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The Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 (DWDF Amendment Regulation) and the Waste Disposal (Refuse Transfer Station) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 (RTS Amendment Regulation) were published in the Gazette today (November 29).
"The two amendment regulations will implement the legislative measures required for the Waste Diversion Plan for the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill, and minimise the environmental impact of the collection, transfer and disposal of waste. Upon implementation, refuse transfer stations (RTSs) will be maximised such that more waste will be compacted there and then delivered to the landfill through marine transport and fully-enclosed vehicles, thereby reducing direct delivery to the landfills and the associated traffic and environmental impact. Coupled with the enhancement work on refuse collection vehicles (RCVs), the environmental performance of the waste collection system can be comprehensively enhanced," a spokesman for the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) said.
"At this stage, in view of the waste management needs in Hong Kong, the Government needs to seek extension of the three existing landfills as soon as possible. We plan to re-submit the funding application of the three landfill extension proposals to the Legislative Council (LegCo) within the first quarter of 2014," he added.
The DWDF Amendment Regulation requires that in future, RCVs entering a landfill or a RTS must have been equipped with a metal tailgate cover and a waste water sump tank which are in good working condition. This can address the current problem that some RCVs do not have adequate devices to avoid nuisances such as leachate dripping, waste spattering or dust. For the purpose of comprehensive enhancement of the environmental performance of the waste collection system, the Government has launched a one-off subsidy scheme to assist RCV owners in retrofitting their vehicles.
This amendment regulation also designates that in future, the SENT Landfill will receive construction waste only when its extension is approved. It is estimated that the existing SENT Landfill will be exhausted by the end of 2015. After the extension is approved, municipal solid waste (MSW) collectors now using the SENT Landfill will be diverted to use other facilities.
There are currently seven RTSs in Hong Kong (of which five support marine transport) where waste is compacted for bulk transfer, thus reducing the traffic burden and environmental concerns caused by long haulage of RCVs. In order to encourage the use of RTSs by the trade, the RTS Amendment Regulation seeks to reduce the fee for using the Island East Transfer Station and the Island West Transfer Station to $30 per tonne and open up the Sha Tin Transfer Station for use by private waste collectors at a fee. Coupled with other administrative measures, this can ensure that the diverted waste can be properly handled by the existing waste collection system and minimise any potential road traffic and environmental impact through bulk transfer of waste.
The EPD spokesman said, "The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will progressively re-route their collection services in order to make good use of unused RTS capacity, and at the same time free up more space to absorb the diverted MSW."
The two amendment regulations will be tabled at the LegCo for negative vetting on December 4, 2013. Subject to their enactment, we will separately appoint the commencement date for individual components of the Waste Diversion Plan by notice in the Gazette, taking into account progress on the funding applications for the landfill extension projects as well as other preparatory work.
Ends/Friday, November 29, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:10
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