******************************************
Following is a question by the Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (July 2):
Question:
Among the three landfills in Hong Kong, the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill in Tseung Kwan O (TKO) is the one closest to residential areas. As TKO residents are gravely concerned about the impacts of the SENT Landfill extension project on their living environment, the Government is implementing a number of measures to address the residents' concerns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the SENT Landfill will only accept odourless construction waste for disposal after the commencement of the newly enacted Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 (the Regulation), of the commencement date of the Regulation; whether it has measures in place to ensure that the SENT Landfill will not accept construction waste which is hazardous to health; if so, of the details, as well as the criteria for the relevant tests to be conducted; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) given that the authorities will increase as much as possible the transportation of fill materials by sea to the TKO fill bank in order to reduce the traffic and environmental impacts of construction waste vehicles in TKO area, of the authorities' progress in the construction of the relevant facilities; whether they have drawn up a timetable for that; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) whether it has drawn up a timetable for the implementation of the measure under which the SENT Landfill will stop accepting sludge; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4) of the details, including the frequency, schedule and methods, of the daily cleansing work carried out at Wan Po Road in TKO at present, as well as whether it has evaluated if the cleansing work is effective in removing the odour in the air generated by the leachate from the refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) passing by;
(5) notwithstanding the Government's advice that the PM2.5 level (24-hour average) recorded at Wan Po Road is similar to those recorded at the general air quality monitoring stations elsewhere in Hong Kong, and yet very few RCVs drive past Wan Po Road outside the operating hours of the SENT Landfill, whether the Government could make public the hourly average level of PM2.5 at Wan Po Road during the operating hours of the SENT Landfill, as well as whether such a level of air pollutants is detrimental to the health of the residents; if it is detrimental to health, whether the Government has put in place any measures to protect public health; if it has such measures, of the details; if it does not have such measures, the reasons for that;
(6) given that the aforesaid Regulation requires that all RCVs entering landfills or refuse transfer stations be equipped with a metal tailgate cover and waste water sump tank, whether it knows when all private RCVs will be equipped with those facilities, and whether the authorities have set a deadline for that; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(7) whether it will legislate against environmental pollution caused by dump trucks carrying sand and silt (e.g. silt dripping from trucks); if so, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and
(8) given that the authorities have advised that they will step up law enforcement actions against illegal fly-tipping at Wan Po Road and nearby areas, of the number of relevant prosecutions instituted by the authorities since January this year; whether, apart from stepping up patrol, the authorities have other targeted measures to deter fly-tipping; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Our reply to the question raised by Dr Hon Elizabeth Quat is as follows:
(1) The Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 (the Regulation) has been introduced and passed by the Legislative Council (LegCo) on January 22, 2014 to designate the SENT Landfill as one which only accepts construction waste for disposal. When the extension project is approved and the preparation for waste diversion from the SENT Landfill is completed, we will announce the effective date of the designation by notice in the Gazette. By then, not only will the odour concern be removed, half the number of vehicle trips going to the SENT Landfill will be reduced, from about 1 000 to about 500 daily.
Construction waste is defined under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354) and Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation (Cap. 354N) to mean waste generated from construction work and abandoned. Construction waste can be classified as inert wastes (such as rock, rubble, soil, sand, concrete, etc.) and non-inert wastes (such as bamboo, timber, packaging waste, etc.). The law also clearly stipulates that construction waste should not contain any chemical waste, including asbestos, and that the handling and disposal of chemical waste is subject to the control of the legislation concerned. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) will provide education on this and take enforcement actions. It will also maintain close contact with construction waste producers and the transport trade to remind them of the legal requirement that chemical waste and construction waste should be handled and disposed of separately.
EPD staff will be deployed at weighbridges and waste tipping areas to inspect the waste on collection vehicles to ensure the waste loads meet the requirement of the law.
(2) The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) is liaising with various parties to explore ways to further optimise marine routing for fill transportation. The new marine barging point at Kai Tak is expected to start operation in the second half of 2014. By then, more fill materials will be transported by sea to reduce the number of dump trucks running in TKO and improve the environment of the road. At present, there are about 1 300 vehicle trips heading to the TKO fill bank each day. CEDD expects that upon the launching of the facility, the daily vehicle trips of dump trucks along Wan Po Road will be reduced by about 100 in 2014 and further by about 200 in 2015-16.
(3) The sludge treatment facility (STF) started accepting the sludge from Stonecutters Island, Shatin and Tai Po sewage treatment works from May this year for commissioning tests and the sludge transported to the SENT Landfill will be reduced progressively. The STF is expected to complete the testing and commissioning by the end of this year. By then, sludge from all government sewage treatment works in Hong Kong will no longer be transported to the three landfills for disposal.
