A
33.
Two shipments, totalling about 480 tonnes were intercepted in 1996. About 80 tonnes of this waste was dumped in Hong Kong's landfills before detection. The remaining 400 tonnes have been returned to the United States. Another case involved plastic waste mixed with household waste from the United States intending to be recycled in China. This was rejected by the Fuzhou authorities in July 1996. The shipment was subsequently stranded in Hong Kong for some time before being returned to the United States. There was no evidence that any attempt had been made to dump this waste in Hong Kong. We are not aware of any other cases in the past three years.
Under the Waste Disposal Ordinance, it is an offence to import waste into Hong Kong for disposal unless prior approval has been obtained from the Director of Environmental Protection. Investigations concerning the illegal disposal of medical and household waste mentioned above are continuing. We will prosecute offenders whenever sufficient evidence is available.
To prevent further incidents of illegal disposal, the Environmental Protection Department will continue to monitor the situation closely and step up enforcement measures at the landfills. We have also reminded shipping companies that they may not dispose of imported waste in Hong Kong and that any unclaimed waste shipment must be returned to the sender in the country of origin. At the same time, we will continue to liaise with overseas authorities to ensure proper control of transboundary movements of wastes.
End
Cross-border shuttle bus services
Following is a question by the Hon Wong Wai-yin and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport, Mr Gordon Siu, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
More than a year has elapsed since the completion of the Lok Ma Chau Public Transport Interchange, but the cross-border shuttle bus service at the Interchange has yet to come into operation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
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