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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
tenancy agreements prohibit stall-lessees from using the aforesaid shopping bags which are detrimental to the environment?
(c) Has the Council currently made any effort to promote education on environmental protection? Have the effects of these publicity and educational measures, such as encouraging the public to bring their own shopping bags for shopping in markets ever been evaluated?
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese):--Mr. Chairman, this question concerns the Council's policy in respect of five different aspects of environmental protection.
2. The first part asks whether the Department separates waste matter during the collection process for recycling and other waste reduction purposes. The Urban Council is the collection authority under the Waste Disposal Ordinance and is allocated with the responsibility and resources for this purpose only. As such, the Department does not normally conduct waste separation as part of the Council's waste collection responsibility. Separation would require substantial additional resources in terms of manpower, number and scale of Refuse Collection Points (RCPs), and different configuration and increased number of Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCVs). In any event, the Government has not established any recycling infrastructure and general waste separation would not be meaningful without Central Government having segregated recycling facilities to which domestic waste could be separately delivered by Council's RCVs.
3. Nevertheless, substantial amounts of recyclable material such as metals etc., do get removed from the waste streams at various stages of the waste management process. A recent survey carried out by the Administration indicated that Hong Kong's current recovery and recycling systems account for about 8% and 53% of the waste generated by domestic and commercial/industrial premises respectively.
The second part asks whether the Council has adopted the 'polluters pay' principle while implementing the existing policy of waste collection. It is the Council's statutory duty to collect all domestic waste. The 'polluters pay' principle cannot really be applied to domestic and street waste. The view is also taken that collection of domestic and street waste are already being funded directly and indirectly by the public through rates. Indeed, the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands has recently confirmed that there is no intention to charge Council for disposing of domestic waste deposited by Council's RCVs at landfills.
The third part of the question is about the collection and disposal of clinical waste from hospitals and private clinics. The Department is collecting a limited amount of clinical waste from hospitals of the Hospital Authority and government clinics. This service is provided for public health reasons under a set of guidelines to safeguard the safety of operational staff and to ensure that
£185
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