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"Once we have established the need, we will make every effort to maintain the highest standard of control, both in terms of enforcement and legislation, as from 1 July 1997.
"We know what the result will be if we start compromising our standards or relaxing our strict adherence to the law," he added.
End
Stranded waste to leave Hong Kong
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) announced today (Thursday) that 50 containers of municipal and soiled plastic waste stranded in Hong Kong are scheduled to return to the Netherlands on Monday (January 27).
"The carrier who brought the waste, around 700 tonnes in weight, into Hong Kong will undertake the ship back operation," Principal Environmental Protection Officer (Waste and Water Management) of the EPD, Dr Ellen Chan, said.
She pointed out that the waste had been stored in the original containers and none of it was disposed of in Hong Kong.
"The German and Dutch authorities have agreed to the return of the waste to Rotterdam, the Netherlands. They will continue to sort out the responsibilities and disposal arrangement of the waste in Europe," she added.
The waste, believed to be mostly of German origin, was shipped from the Netherlands in three separate shipments and was left unclaimed since its arrival in Hong Kong in April last year.
"After learning of the incident in late October 1996, the EPD has been liaising closely with the relevant authorities in Europe.
"As these shipments were despatched to Hong Kong without any prior notification or consent, they were considered to be 'illegal traffic' as defined under the Basel Convention and therefore must be returned to the country of export/origin as soon as possible," Dr Chan explained.
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