THE ENVIRONMENT
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The environs of the Victoria Harbour Water Control Zone Phase I and the Western Buffer Water Control Zone contain the highest concentration of electroplaters, printed circuit board manufacturers, and bleaching and dyeing factories. Together, they generate over 450 000 cubic metres of industrial effluent daily, mostly untreated. Control efforts are now focussed on these industries to reduce the pollutants, in particular the toxic metals and alkaline waste, which greatly affect the water quality of the Rambler Channel, Kwun Tong typhoon shelter and adjacent waters.
All trade effluent discharged into a water control zone must be covered by a licence which will specify the maximum amount of pollutants.
The Water Pollution Control (Sewerage) Regulation was enacted in June to ensure connections to public sewerage by private property owners and proper operation of private waste water treatment facilities, with a view to further improving the territory's water quality.
In 1994, Environmental Protection Department inspectors carried out 9 310 inspections on effluent-producing premises. They took more than 6 800 effluent samples and conducted over 25 710 laboratory tests.
About 1 300 written warnings were issued and 215 prosecutions instituted against the non-complying dischargers.
These control measures have achieved a reduction of 10 360 kilogrammes of organic pollutants per day.
- - The problem of waste water from industrial, commercial and institutional premises being discharged into storm water drains has also been alleviated. More than 300 expedient connections have been rectified. As a result, a total of 23 150 cubic metres per day of polluted effluent has been diverted to the foul sewerage system, which is equivalent to a reduction of a pollution load from over 148 920 people. Over two million tonnes of sewage and industrial waste water are generated daily in Hong Kong, of which about 10 per cent receive proper treatment, 40 per cent receive partial treatment and the remaining receive no treatment whatsoever.
Over 70 per cent of private sewage treatment plants are now operating satisfactorily and, as a result, the water quality of many popular bathing beaches has improved in areas such as Hong Kong Island South and Sai Kung. Further improvement in water quality can be expected after sewer upgrading and improvement works are commissioned in phases from 1994 onwards.
As a whole, the enforcement of the Water Pollution Control Ordinance has achieved an average of about 90 per cent of the targeted pollution reduction.
The Waste Disposal Ordinance is complementary to the Water Pollution Control Ordinance in controlling industrial pollution. It provides the statutory framework for the management of all solid and semi-solid waste in Hong Kong.
The Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation controls all chemical waste from industry, from the point of production to point of disposal. Chemical waste producers must register with the Environmental Protection Department. They must pack, label and temporarily store their chemical waste in a safe and proper manner before its delivery to licensed facilities for treatment and disposal. Only facilities capable of treating, recycling or disposing of chemical waste in an environmentally acceptable manner can obtain a licence. Licensing control also applies to the collection and transportation of chemical waste. The