65
Operational hours of South East NT landfill
Following is a question by the Hon Tam Yiu-chung and a written reply by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands, Mr Bowen Leung, in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Question:
Will the Government inform this Council whether it will, in response to the request of private waste collectors, postpone the closing time of the South East New Territories landfill from 10 pm to 2 am and designate an area near the landfill as a temporary parking place for refuse collection vehicles, so as to improve the environment?
Answer:
Mr President,
The South East New Territories (SENT) landfill is open for 15 hours a day, from 8 am to 11 pm. Of the 1,500 waste collection vehicles that visit the SENT- landfill daily, only 6% arrive between 9 pm to 11 pm. These operational characteristics do not indicate a need, at present, to extend the opening hours to 2 am.
Apart from the level of demand, there are other issues which need to be considered before extending the operational hours of landfills, for example, the environmental impact of refuse collection vehicles travelling through populated areas after mid-night, additional traffic noise and other nuisances to local residents.
Parking spaces for vehicles in the Tseung Kwan O area are already reasonably well provided for by the existing 8 lots under short term tenancy (STT) for mixed vehicle parking. Another lot will be available by the end of 1995, thereby bringing the total amount of parking space to over 90,000 square metres. At present, there are no other areas near the SENT landfill which can be used as a temporary parking place for refuse collection vehicles. However the Administration will continue to consider the need for, and provision of, additional STT space for vehicle parking if suitable land in the area becomes available.
End/Wednesday, July 12, 1995
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