| Waste
Facilities
The EPD’s major impact on the environment comes from the operation
of 29 waste facilities. Contractors are required to operate the facilities
to a high environmental standard, through both contractual requirements
and statutory controls. Contractors must comply with all applicable
environmental ordinances, regulations and emission requirements, and
ideally exceed them. They must also monitor air, noise and wastewater
emissions from waste facilities, under the supervision of the EPD.
Since 1989, a provision has been included in waste facilities contracts
to deduct payment for non-compliance with environmental controls.
The Waste Facilities Business Unit renewed the ISO 14001 certification
of its environmental management system (EMS) in 2003. This system
aims to develop and promote a sustainable waste management strategy
and to plan and provide for waste management facilities in Hong Kong.
The EPD has also persuaded waste facility contractors to implement
similar EMSs to further enhance the environmental performance of these
facilities. All 12 restored landfills, the Northwest New Territories
refuse transfer station and the Sha Ling Composting Plant have ISO
14001 certification of their EMSs. In 2003, certification was achieved
for Sha Tin refuse transfer station, seven transfer facilities in
outlying islands, and the Northeast New Territories Landfill.
Compliance
There were no environmental prosecutions taken against any of the
EPD’s waste management contractors in 2003. The contractors
also achieved 99.995% compliance with contractual environmental requirements,
similar to 2002. Each non-compliance was thoroughly investigated and
remedial action instigated.
Complaints
27 complaints were received against waste facilities in 2003, concerning
odour, noise and fly nuisance. All complaints were dealt with promptly
(see 5.3 Effective Enforcement and Emergency Response for details
of our complaints response system).
Pollution
Control
Landfills
All
new landfills are installed with gas extraction systems, and old landfills
are being retrofitted. Monitoring is conducted at the boundaries of
the landfills to ensure landfill gas does not escape. In 2003, an
average 0.5 million m3 of landfill gas was collected daily,
47 % of which was used to meet nearly all on-site energy consumption.
Electricity generators with a total capacity of 6.4 MW have been installed
at landfills. In 2003, the EPD was preparing a programme to sell landfill
gas from the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill to public
utilities operators.
A construction waste recycling plant has been operating at the South
East New Territories (SENT) Landfill since 1995, to sort and recycle
construction waste for beneficial reuse and reduce the amount of waste
taking up landfill space. At present, the plant recycles about 22
500 tonnes of construction waste monthly, representing 15% of the
total construction waste intake at the landfill. The EPD proposed
a charging scheme in 2003 to increase recycling and recover the costs
of handling construction waste (see 5.2e Environmentally Sound Waste
Management and Facilities for details).
Refuse
transfer stations
Refuse
transfer stations (RTSs) reduce the environmental impact of transporting
waste to landfills. Small refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) deliver
waste to the RTSs where it is transferred into bulk waste containers
that are taken to landfills either by road or by sea. Each container
can accommodate three to five RCV-loads. In 2003, about 1 200 RCV
trips to landfills were eliminated each day.
Hong Kong has eight RTSs, located mostly in built-up areas. Ventilation
and odour removal systems have been installed to reduce dust and odour
from the exhaust air. The Island West RTS is located within a man-made
cavern under Mount Davis which not only reduces its visual impact,
but takes up less land space.
Chemical
Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC)
The
CWTC has been operating on Tsing Yi Island since 1993. Stack gas from
the incineration system is scrubbed and a spray dry absorber, activated
carbon injection and fabric filter baghouses are used to remove pollutants
prior to release into the atmosphere. The gas is monitored continuously
to ensure complete combustion and removal of air pollutants. In the
event of any problem, waste feed to the incinerator will be cut off
automatically.
The ambient air around the CWTC is monitored twice yearly and a measurement
of dioxins is carried out monthly. The results are lower than or comparable
to levels observed in other large cities around the world. All process
residues, including incineration ash, are chemically treated and confirmed
by analysis to be stable before being taken to the SENT landfill for
final disposal.
