****************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Chan Han-pan and a reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (July 6):
Question:
It has been reported that an environmental group attached 200 trackers equipped with global positioning system to electronic waste (e-waste) in the United States and subsequently found that 66 such trackers were exported out of the United States with the e-waste, of which 51 (i.e. 80 per cent) were transported to Hong Kong, indicating that Hong Kong has been reduced to a dumping ground for e-waste. As such e-waste has mainly ended up being dumped in the rural areas in the New Territories, the toxic metal in the waste may enter the ecosystem via rainwater and cause severe damage to the environment. It has also been reported that in importing e-waste into Hong Kong, importers often declare such goods as "scrap metal" in order to evade inspection by the Customs and Excise Department. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases in which the authorities instituted prosecutions, in each of the past three years, against persons importing e-waste illegally, the number of convictions among such cases, and the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted persons; whether the authorities will conduct more stringent inspections of imported goods to prevent e-waste from being imported illegally; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether the authorities will step up law enforcement actions against illegal dumping of e-waste; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether the authorities have plans to enhance intelligence exchanges with overseas law enforcement authorities for prevention of transboundary movements of e-waste, so as to intercept illegal import of e-waste; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Provisions under our existing Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO) are formulated based on the requirements of the Basel Convention and the principles for regulatory control on waste import and export in Hong Kong are in line with those adopted worldwide. The trading as well as import and export of recyclables are very active in the international market. Proper use of recyclables for recycling or reuse facilitates minimisation of waste disposal and supports the circular economy. Therefore, the Basel Convention allows the import, re-export and export of non-hazardous recyclables for recycling and recovery purposes.
Under the Basel Convention, there are two main categories of electronic waste (e-waste): hazardous e-waste and non-hazardous e-waste. Non-hazardous e-waste items such as computer main units and scanners are classified as non-hazardous recyclables worldwide, and they are allowed to be imported and exported for recycling and recovery purposes. For hazardous e-waste items such as computer monitors and LCD panels, they are regulated under the WDO and their import and export are subject to stringent permit control. As the Government's policy is to prohibit the import of hazardous e-waste, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) hardly issues any such permit. No permit had been issued for import of hazardous e-waste over the last decade. The EPD and the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) base on the risk assessment approach and intelligence collected to conduct inspections on container shipments against imported and export of hazardous e-waste and are vigilant in taking enforcement actions. Hazardous e-waste are also classified as chemical waste and their storage, packaging, labelling, collection and disposal are regulated under the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation.
(1) Over the past three years, the EPD and the C&ED conducted about 2 000 container inspections based on the risk assessment approach and intelligence collected. The EPD also completed 55 cases of convictions on illegal import of hazardous e-waste. The numbers of prosecutions and convictions were 20 and 17 respectively in 2013, with the total penalties imposed amounted to $247,000. In 2014, the numbers of prosecutions and convictions were 21 and 20 respectively, with the total penalties imposed amounted to $346,000. In 2015, the numbers of prosecutions and convictions were 22 and 18 respectively, with the total penalties imposed amounted to $597,000;
(2) E-waste are generally valuable recyclables and their illegal disposal are uncommon. To ensure that the operations of these recycling sites are in compliance with the relevant laws in respect of pollution control, fire safety, land uses and planning, etc, the EPD inspects e-waste recycling sites from time to time, especially those operating in open yards which can easily affect the neighbourhood, with other government departments, including the Fire Services Department, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Planning Department and Lands Department, with an aim to combat all illegal activities.
To strengthen e-waste management, the EPD is working to establish an e-waste management system that stresses on both eco-responsibility and sustainability. The Legislative Council passed the Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Electrical Equipment and Electronic Equipment) (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 in March 2016. The new system will be more effective in handling matters related to e-waste. The eight categories of products to be regulated under the Amendment Ordinance are washing machines; refrigerators; air-conditioners; televisions; and computer products including computers (i.e. desktop/notebook/tablet computers), printers, scanners and monitors. Under the Amendment Ordinance, all regulated e-waste originated from the above electrical equipment, no matter they are classified as chemical waste or not, shall be properly handled. Generally speaking, any person who stores, disposes, reprocesses or recycles regulated e-waste shall be licensed. The import and export of such regulated e-waste shall also be subject to permit control. We are taking forward the drafting of enforcement details and subsidiary legislations. Subject to the progress, we will determine the date for effecting the Amendment Ordinance; and
(3) On the international front, the EPD had already established close connections with overseas regulatory agencies and international organisations to enhance the exchange of intelligence and carrying out of prompt joint enforcement operations. The relevant international organisations include the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law under the European Union, the Asian Network for Prevention of Illegal Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste, the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement, the World Customs Organisation, etc. The EPD continues to enforce the Basel Convention together with other overseas authorities and promotes source interception. We also collaborate with the authorities of those developed countries exporting hazardous e-waste to enhance the control measures and enforcement actions.
Ends/Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Issued at HKT 18:46
NNNN