(4) The SENT Landfill contractor washes and cleanses the section of Wan Po Road from its entrance to Chiu Shun Road (Hang Hau roundabout) which measures about 3.5 km long with water wagon and sweeping vehicle 10 times a day between 8am and midnight. The contractor also uses water jets to clean roadside planters and plants along the section of Wan Po Road from Chun Yat Street (Tai Chik Sha Fire Station) to the entrance of the Landfill, to tie in with the cleansing service provided by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) and CEDD for the road section. The EPD and government departments concerned will evaluate from time to time the cleanliness of the road and the effect of cleansing operations. Apart from daily cleansing, from the end of March to April this year, departments concerned have jointly carried out two extra cleansing operations targeted at thorough cleaning of relevant road sections and various facilities such as road signs and traffic lights to ensure improvement in the cleanliness and hygiene condition of the Wan Po Road. Such cleansing operations will continue on a regular basis after April.
(5) In response to the concerns and requests of residents of TKO, the EPD has, since September 18, 2013 installed a monitoring equipment on the rooftop of Tai Chik Sha Fire Station in TKO to measure the concentration of PM2.5 at Wan Po Road. Results show that the 24-hour average PM2.5 levels measured were similar to those recorded at general air quality monitoring stations elsewhere in Hong Kong. The index of suspended particulates currently adopted internationally (including the World Health Organisation) is calculated on the 24-hour average and annual-average level. Generally speaking, only prolonged exposure to fine and respirable suspended particulates will produce adverse effects on health. The EPD has already provided the monitoring data on PM2.5 from September 2013 to March 2014 to the Housing and Environmental Hygiene Committee (HEHC) of the Sai Kung District Council (SKDC), and relevant papers [SKDC(HEHC) papers no. 20/14 and 68/14] have also been uploaded on the SKDC website for the public's reference.
(6) To encourage conversion of refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) to the enclosed design, the EPD has adopted a dual approach by putting in place both subsidies and legislation. On January 10 this year the EPD launched a Subsidy Scheme for Retrofitting Refuse Collection Vehicles to subsidise all private RCV owners in Hong Kong to install metal tailgate covers and waste water sump tanks on RCVs. As at mid-June 2014, 278 out of the 520 existing RCVs in Hong Kong are fully enclosed. With 89 more private RCVs about to be retrofitted, 70 per cent of the RCVs running on the road are or will soon be fully enclosed. The remaining 153 private RCVs yet to be retrofitted should submit their applications to the EPD before the deadline on September 30, 2014. It is hoped that the trade with RCVs not yet retrofitted under the Scheme could cooperate and submit their applications as soon as possible and actively arrange retrofitting for the vehicles.
On legislation, the Regulation was passed on January 22, 2014 in LegCo to require that RCVs using landfills or refuse transfer stations be equipped with metal tailgate covers and wastewater sump tanks. The EPD has planned for the Regulation to take effect on April 1, 2015, and the commencement date of the Regulation will be appointed by notice after its submission to the LegCo for consideration in the fourth quarter of 2014 or the first quarter of 2015.
(7) For dripping of wastewater from dump trucks during delivery of sand and silt, the FEHD may take enforcement actions under the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap. 132BK). For insecure loading on vehicles or debris falling or scattering on the road, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) may take enforcement actions under the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations (Cap. 374G).
Since August 2013, the EPD, the HKPF and the FEHD have jointly conducted inter-departmental blitz actions. Road blocks are set up at Wan Po Road to stop and check RCVs and dump trucks with problem for enhanced action against non-compliance of heavy vehicles driving through that road. Cases of non-compliance include dripping of wastewater, scattering of objects on the road, speeding and over-loading. Drivers violating relevant legislations will be warned or prosecuted. Since January 1 this year, 18 joint operations have been carried out and relevant departments will continue to conduct blitz operations against any unlawful acts.
(8) The EPD has always been concerned about the problem of fly-tipping. In order to combat fly-tipping in TKO, the EPD together with the FEHD have stepped up inspections and overnight ambushes at areas near the SENT Landfill since October 2013. At end of 2013, a close-circuit television system has been installed at the Chun Cheong Street public car-park in TKO to step up the surveillance on fly-tipping at the nearby black spots. Since January this year, a professional service contractor has been employed to patrol the area around the landfill day and night, so as to step up monitoring and combat fly-tipping. From January till now, the EPD has followed up on 11 cases of fly-tipping. Three persons involved were successfully prosecuted and prosecutions are underway to deal with the remaining cases. Current information shows that fly-tipping cases have decreased significantly in the area around the SENT Landfill.
Ends/Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Issued at HKT 16:29
NNNN
