To safeguard the health and welfare of the community from adverse environmental effects associated with the handling and disposal of wastes by developing a sustainable waste management strategy, providing waste management facilities and enforcing the controls in the Waste Disposal Ordinance.
Extended the Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste to 497 estates and buildings housing 29 per cent of the population.
Reserved $10 million in the Environment and Conservation Fund for promoting waste recycling and other initiatives to reduce and manage waste loads.
Introduced charges for construction waste disposal.
Conducted a trial to examine the feasibility of introducing a variable rate charging scheme for municipal solid waste.
Made two shipments of used rechargeable batteries to recyclers and extended collection points for the batteries to more than 1 800.
Secured an agreement with ten major retail chains to distribute fewer plastic shopping bag.
Substantially completed a consultation with stakeholders on a new set of risk-based land contamination standards for Hong Kong.
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has devoted considerable efforts in recent years to instilling a more sustainable and less wasteful culture in Hong Kong, driven by the urgent need to preserve space in our rapidly shrinking landfills. These efforts are starting to pay off. First and most importantly, the quantity of waste requiring landfilling is decreasing. In 2006 there was 15 per cent less waste at landfills, coinciding with the introduction of charging for construction waste disposal. Moreover, the quantity of municipal solid waste being recovered for recycling and re-use is rising. In 2006 the figure rose to 45 per cent, compared with 36 per cent only five years ago.
These achievements demonstrate that the community and industry are waking up to the need to take responsibility for the waste they create. However, much more still needs to be done. Too many people do not use or have access to recycling facilities and programmes, a situation that may respond to through more promotion and stronger incentives such as waste charges. Legislation needs to be put in place to entrench schemes that make manufacturers, retailers, and other waste producers responsible for handling their waste. Work also needs to press ahead on treating and disposing of the residual waste. For, while reducing and recycling waste will help conserve landfill space, it will never eliminate the need for landfills and incineration.
One of the great challenges for Hong Kong's high-rise population is finding the space to separate waste for recovery. Most homes do not have room to store recyclable or re-usable materials for days or weeks while awaiting collection. They need to be able to remove those materials on a daily basis. The Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste, introduced in January 2005, aims to provide places close to home where residents can separate their waste and store the recyclable or re-usable materials until they are picked up by recyclers.

The programme asks participating housing estates and buildings to set up waste separation and recovery facilities at convenient locations on each floor, such as refuse rooms and staircase landings. If that is not possible in the short term, they are asked to set up appropriate facilities on the ground floor of each block. The types of recyclables collected have been expanded beyond paper, aluminium cans and plastic bottles – which have been recovered for more than a decade in Hong Kong – to include such everyday items as plastic shopping bags, compact discs and metal tins.
Waste separation facilities set up in the refuse room on each floor.
Property management companies and other stakeholders shared experiences at the Forum on Source Separation of Domestic Waste, which was held in collaboration with the Hong Kong Association of Property Management Companies Ltd. in May 2006.
A wide range of waste separation facilities / bins that can be placed on building floors were on display at the Forum on Source Separation of Domestic Waste.
The Guidebook on Source Separation of Waste in Residential Buildings, which was launched at the Forum, provides advice for property managers and residents on how to practise source separation of waste on each floor of residential buildings and explains the related building and fire safety regulations.
In the first two years 497 estates and buildings, housing 29 per cent of Hong Kong's population, enrolled in the programme with impressive results. 210 estates implemented floor-based waste separation and 287 estates set up waste separation facilities on the ground-floor. The quantity of recyclables recovered by the participating estates increased by over 50 per cent while the amount of waste they sent to landfills was reduced by almost four per cent.

The goal is to have 80 per cent of the population, in more than 1 300 housing estates, participating in the programme by 2010. However, it must be acknowledged that the most willing estates were the first to join; it may become progressively more difficult to enrol new participants. Public education could make a difference by demonstrating the benefits and mechanics of source separation. In late 2006 the EPD reserved $10 million in the Environment and Conservation Fund for non-profit organisations to promote waste recycling and other initiatives to reduce and manage waste loads. At the same time the department is also exploring other initiatives to provide economic incentives for the public to engage in further waste reduction, such as waste disposal charges.

