ENG-2018 — Page 302

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The Environment

average of 38.5 tonnes of chemical waste and 7.1 tonnes of clinical waste in 2018. Waste producers using its services pay part of the treatment cost.

The government's policy is to return low-level radioactive waste to the original suppliers if possible, hence only some of the waste is transferred for long-term storage to the Low-level Radioactive Waste Storage Facility at Siu A Chau, an uninhabited island south-west of Lantau. This facility is purpose-built to meet stringent international standards for the safe storage of low-level radioactive waste.

T-Park, a sludge treatment facility at Tsang Tsui, Tuen Mun, employs an advanced treatment process to treat up to 2,000 tonnes per day of sewage sludge generated from sewage treatment works. It has waste-to-energy facilities to convert the incineration heat to electricity and export the surplus electricity generated to the public power grid. The plant treated 386,208 tonnes of sewage sludge and exported 2.5 million kWh of electricity in 2017. Its premises, ingeniously designed for environmental education and recreation, attracted 79,185 visitors. in 2018.

Construction Waste

A disposal charging scheme provides economic incentives to reduce construction waste, recover and reuse inert materials, and reduce their disposal at landfills. An annual average of 22.6 million tonnes of overall construction waste was generated from 2013 to 2017. The reuse rate was 92 per cent in 2017, having remained at above 90 per cent in recent years.

Marine Refuse

Clearing marine refuse, including refuse floating in the sea and being washed ashore, is carried out by a few government departments, including the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department; Food and Environmental Hygiene Department; and Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The Marine Department deploys about 80 vessels to scavenge for floating refuse and collect domestic refuse from vessels in the anchorages and typhoon shelters. In 2018, it collected nearly 11,500 tonnes of marine refuse from the waters and coastal areas of Hong Kong and 4,550 tonnes of domestic refuse from vessels.

In January, the Inter-departmental Working Group on Clean Shorelines was revamped and renamed Inter-departmental Working Group on Marine Environmental Management. The working group seeks to strengthen inter-departmental collaboration in handling marine refuse and marine environmental incidents. It coordinates improvement measures that keep the shorelines clean and maintains a common platform to leverage community efforts in protecting

the marine environment.

The Hong Kong-Guangdong Marine Environmental Management Special Panel is a platform to examine ways of cooperating over regional marine environmental incidents. It is conducting the trial operation of a notification and alert system on marine refuse.

Livestock Waste

The Waste Disposal Ordinance bans the keeping of livestock in new towns and environmentally sensitive areas. Where they are allowed, livestock farms must have proper waste treatment

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