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LCQ14: Impact of waste recyclers on the environment
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     Following is a question by the Hon Kam Nai-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Edward Yau, in the Legislative Council today (November 18):

Question:

     Some members of the public have relayed to me that although the work of waste recyclers may promote environmental protection and results in waste being recycled or reused, their operations have substantial impact on the environment of the districts nearby and affect the daily life of members of the public at the same time.  In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the total number of waste recyclers in Hong Kong in each of the past five years, broken down by region (i.e. Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories);

(b) of the number of complaints against waste recyclers received by the authorities in each of the past five years and the main content of the complaints; the respective total numbers of warnings issued to and prosecutions instituted against waste recyclers; and the difficulties encountered in taking law enforcement actions as well as the measures in place to overcome such difficulties;

(c) whether it will study afresh the establishment of a licensing system, so as to regulate the operations of waste recyclers; and

(d) whether it will study providing operation sites for waste recyclers within government facilities in each district of Hong Kong, so as to unify management and minimise nuisance caused to members of the public?

Reply:

President,

(a) The social and economic environment affects the number of waste recyclers, resulting in considerable variation among its yearly figures.  According to the annual Waste Recovery Survey conducted by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD), there had been in Hong Kong an average of some 300 active waste recyclers (detailed in the table below) in the past five years.  The geographical distribution is roughly about 15%, 35% and 50% in Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories respectively;

Year Number of active waste recyclers

2004 290
2005 395
2006 343
2007 371
2008 288

(b) Set out below are the number and nature of complaints concerning waste recyclers that Government departments had received; the number of warnings and prosecutions against the waste recyclers; and the relevant enforcement action taken, for the period of the past five years (2004 to 2008):

     The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) had received 1 656 complaints concerning the obstruction and environmental nuisance caused by waste recyclers' placing articles on streets and pavements.  In response, FEHD had issued 2 432 notices and instigated 552 prosecutions in relation to causing blockage in public places or obstructing the scavenging operation.  If the business of a waste recycler causes obstruction to the scavenging operation, FEHD will, in accordance with section 22 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap 132), cause to be served upon the owner of the obstructing article a notice requiring removal of the same within a specified period and the prevention of its recurring obstructions.  Where there is non-compliance, such article will be seized, carried away and detained.  

Year         2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   Total

No. of       296    290    336    338    396    1 656
complaints
No. of       219    225    310    329    578    1 661
warnings
No. of        98    125    127    115     87      552
prosecutions
No. of       282    346    371    546    887    2 432
notices

     EPD had received 1 141 complaints about waste recyclers, mostly concerning street management problems.  These include occupation of public places, obstruction to pedestrians, environmental hygiene problem and pollution (e.g. noise, dust, waste and sewage discharge).  EPD had issued 18 warnings and instigated 19 prosecutions against waste recyclers for contravention of environmental legislation.  Most of them were related to the contravention of Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap 354) by waste recycling yards in the New Territories.  The yearly breakdown of statistics concerning waste recyclers is given below:

Year         2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   Total

No. of       141    171    205    312    312    1 141
complaints
No. of         0      6      2      2      8       18
warnings
No. of         2     16      0      1      0       19
prosecutions

     The Lands Department (LandsD) had received 160 complaints about waste recyclers, mostly concerning nuisances in respect of noise, environmental hygiene, pollution and obstruction by waste recyclers on private property or short-term leases.  The District Lands Offices of LandsD referred those complaints that were related to noise and obstruction of pavements to EPD or FEHD for follow-up.  For other complaints, the District Lands Offices had issued a total of 71 warnings to waste recyclers on private property or short-term leases.  These recyclers carried out rectification subsequently.  The yearly breakdown of statistics concerning waste recyclers is given below:  

Year         2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   Total

No. of       12     14     25     56     53     160
complaints
No. of        8      8     11     23     21      71
warnings
No. of        0      0      0      0      0       0
prosecutions

     In general, the Government departments concerned handle complaints and take enforcement actions within their respective jurisdiction.  Consequential to warnings or prosecutions, the waste recyclers concerned normally carried out rectification accordingly;      

(c) At present, similar to other business activities, whether waste recyclers would cause obstruction to public places and nuisances to the environment is already subject to the control of relevant environmental legislation and other legislation concerning public health.  There may not be the need for an additional licensing regime to pin down the operations of waste recyclers; and

(d) The waste recycling industry has its own operational features and requirements.  Providing operation sites for waste recyclers within Government facilities will impact on the existing services by and functions of these facilities, and may not satisfy the needs of the recyclers either.  The Government will therefore continue to identify suitable short-term tenancy sites exclusively for the use of the recycling industry, in order to alleviate the nuisance they might cause to the neighbourhood.  For waste recyclers of smaller scale, they are usually situated closer to residential area for access to their business targets, i.e. shops and residence.  If the daily operation of these recyclers causes blockage of pavements, environmental hygiene problem and noise etc, Government will take action in accordance with the existing legislation.

Ends/Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:05

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