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Following is a question by the Hon James Tien and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (December 19):
Question:
Quite a number of Tseung Kwan O residents have relayed to me that the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill, which is situated in Tseung Kwan O, has all along caused environmental hygiene problems such as odour, noise and dust, etc. to the district. However, during her visit to the SENT Landfill at the end of October this year, the Under Secretary for the Environment indicated that it was necessary to extend all the three landfills in Hong Kong because a large amount of waste was generated daily in Hong Kong, and the plan to build the Integrated Waste Management Facilities, which used advanced incineration as the core technology, had been affected by a judicial review case and could not commence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that this Council resolved to repeal the Country Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2010 on 13 October 2010, thus blocking the Government's extension plan of incorporating a site within the Clear Water Bay Country Park into the SENT Landfill, why the Government still plans to extend the landfills at present and does not consider handling waste with other methods; whether the Government will consider afresh other alternatives; if it will, of the details;
(b) of the respective monthly average numbers of trips made by refuse collection vehicles and dump trucks through Wan Po Road and the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel since 2009;
(c) of the number of complaints relating to the SENT Landfill (including the odour emitted from the landfill as well as the problems of odour, leachate and traffic safety etc. caused by the refuse collection vehicles and dump trucks travelling to and from the landfill) received by the authorities each month since 2009, together with a tabulated breakdown by the type of complaint;
(d) whether it has reviewed if the various existing measures to mitigate or solve the odour problem caused by the SENT Landfill to the nearby areas are effective; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(e) of the details and timetable of the SENT Landfill extension plan;
(f) whether, according to the latest assessment of the authorities, the problems of odour, noise, dust and leachate from refuse collection vehicles, etc. caused by the SENT Landfill to the nearby areas will deteriorate after the extension of the landfill; if so, of the details; and
(g) of the new plans or measures for continued and effective amelioration of the environmental hygiene problems caused by landfills?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to Hon Tien's question is as follows:
(a) Facing the imminent waste management problem, we will adopt a policy focusing on waste reduction at source, as well as deepening and expediting the implementation of various waste reduction measures. Currently, the recovery rate of municipal solid waste in Hong Kong has reached 48%, striving to reach the target of 55% in 2015. However, no place in the world can achieve "zero-waste" by waste reduction alone. We cannot evade the need for waste treatment facilities which requires our immediate attention in the face of the imminent exhaustion of the landfills. In order to ensure that Hong Kong can maintain environmental hygiene and handle waste properly, currently we still need to extend the landfills and construct other modern waste treatment facilities.
Since early 2004 the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has conducted inception and feasibility study for the SENT Landfill Extension scheme and started the public consultation with all stakeholders. After prolonged discussion, the Government understood the views of the residents of Tseung Kwan O town on the SENT Landfill Extension. Therefore, it decided to amend the proposal in January 2011, by scaling down the extension scheme from the original 20.6 hectares to 13 hectares. Only land in Tseung Kwan O Area 137 will be included and the proposed SENT Landfill Extension would only receive construction waste which does not have an odour problem. On one hand the revised proposal has positively addressed the resolution made by the Legislative Council on 13 October 2010 to repeal the Country Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2010 laid before the Legislative Council for perusal on 9 June 2010 and on the other hand, it has addressed the residents' concerns over the odour issue of the landfill.
(b) Tseung Kwan O Tunnel and Wan Po Road meet the road layout standards of the Transport Department (TD) and are suitable passages for vehicles registered under the Road Traffic Ordinance. The TD does not have any detailed record of the vehicles by categories which pass Tseung Kwan O Tunnel and Wan Po Road. The data below are for reference:
* From January to September 2012, about 252,000 trips by heavy vehicles (including double deck buses and goods vehicles above 5.5 tonnes) were made via Tseung Kwan O Tunnel every month. This represented roughly 11% of the total vehicle trips via that tunnel. The detailed statistics are available at the website below:
www.td.gov.hk/filemanager/en/content_4539/table32d.pdf.
* According to a survey on traffic flow at Wan Po Road near LOHAS Park by the TD in July 2012, 690 trips by buses and 740 trips by heavy goods vehicles were made passing that section of Wan Po Road during the peak hours in the morning and in the evening. This represented roughly 27% of the total vehicle trips via that road section.
(c) Please refer to the annex on the complaint statistics relating to SENT Landfill.
(d) The EPD appointed an independent consultant to carry out an independent audit of the potential odour impact of the operation of the SENT Landfill in 2006. According to the audit report, the operation of the Landfill met the contract requirements and was in line with the best international practices in landfill management. Nonetheless, the independent consultant recommended improvement measures in the audit report, such as setting up additional deodorisers for priority treatment of odour from vehicles using access road/weighbridges, and putting a mobile cover on the special waste trench. These measures could further enhance the odour management of the SENT Landfill, and have been implemented.
Apart from the recommendations in the audit report, the EPD has also implemented a series of odour control measures to minimise any potential odour during the operation of the Landfill. These measures include reducing the size of the tipping areas; at the end of the daily waste reception process, covering the tipping areas with a layer of soil followed by Posi-Shell Cover material (a cement-based cover material); covering the non-active tipping areas with impermeable composite liners or Posi-Shell Cover material; installing additional landfill gas extraction wells, pipes and landfill gas flaring units for the collection and treatment of landfill gas, setting up deodorisers, etc.
On the monitoring of odour, the EPD site staff patrols the landfill daily. The Independent Consultant also carries out regular daily odour inspections on weekdays and weekly joint inspections with the Landfill operator to the waste tipping areas, general site area, perimeter access road, weighbridge area and entrance/exit of the Landfill. We have also commissioned the Hong Kong Polytechnic University since July 2010 to conduct independent odour inspections. The results of the patrols showed that the Landfill operation had no impact on the surrounding areas. The EPD has further commissioned an independent consultant in mid-2012 to conduct an independent audit of the SENT Landfill operation after the above odour management measures were implemented to further assess its operation and the performance of odour control measures. The audit is expected to be completed in early 2013.
(e) The SENT Landfill Extension scheme involves the development and management (including design, construction, operation, restoration and aftercare) of the lot in Tseung Kwan O Area 137 to the south of the existing SENT Landfill. We plan to consult the Legislative Council Panel on Environmental Affairs on the proposed project in 2013 before seeking funding from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council.
(f) An environmental impact assessment of the SENT Landfill Extension scheme was made under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (EIA Ordinance). The relevant report was approved in May 2008, and an environmental permit has been obtained. The environmental impact assessment report concluded that, with the implementation of the recommended mitigation measures, the potential impacts on air quality (including odour and dust), ecology, noise, water quality, waste management, landfill gas hazard as well as landscape and visual aspects would meet the relevant requirements under the EIA Ordinance and its technical memorandum. Subsequently in January 2011, the Government decided to amend the SENT Landfill Extension scheme. This included the excision of five hectares of land within the country park from original proposed landfill use and the reception of only construction waste which does not have odour problem. This follows that refuse collection vehicles carrying municipal solid waste which now make about 480 trips daily to the SENT Landfill would not be travelling to and from the Landfill Extension, thereby further alleviating the potential environmental impacts of the Extension scheme.
(g) We will continue implementing various odour management measures mentioned in our reply in part (d) above at the SENT Landfill, and review their effectiveness if and when necessary.
Regarding the SENT Landfill Extension, we will implement the mitigation measures set out in the environmental permit, with a view to reducing the impact of the Extension on the surrounding areas to the absolute minimum.
Ends/Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Issued at HKT 12:59
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