ENG-2019 — Page 294

15

The Environment

Railway Noise

In planning new railway projects, the MTR Corporation Limited must comply with a statutory environmental impact assessment. The department will request the company to make improvements if the noise emitted from existing railways exceeds the standards.

Aircraft Noise

The impact of aircraft noise on residents in the vicinity of flight paths at the airport is within planning standards, notwithstanding concerns about nuisance from aircraft noise during evenings and early mornings. The government will continue to explore practicable mitigation

measures.

Construction Noise

The department issues construction noise permits to control noise from general construction works between 7pm and 7am and at all times on public holidays. Strict criteria under these permits restrict the use of equipment and the conduct of noisy manual activities in built-up areas. Percussive piling is prohibited at night and on public holidays, and requires a permit during the day on non-public holidays. The use of noisy diesel, steam and pneumatic piling hammers is generally banned, while hand-held percussive breakers and air compressors used in construction must meet strict noise standards and be issued with noise emission labels. Apart from these legal controls, the department also promotes quiet construction equipment and techniques to the construction industry.

Noise from Industrial or Commercial Activities

The department serves noise abatement notices requiring the owners or occupants of premises causing excessive noise from industrial or commercial activities to tone down within a given period.

Waste Management

Waste Statistics'

Over the past five years, the municipal solid waste dumped at landfills has increased 17 per cent, while the mid-year population has grown 3 per cent. Between 2014 and 2018, municipal solid waste totalling 3.57 million to 4.17 million tonnes annually was dumped, translating into a daily per capita disposal rate of between 1.35kg and 1.53kg. The rate in 2018 was 1.5kg if the data from September to November, when the disposal quantity was affected significantly by Super Typhoon Mangkhut, was excluded. About 59 per cent of 4.17 million tonnes dumped at landfills in 2018 was domestic waste, with the remainder being commercial and industrial waste. Food waste accounted for 31 per cent of the total municipal solid waste in 2018.

During the same five-year period, landfills took in 1.44 million to 1.62 million tonnes of overall construction waste annually. This translated into an annual average of 1.52 million tonnes, an

1 Waste statistics for 2018 will be published in the report, Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong: Waste Statistics for

2018.

240