Legislative Council condemns EPD inaction including re waste plastic bottles

[DocMartin Williams]

In February this year Legco Public Accounts Committee published a damning report on EPD’s waste efforts, following a highly critical report by the Audit dept [director of audit]

Main conclusion:

62. The Committee: –

expresses alarm and finds it unacceptable that despite the ambitious vision of the Administration in managing municipal solid waste (“MSW”) as enshrined in the “Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste (2005-2014)” (“the 2005 Policy Framework”), the Environment Bureau (“ENB”) and the Environmental Protection Department (“EPD”) had demonstrated a lack of determination to execute the action plans in a professional and effective manner in order to achieve the targets set out in the 2005 Policy Framework. As a result, the Administration had failed in meeting all the main waste management targets set out in the 2005 Policy Framework

also, the Committee:

finds it appalling and inexcusable that ENB and EPD had failed in their roles in compiling and providing useful, accurate and essential information to facilitate the discussion of the public and the Legislative Council (“LegCo”) on waste management strategies and projects in a timely manner …

expresses serious disappointment that the current term Government has planned to conduct a study to review the need of implementing the PR schemes on three of the six products proposed by the previous term Government in the 2005 Policy Framework, i.e. vehicle tyres, packaging materials and rechargeable batteries. This policy shift might have disrupted the continuation of the policies on MSW management established by the previous term Government and affected the overall effectiveness of the policies. Moreover, ENB and EPD had not consulted LegCo or the public on the decision of the above policy shift, nor had they consulted LegCo or the public about their plan to introduce the PR scheme on a new product, i.e. plastic bottles;

Within report, at a public meeting:

25. Acting Secretary for the Environment added at the public hearing that the Administration was planning to introduce the PR [producer responsibility] scheme on a new product, i.e. plastic bottles, as the current generation rate of plastic bottles was very high.

http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr15-16/english/pac/reports/65/m_8a.pdf

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