The Government has embraced the polluter pays principle, which requires polluters to take financial responsibility for the waste they create. This is being applied to sewage services, where higher charges have been proposed to achieve full recovery of operating costs (see the Water article for details), and chemical waste. In 2006 the polluter pays principle was also introduced to the disposal of construction waste.
Charging for disposal of construction waste started on 20 January 2006.
The introduction of construction waste disposal charges on 20 January 2006 went smoothly and has coincided with welcome reductions in construction waste disposal. By the end of the year there was 40 per cent less construction waste disposal at landfills and 25 per cent less construction waste disposal overall (including landfills, sorting facilities and public fill reception facilities). It is difficult to attribute the drop solely to charges, given fluctuations in construction activity. Nonetheless, more contractors are now sorting and recycling their waste for other uses.


Charges for municipal solid waste could provide a similar incentive to waste reduction and recycling. Attention is now focused on its feasibility and the way to introduce the charging scheme. A variable charge is a possible option in which polluters pay towards treating and disposing of the actual waste they send to landfills. A three-month trial was begun in November 2006 to examine the logistical arrangements for implementing a variable charging scheme. Residents at 20 estates have been provided with designated bags for disposing non-recyclable waste after source separation of the recyclable waste. The EPD will survey residents and managers of the 20 estates for their feedback and views on the logistical arrangements. The results will help the Government to consider the feasibility of a variable rate charging scheme and to develop practicable options for discussion with the public.
Consumers and the construction trade are not the only ones being asked to share the responsibility of handling their waste. Manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and retailers also have a role to play. Some have set up voluntary producer responsibility schemes (PRSs) to reduce and recover their waste. One of the most successful is the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme, which is run by an industry management committee and supported by EPD and green groups. Collection is free for consumers but companies are expected to pay. Since being established in April 2005, it has recovered about ten per cent of rechargeable batteries, increased the number of collection points by 70 per cent to more than 1 800, and sent two battery shipments of 13 tonnes each to a designated overseas recycler.
Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme Annual Report.
A ceremony to mark the first shipment of rechargeable batteries to a recycling plant.
Promotion of the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Programme.
The Government plans to apply the producer responsibility scheme to plastic shopping bags.
Retailers distributing plastic shopping bags are also sharing their eco-responsibility on waste reduction. Ten major retail chains, including the three largest supermarkets in Hong Kong, entered into a voluntary agreement with the Government and pledged to distribute 120 million fewer plastic shopping bags in a year. By end 2006, they exceeded their pledge by saving more than 124 million plastic shopping bags.

These schemes are, however, voluntary and depend on large amounts of good will to succeed. The Government is actively considering providing a legal framework for mandatory PRSs and eventually adopting a landfill ban for specific products. We plan to introduce a proposal on PRS on plastic shopping bags to the Legislative Council within 2007. Subject to public support and consensus, we will table the "Product Eco-responsibility Bill" as soon as practicable. We will also continue to review the feasibility of PRS for other products, such as vehicle tyres and waste electrical and electronic equipment.
The WENT Landfill at Nim Wan.
Despite the reductions in waste, landfills are filling up quickly. The three existing strategic landfills are expected to be full between 2011 and 2015, depending on the location. This leaves barely enough time to identify and build new sites. The Government therefore is studying how to extend the existing landfills and also reduce the bulk of waste using new waste treatment technologies.

Feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments are underway for two of the existing landfills and will be completed in 2007, while similar investigations will begin on the third landfill in 2007. Throughout these studies the EPD is engaging in continuous public involvement to get feedback and present findings, and the final reports will also be made public.

The department has also started a site search for developing advanced waste treatment facilities. The facilities will adopt a multi-technology approach - biological treatment for source-separated biodegradable waste, mechanical separation for mixed recyclables, and thermal treatment for the unavoidable waste. These advanced technologies are similar to those employed in Europe, Japan, Singapore and other advanced countries (see box on Overseas Incinerators). The site search will be completed in 2007. This will be followed by more detailed feasibility and environmental impact assessment studies.

The pace of Hong Kong's progress towards sustainable management of its waste is picking up. People and industry are starting to accept their responsibilities to reduce waste. The next steps require recognition that the costs of waste management also need to be shared, and that at the end of the day, waste cannot be eliminated. Landfills and incineration are a necessary element of any waste management strategy.
An incinerator in Osaka, Japan has an attractive design.
Complete feasibility studies and environmental impact assessments on extending two landfills, and begin the study on the third landfill.
Complete a site search for advanced waste treatment facilities.
Extend the Programme on Source Separation of Domestic Waste to 700 housing estates and buildings.
Examine the feasibility and develop options for introducing a municipal solid waste charging scheme for public consultation.
Table a "Product Eco-responsibility Bill" and Producer Responsibility Scheme on plastic shopping bags in the Legislative Council.