Landfill user giving incorrect information fined
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A spokesman for the EPD said that the department had received reports that some users delivered construction waste to landfills in the guise of municipal solid waste to evade construction waste disposal charges. The EPD then stepped up operations against the malpractice at landfills. In a blitz operation conducted at the WENT Landfill in January 2019, EPD staff encountered a landfill user who claimed that he was not delivering construction waste, but they subsequently found construction waste in what he had disposed of. After an investigation and collection of evidence, the EPD prosecuted the landfill user concerned in accordance with the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation. This is the second convicted case of this nature handled by the EPD this year.
The spokesman said that according to the Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation, construction waste producers, including construction contractors, renovation contractors and premises owners, are required to open a billing account with the EPD and pay the construction waste disposal charge in advance for using government waste disposal facilities. In accordance with the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation, a person who deliberately makes any statement or gives any information that is incorrect commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine of $100,000.
The spokesman reminded the construction and transport sectors to strictly comply with the requirements of the law. The EPD will continue to take strict enforcement action to deter any unlawful activities within landfills.
Ends/Tuesday, July 16, 2019
Issued at HKT 15:50
Issued at HKT 15:50
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