ENG-2012 — Page 299

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The Environment

IWMF and an Outline Zoning Plan have been completed. The preparatory work is on-going for the first phase of IWMF at an artificial island near Shek Kwu Chau. In addition, Hong Kong also plans to develop Organic Waste Treatment Facilities (OWTF) that would adopt biological treatment technologies to turn source-separated organic waste such as food waste into biogas and compost. The first phase of the OWTF will be developed at Siu Ho Wan, North Lantau. However, even with such facilities, waste reduction at source is still necessary and the residual waste will still need to be disposed of at landfills.

In order to deal with the ever-increasing sewage sludge generated from the sewage treatment works, the design and construction of a dedicated Sludge Treatment Facility at Tsang Tsui near Nim Wan, Tuen Mun is under way and aims to start operation in late 2013. It will adopt advanced incineration technology and has a treatment capacity of 2,000 tonnes per day. The facility will be equipped with a waste-to-energy installation and any surplus electricity generated from sludge incineration will be exported to the public power grid.

Import and Export of Waste

Import and export of waste are regulated by a permit system under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO). The controls are in line with the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, which adopts a prior informed consent procedure for shipments of controlled waste. The WDO incorporates the Basel Ban, which prohibits the export of hazardous waste from developed countries to developing countries.

The EPD participates in international programmes deterring illegal waste shipments. It has established intelligence networks with many overseas control authorities and taken part in joint enforcement exercises. Since 2000, the mainland of China and the HKSAR have collaborated under a formal agreement to control movements of hazardous waste between the two areas. Joint enforcement action is taken regularly by the HKSAR and the Mainland control authorities. to curb waste smuggling activities across the border.

Marine Refuse

The Marine Department deploys a fleet of about 70 contractors' vessels to collect marine refuse and refuse from vessels. In 2012, 11,000 tonnes of marine refuse and 4,350 tonnes of refuse from vessels were collected. In addition to law enforcement, the Government also uses publicity and education to tackle the marine refuse problem.

In November 2012, the Government set up an inter-departmental working group on Clean Shorelines to identify the sources of marine refuse, review the existing measures, formulate strategic policies to prevent and reduce marine refuse, and organise public engagement sessions to promote public awareness of keeping our shorelines clean.

Marine Dumping

The EPD maintains strict control over marine dumping operations via a permit system under the Dumping at Sea Ordinance. These operations follow the requirements of the London Convention and the 1996 Protocol to which China is a Contracting Party. All marine dumping vessels operating under permits issued by EPD have to be equipped with an automatic self-

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