XN000022-1996-04-03 — Page 4

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Wide-ranging recommendations in Waste Reduction Study

The Legislative Council Environmental Affairs Panel was briefed by the Government today (Wednesday) on the consultants' findings and recommendations in the Waste Reduction Study which reviews the municipal waste-related activities in Hong Kong and develops a long-term plan to reduce municipal waste.

The main recommendations made in the study, which was commissioned by the Environmental Protection Department, are:

(1) Producer responsibility schemes be set up to require manufacturers and importers of particular product groups to take responsibility for the management of the wastes generated from their products.

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

Sectoral schemes be organised to encourage different establishments in a sector to adopt similar waste reduction measures.

A wastewise scheme be set up jointly be industry and Government to facilitate and to monitor waste reduction initiatives adopted by participating companies.

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Potential for building incinerators to modern standards with energy recovery device known as Waste Fired Power Generation (WFPG) should be assessed in detail. If proved appropriate, WFPG plants which could reduce waste by 90 per cent in volume and by 70 per cent in weight should be constructed.

A recycling scheme be set up by the Government with funding contributions from the private sector to encourage recovery of recyclable wastes. The scheme will involve payment to organisations, such as companies engaged in waste collection/recycling operations.

Green labelling schemes be set up to help consumers select products with waste reduction implications.

Building regulations be amended to encourage the provision of dedicated areas in new buildings for handling waste recycling. Such areas should be exempted from gross floor area calculations for computing plot ratio.