Transcript of remarks by SEN
****************************
Reporter: Mr Wong, how effectively do you think this new recycling facility would help ease Hong Kong's wastage problem regarding e-waste. Also there are reports suggesting that Hong Kong has become sort of an e-waste ground for the world. Has the Environmental Protection Department stepped up any enforcement action in the past two years to tackle this problem?
Secretary for the Environment: Firstly, this WEEE·PARK facility together with the associated PRS (producer responsibility scheme) would address the issues related to the locally produced e-wastes. The capacity of this WEEE·PARK would be good enough to provide a backbone for the concerned legislation. At the same time, another related legislation would be effective from the end of this year. It would be related to the banning of the importation of the overseas e-waste into Hong Kong. So, in short, this facility, together with the regulations, would provide capacity to handle the locally produced e-waste. At the same time, we would have better control of the imported e-waste. There is an overall strategy to handle local and overseas e-wastes.
Reporter: Do you have an estimate of how many of these e-wastes being handled by this facility will not end up being in the landfill? Do you have an estimate of how many of these e-wastes would end up in the landfill and how many will be used for other purposes?
Secretary for the Environment: This is a state-of-the-art facility that can achieve a very high percentage of the recovery of materials through the treatment process. Under the contract (with the contractor), it stipulated a certain level (rate) of recycling. Given the technology here and over the experience to be gained over time, we think that there would be very high percentage of the materials to be recovered.
Reporter: Do you have an estimate of roughly the percentage of e-waste being manufactured into other purposes?
Secretary for the Environment: Generally speaking, it's a state-of-the-art facility, you can compare it with other similar facilities in the world. In terms of recovery percentage, probably it would be one of the highest in the world.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)
Ends/Monday, March 19, 2018
Issued at HKT 17:48
Issued at HKT 17:48
NNNN