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Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (January 30):
Question:
According to "Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong" published by the Environmental Protection Department, about 3 million tonnes of recyclable materials were recovered in Hong Kong in 2011, achieving a recovery rate of 48%. Among the recovered materials, up to 98.5% were exported for recycling while only 1.5% were recycled locally. Some recyclers have pointed out that the authorities have not provided recyclers with sufficient ancillary facilities, and there is not enough manpower in the industry to handle the large quantities of recovered materials either. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the number of people currently engaged in the recycling industry across the territory, and a breakdown on the number of recovery facilities (including those operated by private or non-profit-making organisations) by the type of recovered materials, as well as their site areas and locations;
(b) as quite a number of recyclers have pointed out that the recovery and sorting of waste are obnoxious jobs, and it is therefore difficult to recruit sufficient manpower to handle the recovered materials, whether the authorities have put in place measures to encourage more people to join the recycling industry; if they have, of the measures; if not, the reasons for that;
(c) as most of the recovered materials are currently bundled up and then exported to other places, and the Chief Executive has indicated in his recently delivered Policy Address that the Government will consider identifying suitable berths so that there will be a stable provision of export facilities to promote vigorously the development of the recycling industry, of the locations and number of the berths that the authorities plan to provide and the timetable for the provision of the berths;
(d) as some recyclers have pointed out that the admission policy of the EcoPark requires tenants to provide one-stop services by producing environment-friendly products from recycled materials, whether the authorities will consider revising that policy so as to enable more recyclers to move into the EcoPark; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(e) given that although recyclers who are not yet admitted into the EcoPark may bid for short-term tenancy sites, there is no guarantee for renewal upon expiry of the leases, of the criteria based on which the authorities assess the applications for lease renewal for such sites; whether they will consider including as assessment criteria factors such as the existing tenants' investment commitments to their businesses and whether there is a diversification of the types of recovered materials being processed, etc.; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(f) of the measures put in place and the ancillary facilities provided by the authorities at present, apart from the development of the EcoPark, to encourage more local recyclers to recycle recovered materials in Hong Kong in order to increase the proportion of waste being recycled locally; whether the authorities will consider providing subsidies to the industry, e.g. by granting rent concessions for land or tax concessions; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
(a) At present about 500 companies and organisations are engaged in the recycling industry in Hong Kong. These include private recyclers, recycling centres operated by non-profit-making organisations, and recyclers operating at the EcoPark, and they directly employ about 4,000 workers. In addition, there are itinerant collectors and scavengers of recyclable materials. Owing to the high mobility, it is difficult to make an accurate estimate of the actual number of people engaged in the trade.
Information on the distribution of recyclers in Hong Kong and related issues is available on the Hong Kong Waste Reduction Website managed by the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) www.wastereduction.gov.hk/en/quickaccess/vicinity.htm#1.
(b) The Government has set out a series of policy measures in the Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (2005-2014) to proactively create a more favourable operating environment for the recycling and green industries with a view to assisting the development of the local recycling and green industries and encouraging more people to join the recycling industry. These measures include the implementation of programmes on source separation of waste, the identification of more suitable sites for leasing to the recycling industry under short-term tenancy (STT) through bidding, the development of the EcoPark, the promotion of the green procurement policy among government departments, the implementation of producer responsibility schemes (PRSs), and the encouragement of the development of recycling technologies through the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF) and various funds for small and medium enterprises. We will continue to implement these measures to create a more favourable operating environment for the trade.
(c) Every year, over 3 million tonnes of recyclable materials are recovered in Hong Kong and the majority are exported for recycling. For waste paper, export is primarily via Public Cargo Working Areas (PCWAs). To promote the development of the local recycling industry, the Government will consider identifying suitable PCWA berths for bidding by the recycling industry for their exclusive use to provide local waste recyclers with stable export facilities to support their recycling activities. We will consult the local recycling industry, PCWA operators and other relevant stakeholders on the proposal. The Berth Licence Agreements of existing PCWAs will expire in 2016, and we aim to introduce the proposed measures at the next round of berth bidding.
(d) In order to raise the attractiveness of the EcoPark to potential tenants, we recommended a series of enhanced terms of tenancy in 2010 and have consulted the Legislative Council, the recycling industry and other stakeholders on the recommendations. In addition to extending the length of tenancy of the sites from 10 to 20 years, the new terms of tenancy also include the relaxation of restriction on waste types to be recycled and the increase of the flexibility of the lot size. In the two subsequent tendering exercises in 2011 and 2012, we granted six sites to local recyclers for recycling waste metals, waste batteries, waste construction materials and glass, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), waste rubber tyres and food waste. At present, most of the sites in the EcoPark have been leased, whereas the remaining sites have been earmarked for the development of WEEE treatment and recycling facilities to support the PRS on WEEE. We believe that the establishment of the EcoPark can encourage the industry to invest in more advanced technologies and value-added processes and help increase the potential of the local recycling industry in the long run.
(e) Short term tenancy (STT) sites are temporary sites for short term use and the terms of an STT site are normally set for not more than five years. When an STT expires and the site concerned is not yet required for any long term use, it may be put up for tender again and the original tenant can also submit a tender. There are currently 32 dedicated STT sites for the recovery and recycling industry, with an area of 4.8 hectares. These STT sites will be made available by open tender. Tenderers should be experienced in the recycling industry and approved by the EPD before being granted an STT site. To benefit more recycling companies, the tender documents of individual sites may include special terms and conditions, such as excluding a particular type of recyclable material which is more competitive in the market and has taken up considerable amount of government and private land in certain districts, or specifying that adjacent lots must not be allotted to the same recycling companies. The Government will continue to identify more STT sites suitable for use by recyclers and put them up for tender to help supply more land for the development of the recycling industry.
(f) Currently the Government has adopted a waste management strategy with waste reduction as the top priority in tackling our waste problem. Apart from allocating sufficient PCWA berth length for the exclusive use of the recycling industry, the Government is also committed to launching initiatives on various fronts to facilitate the development of the recycling and green industries.
* The Government is preparing legislative proposals to introduce a new PRS on WEEE. Mandatory PRSs will be implemented progressively, with priority accorded to glass beverage bottles. This measure will raise the recovery of WEEE and glass bottles. Complementary measures will also be introduced, which include the use of construction materials containing waste glass in suitable public works, and the setting up of facilities for treating WEEE. Such measures will facilitate the development of the local recycling industry;
* To support the recycling at the community level, the Government plans to set up five pilot community green stations in different districts in Hong Kong. Apart from publicity and education activities, the community green stations will support recycling activities at the community level. This will include reaching out to the community to collect recyclable materials, supporting the community recycling network and launching other source separation initiatives;
* The Government will continue to discuss with stakeholders and the public the implementation details of municipal solid waste charging. The objective of the policy is to promote public participation in recycling and offer a financial incentive to the recycling industry to invest more in the local recycling industry; and
* The Government has proposed an injection of $5,000 million into the ECF to invest in long term environmental action as sustainable support to the community. The ECF has funded a series of waste reduction and recycling projects, and it is expected to keep up its efforts in this area in the future.
The Government hopes that through measures on various fronts to engage the whole community to assist with waste reduction and source separation of waste. We hope to bring about a behavioural change through community-wide participation, and more waste will be available for reuse and recycling in Hong Kong.
Ends/Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:43
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