Environmentally
friendly practices are encouraged by allowing the contractor to keep
revenue from the sale of materials recovered from waste. Oil recovered
from oily wastewater is blended and used by ocean-going vessels as
recovered fuel oil. Copper oxide recovered from waste etchant generated
by the electronics industry is sent to overseas smelters to recover
the copper. In 2003, 6 200 tonnes of oil and 510 tonnes of copper
oxide were recovered by the CWTC.
Laboratories
The
EPD’s laboratories (for air, water sciences and microbiology)
are operated in a manner that minimises the impact on the environment.
The laboratories comply with the legal requirements and statutory
licence conditions. Regular maintenance and monitoring programmes
are in place to ensure full compliance. In 2003, routine monitoring
of effluent discharges and annual monitoring of emissions from fume
cupboards indicated full compliance.
Indoor
air quality
The
Government introduced an Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme for
Offices and Public Places in September 2003. Certification is open
to offices or public places which are served by mechanical ventilation
and air conditioning systems and met the indoor air quality (IAQ)
requirements specified in the scheme. The first premises to receive
an Excellent Class IAQ Certificate was the EPD's Indoor Air Quality
Information Centre. By the end of 2003, 4 other EPD premises including
Southorn Centre, Revenue Tower, Tsuen Wan Government Offices and the
Wanchai Environmental Resource Centre were awarded with Good Class
IAQ Certificates. The goal is to have all EPD premises certified.
Photo
of The EPD Indoor Air Quality Information Centre is the first premises
awarded an Excellent Class IAQ Certificate.
Photo
of A sample of the Excellent Class Indoor Air Quality Certificate.
Field
work
Only
non-toxic dye is used to trace pollution sources, to minimise the
environmental impacts of investigations. Field samples are sent to
the laboratories for appropriate action. Safety guidelines are issued
to all field staff who are trained in the handling of hazardous materials.
Emergency
Response
The EPD has internal emergency response plans for its operations,
in particular waste facilities and laboratories. At landfills, the
plans cover predictable events such as the unavailability of certain
landfills or refuse transfer stations due to power failure, as well
as road blockages arising from traffic accidents, congestion, chemical
waste spills, etc.
Four emergency drills were carried out at the CWTC in 2003. The EPD
requires the CWTC contractor to carry out at least one drill on marine
incidents every year.
For
EPD laboratories, no incidents were reported in 2003.
Measures Adopted to Prevent Pollution from EPD’s Laboratories
Legal
measures
All necessary licences and permits under the law (e.g. Water Pollution
Control Ordinance (WPCO), Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO)) are obtained
and the stipulated conditions are strictly adhered to. The EPD encourages
contractors to exceed the legal requirements wherever possible.
Air
pollution
Emissions from fume cupboards and safety cabinets are scrubbed or
filtered as required to remove pollutants before release into the
atmosphere. Laboratories are installed with exhaust hoods which operate
round the clock to dilute and extract any emissions of calibration
gases (such as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides)
to roof level for discharge.
Water
pollution
The EPD’s laboratory sinks are fitted with buffer tanks to prevent
the accidental discharge of unsuitable substances into the sewers.
A sink used for handling asbestos is also fitted with a filter to
remove asbestos from wastewater.
Monitoring
Emissions from fume cupboards and discharges from sinks are monitored
regularly to ensure they comply with the required standards in 2003.
Hazardous
waste
Chemical waste is properly treated and disposed of by the CWTC contractor.
Biological waste is disinfected and disposed of in accordance with
World Health Organisation guidelines. A licensed collector is engaged
to deliver asbestos samples from the air laboratory to the SENT landfill
for disposal.
Emergencies
Emergency spill kits are provided in all EPD laboratories and staff
are trained to deal with accidental spills. The general procedures
for handling chemical spillage/leakage are documented in the laboratory
environmental and safety manuals.
Audits
Environmental audits of EPD laboratories are carried out regularly
by laboratory staff and supplemented with annual audits as required
by the EPD's Environment, Safety and Health Unit. |