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In response to media enquiries about whether the Environment Bureau (ENB) will submit the extension proposals for the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill and West New Territories (WENT) Landfill to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council on July 12, a spokesman for the ENB made the following response today (July 8):
"The three landfills in Hong Kong will be full one by one in two to six years. Although we propose in our Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources to greatly reduce our landfilling rate from 52 per cent to around 20 per cent in 10 years in order to relieve the pressure on landfills, landfills are still an indispensable part in the end-of-pipe waste treatment in Hong Kong. Hence there is a genuine need to extend our landfills.
"Regarding the extension of the WENT Landfill, the ENB reiterates that the funding proposal will be used for a two-year preparatory work and consultancy study. We will continue discussions with the local community on landfill extension.
"We understand the concerns of legislators and the local community on the landfills extension. We will continue to communicate closely with the legislators and the local community and respond to their requests as far as possible. The Government will also step up efforts in waste reduction at source. The Government will submit the NENT Landfill and WENT Landfill extension plans to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council for discussion on July 12 as scheduled, in the hope that the proposals will be passed."
Ends/Monday, July 8, 2013
Issued at HKT 19:43
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