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Following is a question by Hon Chan Hak-Kan and an oral reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (March 4):
Question:
The two landfills located in Tseung Kwan O and Ta Kwu Ling respectively are expected to be filled up one after another in 2012 and 2015 at the earliest and the Government is therefore planning to extend the landfills. However, quite a number of residents living near the landfills have relayed to me their objection to the plan, as they are worried that the environmental problems (especially the odour problem) caused by the extended landfills will deteriorate further. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective amount of solid waste disposed of at the two aforesaid landfills and the respective numbers of vehicle loads of refuse collection vehicles and dump trucks which carried wastes to the landfills for disposal, in each of the past five years;
(b) how it assesses the effectiveness of the existing measures in tackling the odour problem caused by the landfills, and whether it will adopt new measures to alleviate the odour problem; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) given that an official of the Environmental Protection Department (ˇ§EPDˇ¨) said at the meeting of Sai Kung District Council (ˇ§SKDCˇ¨) on November 14 last year that EPD would study the installation of Electronic Odour Detection Apparatus at the landfill in Tseung Kwan O, of the installation timetable, and whether the expenditure involved will be borne by EPD or SKDC; whether it will consider installing such apparatus at other landfills, to help trace the sources of odour and assess its impact; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) Over the past 5 years, the total quantity of solid waste received at the three landfills in Hong Kong (including the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill at Tseung Kwan O, the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill at Ta Kwu Ling and the West New Territories Landfill (WENT) at Nim Wan) dropped from 6.4 million tonnes in 2004 to 4.9 million tonnes in 2008. This represents a 23% reduction.
The quantity of solid waste and the number of waste loads of refuse collection vehicles received at individual landfills are shown in the Annex. We can note from the Annex that the quantity of solid waste disposed of as well as the total number of waste loads received at landfills has dropped significantly since 2006, and this relates directly with the implementation of the ˇ§Construction Waste Disposal Charging Schemeˇ¨ in early 2006.
(b) The three operating landfills in Hong Kong meet very stringent international standards. In order to effectively control the environmental and hygiene performance of the landfills, we have implemented a series of odour and hygiene management measures, including reduction of the area of active tipping face and covering up the waste after operation everyday to minimise odour migration. On rainy days, the daily cover will be thickened to reduce its chance of being washed away resulting in exposure of the covered waste. In addition, there are regular pest control exercises at the landfills. Wheel washing facilities are also available for all vehicles which enter the tipping area to reinforce the hygiene management.
Regarding the concern over odour as expressed by residents in the vicinity of the landfills, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been responding proactively to these odour nuisance complaints. In each case, EPD officers would carry out independent investigation and patrol, and follow up promptly when any source is identified. EPD officers would also advise the complainant of the findings of investigation into each case.
Since 2005, EPD has received a large number of odour nuisance complaints from Sai Kung District Council and Tsueng Kwan O residents. To this end, EPD commissioned a consultant to conduct an independent odour assessment in respect of odour management of the SENT Landfill in 2006. The odour assessment report recommended a series of measures to enhance odour management and control at the landfill.
Over the past 2 years, EPD has fully implemented the measures recommended in the odour assessment report to improve the odour performance at the SENT Landfill, which include :
(i) installing additional deodorising equipment near the entrance and the weighbridge area of the SENT Landfill;
(ii) enhancing the traffic control to require all refuse collection vehicles to use the wheel washing facilities before leaving the landfill;
(iii) liaising with relevant departments to remove illegally parked waste skips from the roadside in Tseung Kwan O area.
(iv) providing a movable cover for the special waste trench, which generates relatively strong odour;
(v) providing an extra impermeable liner over buried waste; and
(vi) installing extra landfill gas extraction wells.
The above measures have been completed in phases, and EPD will continue to monitor the odour performance at the landfill.
(c) The EPD is studying the feasibility of applying an electronic odour detection technology to measure and monitor odour nuisance reported by the residents in the Tseung Kwan O area. Given that this is an innovative technology with only a few cases of practical application worldwide, we need to assess its limitations and characteristics of measurement. Currently EPD is discussing with an overseas odour expert on a trial scheme for the detection and measurement of odour nuisance at the SENT Landfill and in Tseung Kwan O by electronic odour detection technology. We tentatively plan to install two electronic odour detection devices this year and will discuss further with Sai Kung District Council on the design and specific operating arrangements of the scheme. The costs will be paid by the department. EPD will assess the experience in running the trial scheme to determinate if such electronic devices are suitable for other landfills.
Ends/Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:31
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