****************************
Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, after attending an open event on a news report on resignation of the Under Secretary for the Environment, waste charging and landfill extension today (January 24):
Reporter: (About the news report on resignation of the Under Secretary for the Environment.)
Secretary for the Environment: As I said earlier, the rumour is of no foundation and a clarification has been issued by Christine Loh.
Reporter: About solid waste charging, some groups have released their own surveys today saying that people seem not quite ready for such charges ...?
Secretary for the Environment: The quantity-based waste charging public engagement is to be ended today. The Council for Sustainable Development would collect all the feedback and then submit the report to the Government to follow up. There are different surveys conducted by different organisations throughout the consultation period. The majority of the feedback is supportive to the approach. That means the general public are in general supportive to the quantity-based waste charging. But there are concerns that the scheme should be implemented in an effective way. That means it should be fair, effective and supplemented by supplemental supporting facilities like recycling bins, etc. In the coming years, on one hand we would base on the feedback to shape the scheme. At the same time, the Government would work with the society to build up the supportive facilities to support the scheme. So, we are hearing different opinions; in general, they are supportive. The details have to be understood and then be implemented accordingly.
Reporter: Mr Wong, could you tell us if you have any plans to re-submit the proposal to extend the landfills to the LegCo and, in the meantime, what will you do in terms of communication?
Secretary for the Environment: Firstly, I would like to say that there is real urgency to implement those infrastructures to handle our end-of-pipe waste treatment. Whatever cities they are, whatever recycling or waste reduction it is, we still need the capacity of end-of-pipe infrastructure to support the hygienic operation of any city. So our plan is to re-submit our proposal to the Panel on Environmental Affairs of the LegCo in the first quarter of this year to discuss with the Council members about our proposals. In the past few months, we have done a lot to communicate with the concerned stakeholders and also have effective and concrete actions to improve the situation, including having a new law and subsidise refuse collection vehicles so that they could cause minimal environmental nuisance in the vicinity. We are also going to revitalise the restored landfills so that those lands could be better used as a kind of contribution to the concerned community. We are also going to have a consultancy study to look at the long-term infrastructure location and technology for the whole of Hong Kong in the long run. All these responses would be welcome by the Hong Kong people and district people. I think this could help gain their support.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Friday, January 24, 2014
Issued at HKT 21:02
NNNN
