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The transport industry has a variety of impacts on the environment, in particular
noise and air pollution. The EPD has been working with operators in all
areas of the industry to encourage them to reduce their impacts. Our programme
to control motor vehicle emissions has received the most attention. We are
also working in partnership with operators to address a number of other
concerns, including transport noise, vehicle tyre disposal, recovery of
waste from the airport and public transport venues, pollution from vehicle
repair workshops, and fumes from petrol-filling stations.
Motor Vehicle Emission Control Programmes
Diesel vehicle maintenance workshops
jointly organised by EPD, HKPC and VTC
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Working together with stakeholders has been
a guiding principle of the EPD's motor vehicle emission control programmes.
We consult concerned parties on new initiatives or concerns as soon
as possible. We also work with them to develop practical solutions
to air pollution from vehicles, either through committees or on an
adhoc basis. The various committees have a wide membership between
them. They include representatives from the EPD, motor vehicle and
related industries, other Government departments, academia, and the
representative of the transport trades in the Legislative Council.
The committees have steered trials of LPG taxis, alternative
fuel light buses, diesel oxidation catalysts and biodiesel.
The EPD has also worked with concerned parties to reduce emissions
through other measures. The dynamometer test has been introduced.
Emission requirements for newly registered vehicles have been tightened.
The best motor vehicle fuels that can be made available on a mass
scale have been introduced. And advanced emission control devices
have been tested. |
Noise
from Railways, Roads and the Airport
The EPD holds regular liaison meetings with
the Mass Transit Railway Corporation, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation,
the Highways Department, the Civil Aviation Department and the Airport
Authority of Hong Kong to address noise problems arising from their
operations, maintenance and construction activities.
The railway companies have embarked on noise
abatement programmes. They have carried out regular rail and wheel
grinding, installed wheel dampers, replaced motor alternators with
quieter alternative and erected track-side barriers at locations close
to residential areas. The EPD will continue to explore new advances
in quieter railway operations with the railway companies.
The EPD and the Highways Department are jointly studying low-noise
road surface materials that would be suitable for Hong Kong. They
have published guidelines on noise barrier design which address the
aesthetic and landscape considerations as well as structural and noise
performance.
The Civil Aviation Department has gradually increased the number of
terminals which monitor flight noise at strategic locations. There
are now 16 noise terminals in the Noise and Flight Track Monitoring
Network. The Airport Authority Hong Kong has also adopted noise abatement
procedures for take-off and landing and is managing flight tracks
to minimise the noise impacts from aircrafts.
The EPD also provides advice and assistance on reducing transport
noise. We organise and participate in seminars. We also publish guidelines,
booklets, practice notes and leaflets for the various industries,
to help them follow noise control requirements and inform their staff
on how to do so. |
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Before and after the installation of
noise enclosure near Tai Po Market
Grinding of rail in progress
Locations of aircraft noise monitoring
stations |
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Waste from Public Transport Companies and the Airport
Waste separation bins installed in public
transport sector.
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A working group on waste reduction was set
up in April 2000 with members from the EPD, Mass Transit Railway Corporation
(MTRC), KCRC-East Rail and Light Rail Transit, Hong Kong Tramways,
Peak Tramways, Star Ferry, New World First Ferry and Shun Tak Holdings.
As a result, waste separation bins are being set up in most public
transport stations around Hong Kong, as part of an effort to implement
green practices in public transport companies.
The bins are in place at all piers of Star Ferry and New World Ferry
and at all 13 KCRC-East Rail stations. Bins for waste paper have also
been established in KCRC-Light Rail stations including Tuen Mun Ferry
Pier Terminus, Tuen Mun Center Station, Siu Hong Station and Yuen
Long Terminus, as well as 41 MTRC stations. Public transport companies
are also being advised through the working group on how to reduce
and recover waste in their offices.
The Airport Authority has set up a waste recycling programme and the
EPD is helping it to extend this programme to all of its business
partners. The programme involves the collection of waste paper, aluminium
cans and toner cartridges for recycling. In the first half of 2002,
an average 51.8 tonnes of waste paper was collected each month from
the Authority's premises and on-site Government departments, along
with 587 kilogrammes of aluminium cans and 60 toner cartridges. |
Assessing
the Impacts from Transport
The EPD maintains regular links with transport operators and Government
departments related to transport. This enables us to discuss any major
environmental issues arising from new or existing projects, and to
give advice.
