ENG-1982 — Page 312

THE ENVIRONMENT

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towns of Sha Tin, Tai Po and Tuen Mun will each have a sewage treatment works capable of matching the quality of the effluent to the pollution absorption capacity of the surrounding waters. And in areas where bathing and recreation are important, sewage will be treated to a standard necessary to protect public health. At Repulse Bay, for example, the final effluent from the sewage treatment works is treated with chlorine to kill bacteria and other organisms.

Under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, water control zones and water quality objectives are being established where necessary to enable the control authorities the Director of Engineering Development and the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries - to implement appropriate measures over discharges which will maintain the water quality.

As Hong Kong is also party to a number of international maritime conventions concerned with oil and other forms of pollution, the Pollution Control Unit of the Marine Department is responsible for dealing with offshore oil pollution, the collection of floating refuse, control of all marine dumping activities, and surveillance of all aspects of oil transfer to and from ships. In an effort to detect and prevent any spillages, the unit inspects tankers discharging fuel oil at the various terminals. Since the unit's establishment, many pollution offenders have been successfully prosecuted. The maximum penalty, on conviction, is a fine of $200,000 and costs incurred in clearing or dispersing oil pollution are recoverable from offenders.

To combat oil pollution, the unit has a purpose-built vessel equipped with pollution control facilities, a shallow draught workboat, stocks of low toxicity chemical dispersants, more than 2 400 metres of large and medium-sized oil containment booms, polyurethane absorbents and an oil skimmer. A substantial inventory of oil pollution equipment within the government and oil companies can be deployed at short notice in the event of an emergency.

Floating refuse is a perennial problem and, during the year, some 7 485 tonnes of floating refuse were collected from the harbour, including domestic refuse from ocean- going vessels in port. The urban scavenging services are now completely mechanised, with eight mechanised refuse collection vessels operating principally in Victoria and Aberdeen harbours. A manual scavenging unit commenced operation at Cheung Chau Island in June, and it is hoped to begin a similar service at Tuen Mun in April 1983.

In an attempt to keep typhoon shelters cleaner, boat to boat domestic refuse collection services had been started on an experimental basis at Tuen Mun, Yau Ma Tei, Causeway Bay, Aldrich Bay and Aberdeen in late December 1981. The experiment was judged a success and from May 1982 the service was continued on a permanent basis. On average, 35 tonnes of bagged refuse were collected each week from the five shelters.

Waste Disposal

The enactment of the Waste Disposal Ordinance in 1980 provided the Directors of Engineering Development, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Urban Services with statutory powers over waste collection and disposal.

Of the 2.4 million tonnes of solid waste generated in the territory during the year, about 65 per cent was disposed of at controlled tips. It is expected that greater quantities of waste will be disposed of by this method in the future and, in order to make the best use of land formed in this manner, a full land use environmental and operational study is being carried out on the sites.

Incineration handled some 809 500 tonnes of waste disposal over the year and potential new sites in the western New Territories are being subjected to full economic, environmental