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Following is a question by the Hon Emily Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (December 10):
Question:
At present, Hong Kong implements "The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal" (the Basel Convention) through the Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO) (Cap. 354). Yet, in an episode of "60 Minutes" broadcast on a television channel of the Columbia Broadcast System of the United States (US) in the middle of last month, it was reported that over the years, toxic electronic wastes were smuggled in containers by thousands of vessels every year from US to Hong Kong for storage and subsequent shipment to the largest hub of electronic wastes on the Mainland -- the town of Guiyu in Shantou City. The local residents adopted primitive methods such as open air combustion, etc. to break down these wastes in order to extract metals, thereby causing serious pollution to the environment, as toxic substances were released during the process. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(a) whether they know the locations at which such toxic electronic wastes as reported in the programme are stored in Hong Kong, and whether they will conduct investigation in regard to that report;
(b) whether they will discuss with the US government ways to curb the above activities;
(c) of the number of cases in which the authorities uncovered dumping or toxic electronic wastes during searches on intercepted container vessels over the past three years, the types and quantities of such dumping and wastes, and how the authorities disposed of such wastes; and
(d) given that some environmental groups have criticized that WDO does not regulate the import and export of discarded toxic circuit boards, whether the authorities will review the Ordinance and amend it according to the Basel Convention to plug the loopholes; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
In general, electronic wastes can be classified according to their hazardous nature. The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (the Basel Convention) mainly focuses on hazardous wastes such as waste cathode ray tubes and batteries. It also encourages the recovery of recyclable wastes such as waste electrical and electronic products without hazardous components.
Since 1996, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been implementing the requirements of the Basel Convention through the Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO) by controlling the import and export of hazardous wastes in Hong Kong through a permit system. As for uncontaminated recyclable wastes, the WDO allows their import into and export from Hong Kong for the purpose of recycling without permit.
To ensure effective enforcement of controls on the import and export of wastes, the EPD has over the years maintained close connection with other government departments as well as the competent authorities of the Mainland and other member states of the Basel Convention, set up intelligence networks and jointly formulated effective control strategies to cope with the ever changing situation. In addition, joint enforcement actions are conducted frequently to combat related illegal activities.
Although the United States (US) is not a member state of the Basel Convention, the EPD has maintained contact with its Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). Moreover, the EPD has established a cooperation mechanism with shipping companies through which information and intelligence on US shipments are collected effectively to combat illegal import of electronic wastes.
The EPD also communicates on a regular basis with those media and international organisations which are concerned about environmental protection.
Our reply to the above question is as follows:
(a) The open storage sites for electronic wastes shown on the CBS broadcast are mainly located in remote areas in the northern New Territories. These sites are largely used for storing, repackaging and trading of second-hand or abandoned office equipment and domestic electrical appliances. Dust, noise, wastewater and wastes generated on the sites are subject to control by the relevant environmental legislation. The EPD conducts regular inspections to these sites and takes enforcement and prosecution actions where appropriate against any contravention of the laws. So far the EPD does not have any evidence to prove that there are hazardous electronic wastes illegally imported from the US and being stored in these sites.
(b) As mentioned above, the EPD has been combating illegal import of electronic wastes by different means as well as maintaining contact and working jointly with relevant control authorities. For example, the EPD met the USEPA in mid-2008 on illegal export of electronic wastes and provided intelligence on shipments and our regulatory requirements on hazardous waste to facilitate their stepping up of waste export control. Moreover, the EPD furnished information to assist the Government Accountability Office of the US Congress in early 2008 in a review of the US government's control on export of electronic wastes. The review report was published in August 2008.
(c) Based on intelligence and other analyses, the EPD intercepted a total of 877 import shipments to Hong Kong in the past three years from 2006 to October 2008. Of the 382 shipments which concerned illegal activities, 222 involved (about 4,400 tonnes) waste cathode ray tube, 159 (about 5,900 tonnes) waste battery and 1 (about 20 tonnes) metal sludge. Over the same period, the EPD completed 197 prosecutions. For illegally imported wastes intercepted in Hong Kong, the EPD will require the importers to return the containers to the countries of export as soon as possible. The containers mentioned in the CBS broadcast had been returned to the US in May 2008 and the EPD is instituting prosecution against the offender.
(d) As explained above, the provisions on the control of transboundary movements of hazardous wastes under the Basel Convention have been implemented through the WDO which covers all the hazardous electronic wastes subject to control by the Basel Convention. The EPD will monitor closely the development of hazardous waste control and review from time to time the need to amend the WDO to ensure its compliance with the latest development of the Basel Convention as well as its effectiveness in controlling the import and export of hazardous electronic wastes in Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Issued at HKT 12:17
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