoption of advanced and more sustainable technologies to reduce the volume of waste and recover resources so as to deal with the MSW generated in Hong Kong more effectively.
(b) To identify advanced waste treatment technologies that are suitable for Hong Kong, we invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) from local and international waste management industry in 2002. An Advisory Group on Waste Management Facilities (AG), which comprised representatives from professional bodies, academia and green groups, was set up to assist and advise in the technology selection exercise.
We received 59 EOIs in total, involving various waste management technologies which also included the combustion of refuse derived fuel for cement production. There have not been any records of using this technology in a large-scale for waste management in other places, whereas those recorded in Hong Kong were short-term testing results of experimental scale only. Factors such as operational viability, environmental performance, stability and risk of market competition of applying this technology in a long-term waste incineration facility have yet to be established. In view of the need to address the imminent and serious waste problem in Hong Kong, the AG recommended that the Government should adopt a waste management technology that is well-proven, and has sizable scale operation and long-term satisfactory performance record. Hence, the AG finally recommended that Integrated Waste Management Facilities (IWMF) should adopt a multi-technology approach such that the most suitable technology could be applied to deal with different waste streams of MSW. Biological treatment technology would be employed to treat source-separated biodegradable organic waste such as food waste. For mixed MSW, thermal incineration treatment as the core technology supplemented by sorting and recycling technology would be used to reduce the volume of waste and recover resources.
Furthermore, as mentioned in our IWMF Site Selection Report published in January this year, a Government site in Tuen Mun Area 38 adjacent to a cement plant was assessed for building the IWMF during the selection process. The evaluation indicated that it is very likely that, after taking into account the cumulative air impact from all existing and planned emission sources in the area, the air quality objectives in the area could not be met if a 3000 tpd IWMF is to be located at that site.
To develop IWMF with incineration as the core technology to solve our imminent and serious waste problem, we will carry out detailed engineering and environment impact assessment studies for the two potential sites at Shek Kwu Chau and Tsang Tsui Ash Lagoons to ascertain their overall suitability and make a final decision on the choice of site as soon as possible.
The Government holds open views on alternative MSW treatment proposals from individual private companies. When we receive detailed information on the individual proposals, we will consider them having regard to environmental impacts, technical feasibility, views from the public, planning considerations and financial arrangement etc.
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Issued at HKT 16:55
NNNN
