Environmental Compliance

Mission

To serve the community through enforcing pollution control laws to safeguard people's health and welfare.

Pollution Control At Source

Clinical Waste Management

Environmental compliance work in Hong Kong is two-pronged. On the one hand, we provide the backbone to new anti-pollution laws and controls. We implement and enforce these measures and provide the “stick” behind the “carrot” of our supportive partnership initiatives with operators (see Customer Service and Partnerships for further details). An example of this kind of work was the introduction of clinical waste controls in 2011.

The other prong of our compliance work involves rectifying long-standing, community-based pollution problems through environmental improvement and enforcement measures. This can take some time to achieve. For example, in 2011 we made welcome progress in a two-decades-long effort to improve water quality and odour problems in the Tuen Mun River. That persistence is a hallmark of the strength of our commitment to environmental compliance.

Tuen Mun River and the Tuen Mun township. Tuen Mun River and the Tuen Mun township.

Controlling Clinical Waste

Private clinics(left) and clinical waste commonly encountered (right).

Private clinics(left) and clinical waste commonly encountered (right).

Clinical waste is segregated, properly packaged and labelled (left) for transportation (center) and disposal at CWTC (right).

Clinical waste is segregated, properly packaged and labelled (left) for transportation (center) and disposal at CWTC (right).

The movement of clinical wastes is monitored by a “trip ticket” system.

The movement of clinical wastes is monitored by a “trip ticket” system.

Clinical waste is a concern both for the environment and public health and safety. Every year more than 2 000 tonnes of used or contaminated sharps (such as needles), unsterilised laboratory waste, human and animal tissues, infectious materials and dressings are produced from healthcare activities requiring disposal.

In raising healthcare standard and minimizing risk to public health, the Government introduced the Clinical Waste Control Scheme in August 2011, which is backed up by legislative controls regulating the handling, collection and disposal of the waste.

Under the scheme, clinical waste should be properly segregated, packaged, sealed, stored, collected and treated, There are about 8 000 clinical waste producers including big operators such as hospitals, government clinics and maternity homes, and small ones such as private medical and dental clinics (including Chinese medicine practitioners), medical and research laboratories, nursing homes and veterinary clinics. About 5 500 waste consignments are produced each month.

Producers of clinical waste are required to arrange licensed collectors to collect and transport their waste to the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC) for centralised disposal. Under specified conditions, healthcare professionals can also directly deliver a small quantity of clinical waste to CWTC for disposal. A “clinical waste trip ticket” system is used to monitor the movement of waste from the source to the disposal facility. Clinical Waste is transported in colour-coded and standardised transit skips on vehicles or marine vessels that are tracked realtime by GPS.

The CWTC has been modified to treat 15 tonnes of clinical waste per day, which are subject to high temperature incineration. Steps have been taken to reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides, sulphur dioxide and metals, and to meet current EU emission standards. Users of the facility would pay to have their waste treated there, at a rate of about $2.7 per kilogramme of waste.

In reaching out to healthcare providers and waste collectors, EPD held 36 sessions of talk in 2011 to promulgate proper practices and raise awareness about the control scheme. The combination of measures are also enforced through legislation that involves maximum fines of $50,000 to $200,000 upon conviction. The goal is to minimise public risk and elevate the quality of life in Hong Kong through excellent management of clinical waste.

EPD published two Codes of Practice to help the public to comply with the requirements of the Clinical Waste Control Scheme. EPD published two Codes of Practice to help the public to comply with the requirements of the Clinical Waste Control Scheme.

River Dance

Tuen Mun river in the 1990s.

Tuen Mun river in the 1990s.

EPD field officers inspect storm manholes to trace water pollution sources in Tuen Mun.

EPD field officers inspect storm manholes to trace water pollution sources in Tuen Mun.

The Tuen Mun River is a man-made channel that for years had man-made problems. The 4-kilometre river was created in the 1970s for flood control when the land to make Tuen Mun new town was reclaimed from the sea. About 500 000 people live along its catchment and over the years they dumped human, industrial and livestock waste into the river.

By the early 1990s the river was so heavily polluted that it supported almost no aquatic life. Dissolved oxygen (DO) in particular was extremely low, only 1-2mg/L. It was around this time that a series of measures started being implemented that improved the water quality, although there were still lingering problems.

Livestock waste controls were phased in over several years during the 1990s, the Water Pollution Control Ordinance began being applied in the area in 1992 to control industrial and other waste, and work was undertaken to rectify major expedient connections and sewerage problems. New dry weather flow interceptors were built to divert waste water away from the river, and new sewer mains started being built to previously unsewered villages.

All of these measures helped to improve DO levels and bring back life to the river, such as fish and egrets. However, the river was still smelly, creating a nuisance for residents. In 2007 the Tuen Mun River Beautification Scheme was announced, with odour control being one of the key objectives.

Improvements at Choi Yee Bridge Outfall

Before: A damaged sewer causing pollution discharges to the storm drain outfall at Choi Yee Bridge. After: The damaged sewer repaired and pollution discharges stopped.

Before: A damaged sewer causing pollution discharges to the storm drain outfall at Choi Yee Bridge.

After: The damaged sewer repaired and pollution discharges stopped.

Tuen Mun River in the 2010s and its water quality monitoring results.

Tuen Mun River in the 2010s and its water quality monitoring results.

Enlarge Water quality monitoring results of Tuen Mun River.See Data Water quality monitoring results of Tuen Mun River.

Since then, contaminated sediments have been dredged from the riverbed, the Ho Pong Street Sewerage Pumping Station has been upgraded, and a new enforcement exercise was launched by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) to trace pollution sources. EPD staff inspected 4 000 storm manholes in 2010-11 and identified 180 pollution sources, 70 per cent of which were rectified by the end of 2011. One success in particular was the identification of a damaged sewer within an industrial building, which was causing major pollution discharges to the storm drain outfall at Choi Yee Bridge.

The result of these efforts has been significant improvement to the environment of the Tuen Mun River. Even more aquatic life has been observed in the area and the water quality at the lower reaches achieved an “excellent” grading for the first time. Significantly, the E.coli level has fallen by half to 1 500 counts per 100 mL.

The work in Tuen Mun has not only involved tracing pollution. The EPD has collaborated with the Tuen Mun District Council to raise awareness, organise seminars and disseminate pamphlets and posters in the local community – every member of which ultimately benefits from the efforts to provide a cleaner, more pleasant river for residents and wildlife.

EPD representatives participate in a seminar organised by the Tuen Mun District Council.

EPD representatives participate in a seminar organised by the Tuen Mun District Council.

Looking Ahead

  • Work with providers of outreach community services to facilitate compliance with clinical waste controls, including training their frontline staff on handling clinical waste.
  • Continue a rolling programme of awareness and education activities to promote the clinical waste control scheme to healthcare personnel and workers in the cleansing and recycling trades.

Topical Issues