•

Establishment of the Environmental Protection Department on 1st April, bringing the majority of pollution prevention and control activities under one umbrella.
• Enactment of Water Pollution Control Regulations under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (1980).


•

Implementation of the Livestock Waste Control Scheme. The pollution load into Hong Kong streams and rivers had been reduced by 95% by the end of 2002.
• Enactment of the Noise Control Ordinance to provide statutory powers for the control of noise from domestic and public places, construction sites, industrial and commercial premises and noisy products.


•

Declaration of the first water control zone (WCZ) at Tolo Harbour. (All of Hong Kong's waters are now protected and divided into 10 WCZs and four supplementary ones.)

• Commencement of the Sewerage Master Plan (SMP) programme to provide a blue print for the sewerage infrastructure required to collect sewage on a catchment-basis. 16 SMPs are now in place covering all areas of Hong Kong.


•

Publication of White Paper on "Pollution : A Time to Act" laying down a comprehensive 10-year plan to fight pollution.

• Publication of statutory Waste Disposal Plan under the Waste Disposal Ordinance to set out a 10-year plan for developing new facilities and closing old ones.



•

Commissioning of Hong Kong's first Refuse Transfer Station (RTS) at Kowloon Bay. Eight RTSs had been constructed by 2002, serving most of Hong Kong.

• Implementation of the Air Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) Regulation to limit the sulphur content and viscosity of fuel oils. Significant improvement was seen in ambient sulphur dioxide.


•

Completion of Hong Kong's first "over-road" noise barrier at Tate's Cairn Tunnel approach roads to protect adjacent high rise dwellings from road traffic noise. By 2002, a total of 37 km of noise barriers had been installed and over 139 000 people had benefited.
• Announcement in Governor's Address to the Legislative Council that all Executive Council policy and project papers contain an Environmental Implications paragraph.


•

Establishment of the first two Local Control Offices (LCOs). In 1995, a total of six LCOs were established to improve pollution control, services and liaison with the community.
• Introduction of unleaded petrol on 1st April to reduce harmful lead pollution.



•

Commissioning of comprehensive Chemical Waste Treatment Centre - the first in South East Asia, with a capacity to treat 100 000 tonnes of chemical waste per annum, most of which had previously been dumped in the harbour.

• Commissioning of West New Territories (WENT) Landfill, the first of three strategic landfills in Hong Kong.


•

Launching of Hong Kong's first Air Pollution Index (API) to inform the community of the status of air pollution in Hong Kong. A roadside API was introduced in 1998.

• Extension of the 24-hour pollution complaint hotline service to six local hotlines to handle complaints on a district basis.


•

Opening of the EPD's Visitors Centre in Revenue Tower, Wan Chai to complement the Wan Chai Environmental Resource Centre. These are the gateways to environmental information for the community.
• Banning of the import of halons and introduction of controls on 3,4-hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC), 3,4 hydrobromo-fluorocarbons (HBFC), and methyl bromide under the Ozone Layer Protection Ordinance, fulfilling our global obligation in environmental protection.


•

Enactment of the Air Pollution Control (Open Burning) Regulation to put open burning activities under control.

• Establishment of EPD's home page in the World Wide Web to provide the public with easy access to environmental information conducive to an informed and environmentally aware community.



•

Enactment of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance to set out the framework for controlling environmental impacts of major development projects.

• Launching of the liquefied petroleum gas taxis pilot scheme to reduce air pollution.


•

Emphasis in the Chief Executive's Policy Address on "Quality People, Quality Home" and sustainable development.
• Announcement of a comprehensive programme of measures to tackle motor vehicle emissions.


•

Tightening of motor vehicle fuel requirements, and introduction of Euro III emission standards for newly registered vehicles, in step with the European Union, and requiring newly-registered taxis to be fuelled by LPG or petrol.
• Full commissioning of Stage 1 of the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (HATS) [formerly known as Strategic Sewage Disposal Scheme (SSDS)].


•

Announcement by the Chief Executive of HKSAR, The Honourable Mr Tung Chee-hwa, in his 1998 Policy Address that all policy secretaries and directors of bureaux and departments have to provide environmental reports for their organisations starting in 2000.

• Agreement by the Hong Kong Guangdong Environmental Protection Liaison Group to work towards removing all effluent from the Deep Bay catchment as a long term goal.


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Endorsement by the Executive Council of a new policy to redress noise impacts from existing roads by means of engineering and non-engineering measures where practicable.
• Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the State Environmental Protection Administration and the Environmental Protection Department on hazardous waste import and export control.


January
•

Commencement of chassis dynamometer test for heavy vehicles emitting smoke, after it was earlier made mandatory for lighter vehicles.
• Launch of Cyber Help Bench for EIAs.

March
•

Clean Air Exhibition organised by EPD, attracting 21 000 visitors in one day.
• Launch of The Third Hong Kong Green School Award which recruited 178 schools.

