Our Responsibilities
Pollution Control at Waste Facilities
Pollution Control in Laboratories
Pollution Control at Other Facilities
Emergency Response

Our Responsibilities

We aim to avoid, reduce and control pollution arising from our day-to-day working practices. We will require our contractors to adopt and implement sound environmental management systems and pollution control measures.

We will provide leadership by complying with not only the letter, but also the spirit of all applicable environmental legislation, standards and regulations, as well as our internal guidelines and procedures. We will endeavour to surpass the applicable environmental legislation, standards and regulations, whenever possible.

We have an emergency response system for handling environmental incidents, and are prepared to respond quickly to minimise the damage to the environment.

Pollution Control at Waste Facilities

The EPD's major impact on the environment comes from the operation of 26 waste facilities. A range of legal, contractual and technical controls are in place to reduce their impacts. In 2004, none of our waste management contractors was prosecuted for environmental offences. They also achieved 99.983% compliance with contractual environmental requirements, similar to 2003. Each non-compliance was thoroughly investigated and remedial action instigated.

Some 42 complaints were received against waste facilities in 2004, concerning floodlights, operations, wastewater, 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).

Further details of pollution control at waste facilities – covering legal and contractual requirements, landfills, refuse transfer stations, the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre and ISO 14001 certification – are provided below.

Legal and contractual requirements
Contractors are required to operate waste facilities to a high environmental standard, through both contractual requirements and statutory controls. They 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.

Landfills
All new landfills are installed with gas extraction systems, and old landfills are being retrofitted. In 2004, an average 0.6 million cubic metres of landfill gas was collected daily, 46% of which was used to meet nearly all on-site energy needs. Electricity generators with a total capacity of 7.6 MW have also been installed at landfills. In 2004, the EPD signed an agreement with the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill contractor to allow landfill gas to be sold to public utilities operators. We also monitor gas levels at the boundaries of landfills, to ensure landfill gas does not escape.

Mr Rob Law, former Director of Environmental Protection, and Mr James Tam, Managing Director of Far East Landfill Technologies Ltd. at the signing ceremony of the Supplemental Agreement of NENT Landfill Gas Project.

A construction waste sorting facility has been operating at the South East New Territories (SENT) Landfill since 1995. At present, the plant processes about 22 500 tonnes of construction waste monthly, representing 15% of the total construction waste intake at the landfill. A charging scheme to be implemented in 2005 for the disposal of construction waste at landfills, sorting facilities and public fill reception facilities, is expected 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 2004, about 1 100 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 reduces its visual impact and takes up less land space.

Island West Refuse Transfer Station.

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.

The contractor is allowed to keep revenue from the sale of materials recovered from waste, to encourage environmentally friendly practices. Oil recovered from oily wastewater is blended and used by ocean-going vessels as recovered fuel oil, while copper oxide recovered from waste etchant generated by the electronics industry is sent to overseas smelters to recover the copper. In 2004, 5 332 tonnes of oil and 493 tonnes of copper oxide were recovered by the CWTC.

ISO 14001 certification
Our Waste Facilities Business Unit has had ISO 14001 certification of its environmental management system (EMS) since 2000. This system aims to develop and promote a sustainable waste management strategy and to plan and provide for waste management facilities in Hong Kong. We have also persuaded our waste facility contractors to implement similar EMSs to further enhance their environmental performance. In 2004, ISO 14001 certification was achieved at Island East Transfer Station, the Island West Transfer Station and the West New Territories Landfill. This followed certification of all 12 restored landfills, the North West New Territories Transfer Station, the Sha Tin Transfer Station, the seven transfer facilities in the outlying islands, the North East New Territories Landfill and the Sha Ling Composting Plant.

Pollution Control in Laboratories

The EPD’s laboratories (for air, water sciences and microbiology) are operated in a manner that minimises their impact on the environment. Regular maintenance and monitoring programmes are in place to ensure full compliance with legal requirements and statutory licence conditions. In 2004, our monitoring indicated full compliance for effluent discharges from sinks and emissions from fume cupboards.

Further details of pollution control in laboratories – covering legal measures, air pollution, water pollution, monitoring, hazardous waste, emergencies and audits – are provided below.

Legal measures
All necessary licences and permits under the law (e.g. Water Pollution Control Ordinance, Waste Disposal Ordinance) have been 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 properly treated as required to avoid excessive emissions to 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.

Hazardous waste
Chemical waste is properly treated and disposed of by the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre 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 Southeast New Territories 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 audits as required by the EPD's Environment, Safety and Health Unit.

Pollution Control at Other Facilities

Indoor air quality
The Government introduced an Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme for Offices and Public Places in September 2003. The first premises to receive an Excellent Class IAQ Certificate was the EPD's Indoor Air Quality Information Centre, which renewed its certification in 2004. Another five EPD premises, including Southorn Centre, Revenue Tower, Tsuen Wan Government Offices, the Wanchai Environmental Resource Centre and the Fanling Environmental Resource Centre, renewed their Good Class IAQ Certificates in late December 2004 and early January 2005. Three other EPD premises – the Island West Refuse Transfer Station Administration Building, the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre Administration Building and our office at the Shatin Government Offices – received their first Good Class IAQ certification in 2004. The goal is to have all EPD premises certified and work is proceeding to certify the remaining sites.

The IAQ Information Centre at the Hong Kong Productivity Council is one of six buildings/premises that have been certified with the "Excellent Class".

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 EPD’s 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 RTSs due to power failure and road blockages arising from traffic accidents, congestion, chemical waste spills, etc. At the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre, six emergency drills were carried out in 2004. The EPD also requires the CWTC contractor to conduct at least one drill for marine incidents every year. No incidents were reported in EPD laboratories or other facilities in 2004.