Waste Facilities


Our major impact on the environment comes from the operation of waste facilities. The EPD oversees 29 waste facilities and we require our contractors to operate them to a high environmental standard, through both contractual requirements and statutory controls. The contractors must comply with all applicable environmental ordinances, regulations and emission requirements. Air, noise and wastewater emissions from these facilities must be monitored and this is supervised closely by EPD staff on site. Since 1989, we have included a provision in waste facilities contracts to deduct payment for non-compliance with environmental controls.

In 2000, our Waste Facilities Business Unit received ISO 14001 certification for its environmental management system (EMS), which has been implemented to develop and promote a sustainable waste management strategy and to plan and provide for waste management facilities in Hong Kong. We have also managed to influence the contractors of waste management facilities to develop and implement similar EMSs to further enhance the environmental performance of these facilities. Since the demonstration of EPD抯 certification in 2000, similar EMSs were implemented and ISO14001 certificates were obtained in all 12 existing restored landfills, the Northwest New Territories refuse transfer station and the Sha Ling Composting Plant. In 2003, it is planned to further certify the EMS implemented in Shatin refuse transfer station, seven transfer facilities in outlying islands, and the Northeast New Territories and West New Territories landfills.

Compliance Rate

In 2002, there were no environmental prosecutions taken against any of our waste management contractors. They also achieved 99.975% compliance with contractual environmental requirements, similar to 2001 and 2000. Each non-compliance was thoroughly investigated and remedial action instigated.

Total hydrocarbons levels in stack gas of Chemical Waste Treatment Centre in 2002

Complaints

In 2002 there were no complaints received against the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre. Fourteen complaints were received against other waste facilities, concerning odour, noise, dust and fly nuisance. All complaints were dealt with promptly.

We aim to avoid, reduce and control pollution arising from our day-to-day working practices.

We will require our contractors to adopt and implement sound environmental management systems and pollution control measures

Pollution Control Measures

Landfills

All new landfills have gas extraction systems installed from the start, and old landfills are being retrofitted. The boundaries of the landfills are monitored to ensure landfill gas does not escape. In 2002, an average 450 000 m³ of landfill gas was collected daily, 53% of which is used to meet nearly all on-site energy consumption. To date, electricity generators with a total capacity of 6.4MW have been installed at landfills.

A construction waste recycling plant has been operating on the Southeast New Territories (SENT) landfill since 1995, to sort and recycle any construction waste delivered for beneficial reuse and to reduce the amount of waste taking up landfill space. At present the plant is recycling about 22 500 tonnes of construction waste monthly, representing 10% of the total waste intake at the landfill.

Refuse Transfer Stations

Refuse Transfer Stations (RTSs) help to reduce the environmental impact of transporting waste to landfills. Small refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) deliver waste to the RTSs where it is transferred into bulk waste containers that are taken to landfills either by land or by sea. Each container can accommodate the equivalent of three to five RCV-loads. In 2002 some 1 200 RCV trips to landfills were eliminated each day. Bulk waste transfer, by sea in particular, has significantly reduced the traffic, noise and air emission problems that might otherwise be caused by directly hauling waste to landfills.

There are eight RTSs in Hong Kong. Most of the RTSs are located in built-up areas. Ventilation systems and odour scrubbers are installed to remove offensive odour and dust from the exhaust air. The Island West RTS is located within a man-made cavern under Mount Davis which not only reduces its visual impact, but also takes up less land space.

Chemical Waste Treatment Centre

Stack gas from the incineration system is scrubbed and a spray dry absorber, activated carbon injection and fabric filter baghouses are used to remove pollutants prior to release into the atmosphere. The gas is monitored continuously to ensure complete combustion and removal of air pollutants. In the event of any problem, waste feed to the incinerator will be cut off automatically. The ambient air around the CWTC is monitored twice yearly and measurement of dioxins is carried out monthly. So far, the levels of pollutants measured in the ambient air have fully met the Hong Kong Air Quality Objectives. All process residues, including incineration ash, are chemically treated and confirmed by analysis to be stable before being sent to the SENT landfill for final disposal.

Environmentally friendly practices are encouraged by allowing the contractor to keep revenue generated from the sale of materials recovered from waste. The oil recovered from oil/water waste is used by ocean-going vessels as recovered fuel oil after blending. The copper oxide recovered from waste etchant generated by the electronics industry is sent to overseas smelters to recover the copper. In 2002, 8 400 tonnes of oil and 420 tonnes of copper oxide were recovered by the Centre.

Laboratories

Our laboratories (air, water sciences and microbiological) are operated in a manner that minimises the impact on the environment and in compliance with the legal requirements and statutory licence conditions. In 2002, routine monitoring of the effluent discharge from our laboratories indicated full compliance. Annual monitoring of the emission of acid fumes from fume cupboards also indicated full compliance.

Field Work

To minimise the environmental impacts during our investigation work, only non-toxic dye is used to trace the source of pollution. Field samples and used chemicals were sent to the Chemical Waste Laboratory for appropriate action. Safety guidelines are issued to all field staff who are trained in the handling of hazardous materials.

Emergency Response at EPD Facilities

The EPD has internal emergency response plans for our own operations, in particular our waste facilities and laboratories. For landfills, the plans cover predictable events such as the unavailability of certain landfills or refuse transfer stations due to power failure, as well as road blockages arising from traffic accidents, congestion, chemical waste spills, etc.

The EPD and waste facilities contractors jointly arranged one combined emergency testing in September 2002 for most of the strategic waste management facilities, including RTSs, operating and closed landfills. The testing covered scenarios involving landfill and RTS blockades, landfill slope failure, and landfill gas leakage. In addition, the capabilities of the facilities to deal with emergency situations were fully tested and proven in actual emergency cases, such as the blockage of an RTS due to traffic problems in western Kowloon and the sudden demand to dispose of large amounts of animal waste in North District.

For the CWTC, four emergency drills were carried out in 2002. The first drill was for an accident in the laboratory, the second drill assumed a fire hazard (Fire Services Department was involved), the third drill was for a MARPOL waste fire (a marine-based drill) and the fourth drill assumed the overturning of a waste collection vehicle. The drills were carried out by the contractor and witnessed by EPD staff. It is EPD’s requirement that the CWTC contractor carries out at least one drill on marine incidents every year.

For our laboratories, no incidents were reported in 2002.