Issues are also addressed through the environmental impact assessment
process, which is well entrenched in Hong Kong through the EIA Ordinance.
Impacts are identified and addressed at an early stage and information
is made public. A Cyber
Help Bench was launched in January 2002 to consolidate all EIAO
information in a single page and make it easier for the public to
get information. The site also includes good examples and guidance
notes, as well as the entire Ordinance, the Technical Memorandum on
EIA Process and all approved EIA reports and Permits. |
ISO
14001 EMS and Environmental Performance Reporting
The EPD has been encouraging the transportation sector, and all private
organisations, to improve their environmental performance since 1994.
A major focus of these efforts is the adoption of the ISO 14001 environmental
management system and environmental reporting. These tools have been
promoted by the EPD over the years through seminars and workshops
and through self-help guidebooks (available at our
website).
By December 2008, 41 ISO 14001 certificates had been issued to 37 transportation companies (including air, land and marine transport), including a leading bus company and 2 major railway corporations. Hong Kong companies as a whole have been issued with 615 certificates.
A list of certified organisations is posted on the EPD's website.
The information on transport companies includes details of why they
implemented ISO 14001 and what benefits they gained. The aim is to
encourage others in the industry to get certified.
On environmental reporting, four transport companies have produced
reports of their performance. These include two local railway corporations,
a bus company and a local airline.
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Honorable guests were officiating the opening ceremony.
Honorable guests were testing a LPG taxi.
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Controlling Pollution from Vehicle Repair Workshops
The EPD collaborated with the Hong Kong Vehicle Repair Merchants Association (HKVRMA) and the Environmental Vehicle Repairers Association (EVRA) in implementing a partnership programme* in late 2000 and September 2002 respectively. The programme aims to enhance environmental awareness of the trade practitioners, to promote the use of environmental- friendly technologies and practices so as to prevent pollution.
When the EPD receives a complaint about pollution against a workshop that had joined the collaboration scheme, the Association is informed and sends out an "ambassador" to help resolve the problem. The EPD is kept fully briefed on the situation. This arrangement has contributed to a general improvement in compliance and the enhancement of environmental awareness of the operators.
Currently, there are 64 environmental ambassadors and more than 370 garages have joined the collaboration programme.
To promote environmental awareness and good practices, the EPD publishes a series of compliance assistance materials* (e.g. guidelines, promotion leaflets, posters and chemical waste label) and distributes them to the practitioners of the vehicle repair trade for their reference and use.
In collaboration with the trade associations and professional bodies, the EPD regularly organizes seminars and workshops* for the trade practitioners on related topics including requirements of the environmental protection legislation, good management practices, pollution control and abatement measures and technologies such as activated carbon adsorption systems to reduce air pollution, environmental-friendly paint spraying technologies and the use of water-based paints in paint spraying.
In July 2004, the EPD established a Compliance Assistance Office (renamed as Business Facilitation Office in April 2005) to strengthen the partnership programme with trades and industries. The Business Facilitation Office is dedicated to provide support to targeted trades and industries to facilitate compliance with environmental requirements and adoption of green practices.
To provide an additional platform to disseminate relevant information to the VRW trade practitioners as well as to other interested parties, a Green Garage website* was developed and launched in January 2005. Updated environmental information can be browsed through the internet.
In addition to the Green Garage Website, a Compliance Assistance Centre service (Hotline telephone number: 2838 3111) has been launched in September 2006 to provide a comprehensive one-stop source of information to the targeted trades, and to advise on the environmental standards and legislation, and the reference information available to comply with the requirements.
*in Chinese version only
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Environmental Ambassadors of
the Partnership Programme
Ambassadors are promoting environmental
compliance to a vehicle repair workshop owner
Environmental guidebook for vehicle repairing workshops
Environmental forum with the trade practitioners |
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Recycling Vehicle Tyres
A producer responsibility scheme is being investigated for used vehicle tyres. Manufacturers would take responsibility for collecting used
or end-of-life tyres for recycling or other treatment. The EPD has
held meetings and a brainstorming session with the industry, which
is now gathering views from individual stakeholders.
Recovering Vapour From Filling Stations
The EPD and oil companies formed a joint study team to investigate ways of controlling the petrol vapours emitted when vehicles are being refuelled. The results have been used to help formulate a control plan.
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