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refuse each day. This transfer station will be built to the highest environmental standards and waste will be conveyed to landfill in sealed containers.

Planning began on a second transfer station to be located on Hong Kong Island. When this station is completed in 1992, the Kennedy Town Incinerator which continues to be an environmental nuisance, despite the installation of electrostatic precipitators, will be closed. Chemical wastes are a significant source of pollution in Hong Kong. Over 100 000 tonnes of chemical waste were produced in 1988 and discharged to the environment via the sewerage and surface water drainage system. It is intended to control the problem by making regulations under the Waste Disposal Ordinance which will allow the EPD to exercise 'cradle-to-grave' control over these often dangerous and toxic substances. To facilitate proper disposal of these wastes, a centralised chemical waste treatment centre will be constructed on Tsing Yi Island. Final preparations were made during the year to call tenders from specialist international companies, expert in the treatment of chemical wastes, for the design, construction and operation of the plant, which should be commissioned in 1991.

To complement the government's efforts in stepping up regulatory control of the disposal of chemical waste, a codisposal facility is planned at the new Junk Bay Landfill whereby chemical wastes which do not require prior treatment will be codisposed with municipal refuse. The codisposal facility at Junk Bay is also expected to be fully commissioned in 1990, to coincide with the implementation of regulatory controls. Meanwhile, interim arrangements are in place which allow for the codisposal of chemical wastes at landfills. Under these arrangements persons in possession of chemical wastes inform the EPD, which then issues a permit containing instructions as to the method of disposal.

One of Hong Kong's most serious waste disposal problems is caused by livestock keeping, the wastes from which are a major cause of pollution in rivers and streams throughout the New Territories. In Hong Kong, there are about 500 000 pigs and 7 000 000 chickens on almost 6 000 farms. They generate some 2 000 tonnes of raw manure a day. Most of the excreta is hosed untreated into rivers and streams. In 1982, under the Clean Hong Kong Campaign, a pilot livestock waste collection service was set up in Pat Heung, Yuen Long, Pai Min Kok and Sai Kung areas. This scheme was expanded in 1987 to cover a total of 266 farms, collecting about 11 tonnes of solid dung each day from 53 collection points. The collected waste is delivered to the Ngau Tam Mei Composting Plant.

A pilot collection service was also set up in the Lam Tsuen River Valley in advance of the first phase of the livestock waste control programme, and the collection service for the whole area began in July 1987. It covers some 80 farms with 10 collection points. During 1988, nearly 600 tonnes of compost was produced. The compost was sold to the public or used by government departments, for landscaping or market gardening.

A collection service for Tolo Harbour and the Tolo Channel area, Tiu Yu Wan and environs and Mui Wo environs has been in operation since late December 1987, six months before the implementation of controls on June 24, 1988. A total of 313 farms with 91 collection points are covered by the service. Some 300 collection points serving about 2 500 farms in the remainder of the Phase One Control Areas have been identified to enable livestock farmers to send out their waste for disposal. Plans are in hand to set up regional consolidation sites to treat livestock waste properly prior to final disposal.

Refuse floating in the sea, although representing a very small proportion of the total waste arising, is a disproportionately conspicuous pollution problem. The Marine Depart- ment is responsible for harbour cleansing and operates a fleet of one harbour sweeper and six Water Witches that collect an average of 14 tonnes of floating refuse per day. In addition, the department collects about four tonnes of refuse each day from ocean going