THE ENVIRONMENT
operation in June 1997. When SSDS stage I is completed, the system will intercept some 70 per cent of the sewage that used to flow into Victoria Harbour.
Stage II comprises upgrading the treatment system and a deep tunnel from Stonecutters Island to discharge the treated effluent in oceanic waters to the south of Hong Kong. An EIA study to identify the best combination of treatment level and outfall location started in May 1996. It is scheduled for completion in mid-1999.
Stage III/IV will collect sewage from the north and south-western part of Hong Kong Island and transfer the treated effluent to the stage II system. A feasibility study to find the best tunnel route should be completed by February 1999.
Sewage charges
All water users who discharge their sewage to public sewers pay a basic sewage charge. In addition, trades and industries whose effluent strength exceeds that of domestic sewage also pay a trade effluent surcharge. The charges cover only operation and maintenance costs and the government continues to provide funds for capital costs from its capital works reserve fund. Household sewage charges are therefore modest at a prescribed rate of $1.20 per cubic metre of water consumed with an exemption of the first 12 cubic metres of water consumption in a four-month billing period. A review of the trade effluent surcharge (TES) scheme has confirmed the basic features of the scheme and also recommended a series of changes. Action is being taken to put them into effect.
Waste Reduction
In November 1998, the government launched the 10-year Waste Reduction Framework Plan. This was a response to the rapid growth in the amount of waste being dumped in the landfills, leading to a significant reduction in their expected lifespan. Given the shortage of land in Hong Kong and the keen competition for any available space it will be difficult to find sites for any new landfills. The plan aims to reduce the amount of waste produced, to encourage waste recycling and re-use, to promote greater efficiency and economy in the management of waste, and to prolong the usable life of Hong Kong's landfills.
Landfills
All municipal solid waste is deposited at three large modern strategic landfills in the New Territories. Specialist waste management contractors operate these landfills to high environmental standards.
Rapid development in Hong Kong over the past decade has contributed to a dramatic increase in the amount of construction and demolition (C&D) material for disposal. Some 32 000 tonnes of C&D material were generated every day during 1998. About 6 700 tonnes out of the total were dumped at landfills every day. Since much of the C&D material could be reused, contractors are encouraged to segregate and sort it at source. Inert C&D material suitable for reclamation purposes should be delivered to public filling areas or public fill barging points. Only putrescible material unsuitable for reclamation purposes should be sent to the landfills.
Hong Kong has 13 old landfills, none of which had adequate environmental protection measures before closing. Landfill gas and liquid leachate, the natural decay products of organic waste, are continuously released and do great harm to the
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