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Following is a question by the Hon Tommy Cheung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (March 26):
Question:
In March last year, this Council passed a motion urging the Government to establish a tracing mechanism, regulate and monitor the operation of local recyclers of used cooking oil, as well as collect and regularly release the relevant information and statistics about the local collection of used cooking oil. In its progress report on the motion submitted to this Council in June last year, the Government pointed out that the establishment of such a tracing mechanism could only be implemented by legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that it has been one year since the aforesaid motion was passed, whether the Government now keeps a list and the number of used cooking oil recyclers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether it has compiled statistics on the quantity of locally collected used cooking oil and the percentage of such oil being recycled, in each of the past three years; if so, of the figures; if not, whether it has plans to collect such data on a regular basis;
(3) whether it has compiled statistics on the quantities of used cooking oil imported and exported in each of the past three years; if so, of the figures; if not, whether it has plans to collect such data on a regular basis; and
(4) whether it has plans to establish a licensing system by legislation to regulate the industry of collection and recycling of used cooking oil, thereby ensuring that used cooking oil collected will, after recycling, be used only for purposes other than human consumption, and preventing used cooking oil from re-entering the food chain; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(1) Used cooking oil is a recoverable and recyclable commodity with commercial value in the international market. Trading of used cooking oil is not subject to control under international conventions or local legislation. While the Government has not collected comprehensive information on used cooking oil recyclers, the Hong Kong Waste Reduction Website of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) lists local recyclers engaged in used cooking oil recycling and registered with EPD for inclusion in the list, for producers of used cooking oil (e.g. food establishments, hotels and food factories) to make reference and contact.
(2) In late 2013, the Government commissioned the Hong Kong Productivity Council to conduct a consultancy study on, among other things, the current situation of used cooking oil recycling in Hong Kong. Preliminary findings indicate that an estimated 16 000 tonnes of used cooking oil are collected locally each year for recycling, of which about 11 000 tonnes are used in biodiesel production by local factories.
(3) According to the Hong Kong Merchandise Trade Statistics compiled by the Census and Statistics Department, the import and export figures of used cooking oil plus other commodities placed under the same item in the Standard International Trade Classification (including animal or vegetable fats chemically modified, inedible mixtures of animal and vegetable fats and preparation of different fractions thereof) from 2011 to 2013 are as follows:
2011 2012 2013
Import 4 025 tonnes 2 969 tonnes 4 322 tonnes
Local 7 428 tonnes 11 292 tonnes 16 199 tonnes
export
Re-export 3 359 tonnes 1 276 tonnes 1 596 tonnes
(4) The Government and the recycling trade are jointly studying the proposal of a voluntary certification scheme for recyclers, to encourage the establishment of specific standards of practice for the industry. Such a scheme would raise recyclers' operational standards as well as foster confidence and support among business operators, who would be able to check whether a recycler had been certified and choose accordingly.
On safeguarding the safety of cooking oil, the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has all along been monitoring the quality of cooking oil in Hong Kong through routine food surveillance to ensure that the products comply with the legal requirements and are fit for human consumption. In addition, food traders must obtain the relevant licence from FEHD if they are to carry on the business of mixing or refining cooking oil. FEHD has also put in place a regular inspection mechanism for premises which are engaged in bottling or canning cooking oil to monitor their hygiene condition.
Ends/Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:37
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