The Under Secretary for the Environment, Mr Tse Chin-wan, led a team of Environmental Protection Department (EPD) officers at a working meeting with the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in Beijing today (September 29), a government spokesman said. The meeting was also attended by representatives of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council as well as the Department of Environmental Protection of Guangdong Province (GDEPD).

     During the meeting, the MEP gave a briefing on the Mainland's policies and plans on the management of solid waste imports, while the GDEPD gave an account of its work currently under way. The Environment Bureau (ENB) and the EPD briefed the attendees on the latest developments of Hong Kong's recyclables market, and the related concerns of Hong Kong society and the recycling trade.

     The MEP said that the "Implementation Plan on Advancing Reform of the Administration System on Import of Solid Waste through Prohibiting Import of Foreign Rubbish" is aimed at protecting public health and safeguarding national ecological safety. The MEP also encouraged the local community of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to better adapt to the new policy in different ways, including carrying out waste separation at source and clean recycling, as well as enhancing recycling operations and standards.

     The MEP said that the Mainland still has quotas available for importing several million tonnes of waste paper before the end of 2017. However, the number of quotas available for receiving waste paper from the HKSAR will be subject to the commercial considerations of individual enterprises.

     In light of the promulgation of the implementation plan on July 18 this year, the HKSAR Government will further explain to the trade and relevant stakeholders the requirements of the implementation plan, and will step up the promotion of proper and clean recycling to improve the quality of recyclables at source. The Advisory Committee on Recycling Fund has already enhanced the operation of the Recycling Fund with new dedicated programmes launched to help increase recycling efficiency, operation and quality. In addition, the ENB and the EPD will strengthen their support for Hong Kong's waste paper industry to explore other import markets and diversified processing options for waste paper.

     At today's meeting, it was also agreed that in addition to the existing communication mechanism established under the Cooperation Arrangement on Control of Waste Movements between the Mainland and the HKSAR, the MEP, the ENB and the EPD will extend the scope of mutual collaboration and step up communication to jointly discuss the appropriate measures to be taken in accordance with the Mainland and Hong Kong's related regulations to enable the HKSAR community and the relevant trade to cope better with the Mainland's related policies on solid waste import management.

Ends/Friday, September 29, 2017
Issued at HKT 16:40

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