April
•

Completion of a report on air quality in the Pearl River Delta region, through the Joint Working Group on Sustainable Development and Environmental Protection.
• Mandatory requirement that petrol stations supply only ultra-low sulphur diesel.
• Launch of a mobile phone battery recycling programme with the mobile phone industry.
• Launch of the Waste Recycling Campaign in Housing Estates (Phase VI), with the participation of 1 200 public and private housing estates covering some 1.5 million households.
• Co-operation with community groups to launch waste recovery schemes.
• Invitation for expressions of interest for the development of waste management and waste treatment facilities.
• Participation in the First APEC Ocean-related Ministerial Meeting.

May
•

Approval by the Finance Committee of $600 million to help vehicle owners retrofit particulate removal devices in pre-Euro heavy diesel vehicles that are not required to undertake long idling duties.
• Completion of consultations on the control of clinical waste.
• First EIAO Users Liaison Groups Congress organised by EPD for the four major EIA stakeholder groups. Participants included project proponents, consultants, contractors, green groups, academics and ACE members.
• Launch of Environment Helpdesk for the restaurant trade.
• Invitation for tenders to build storage facility for low-level radioactive waste on Siu A Chau.

June
•

Joint World Environment Day celebrations organised with counterparts in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Macau, Dongguan and Zhongshan.
• Launch of the Hong Kong Eco-Business Awards 2002 with four categories of awards: Green Office Award (Large Organisations), Green Office Award (SMEs), Green Property Management Award (Private Housing) and Green Innovative Practice Award.
• Amendment to the Noise Control Ordinance to explicitly hold corporate management liable for noise offences committed by their companies.
• Launch of consultation on water criteria for the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme.
• Commencement of amended vehicle noise regulations to tighten the noise emission standards.

July
•

Three-day exhibition celebrating 25 years of environmental protection in Hong Kong, organised by EPD.
• Establishment of EIAO Support Section to help government works departments improve their understanding of the EIA mechanism.
• Environmental Exhibition and Conference for the Food and Restaurant Trade, organised by EPD and the main food and restaurant organisations.
• Opening of North West New Territories refuse transfer station.
• Symposium on Smart Growth and Ecosystem Management and Planning for Urban Centres, organised by Environment Canada, EPD and the State Environmental Protection Administration of China. The symposium was held in Shandong province.
• Free vehicle emissions testing day, organised by EPD, the vehicle repair trade associations and the Kowloon City District Council.

August
•

Commencement of grants to help public light buses switch to LPG or electric vehicles.
• Opening of the Environmental Education and Information Counter to help schools and community groups organise green activities.
• First "Environmental Campaign Committee MTR Environmental Leadership Summer Camp" in which outstanding environmental ambassadors from local schools and from six cities in the Pearl River Delta joined Junior Police Call, Scouts and Girl Guides ambassadors for five days of intensive environmental leadership training.
• Launch of district-based waste recovery campaigns with 12 District Councils.
• Commencement of a plastic bags recovery trial in eight housing estates and 109 convenience stores and supermarkets.
• Attendance by Hong Kong SAR Government team, including EPD, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa.

October
•

Participation in the regional meeting of the project "Regionally Based Assessment of Persistent Toxic Substances" organised by the United Nations Environment Programme.
• Launching of the EIA Training and Capacity Building Programme for all government works departments.
• Opening of the Customer Service Centre to enhance the handling of pollution complaints and enquiries.

November
• Joint Workshop on Waste Management and Contaminated Land, organised with Environment Canada.
• Launch of Environmental Protection Festival on the themes "Waste Reduction, Clean Air for You and Me, and Protect Our Water Resources".
• Completion of the "Hong Kong Green School Award Self-Assessment Manual", in collaboration with the Education & Manpower Bureau, Hong Kong Productivity Council and Hong Kong Institute of Education. The manual helps local schools assess their performance in environmental management and environmental education.
• Launch of Lions International Youth Exchange 2003 Qualifying Competition with the theme "Safeguarding our Heritage: A Clean Victoria Harbour".
• Joint conference on "Partnership for Green Construction: A New Era of Hong Kong's Development", organised by EPD and the Hong Kong Construction Association, supported by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

December
• Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the California Air Resources Board to collaborate on air quality management.
• Regional workshop, Better Air Quality 2002, organised by EPD, the California Air Resources Board, Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities and Air Pollution in Mega Cities in Asia. The workshop was held in Hong Kong.
• Commencement of grants to help heavy pre-Euro diesel vehicles install particulate removal devices.

• Launch of Waste Separation Scheme for Pre-schools, providing child-size waste separation bins to pre-schools for teaching purposes.
• Commencement of the use of webcams, under the EIAO, at selected major work sites to enhance transparency and encourage compliance.
• Joint conference on "Reshaping Environmental Assessment Tools for Sustainability", organised by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Mainland's Nankai University and fully supported by EPD, with the participation of officials and experts from Hong Kong, the Mainland, Europe, North America, the World Bank, and the United Nations Environment Programme.
• Completion of a benchmarking tool to help bureaux and departments improve the quality of their future environmental performance reports.
• Launching of an educational package on environmental noise, featuring a website and CD-ROMs.
• Completion of the first stage of the Shing Mun River Environmental Improvement Work.
• Completion of a train-the-trainer package and workshop on environmental issues encountered in property management.