8.1
Introduction
This section identifies the potential wastes
arising from the construction and operation of the Project and potential
environmental impacts associated with the handling and disposal of waste. The assessment was undertaken in accordance
with the criteria presented in Annexes 7
and 15 of the EIAO-TM.
As mentioned in the Project Profile
submitted for this Project (ref: ESB 205/2009), a review of available
information regarding site history including historical aerial photographs,
historical maps as well as visual site inspection did not identify potential
sources of soil and groundwater contamination at the Site. In particular, by examining the existing
facilities in the Garage, there is no provision of underground fuel tank / oil
sump pit identified as well as no permanent repairing / maintenance /
refuelling tools and equipment being installed. In fact, the Site was concrete paved. It is therefore not anticipated that there
will be contaminated soil or groundwater at the Site which will require
treatment or disposal during the construction phase of the Project.
8.2
Legislation
Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
The following legislation covers, or has some bearing
upon, the handling, treatment and disposal of wastes in
·
Waste Disposal Ordinance (WDO) (Cap 354);
·
Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General)
Regulation (Cap 354C);
·
Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap 28); and
·
Public Health and Municipal Services
Ordinance (Cap 132) - Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation.
8.2.1
Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap 354)
The WDO prohibits the unauthorised disposal of
wastes, with waste defined as any substance or article, which is
abandoned. Under the WDO, wastes can only be disposed of at a
licensed site. A breach of these
regulations can lead to the imposition of a fine and/or a prison sentence. The WDO
also provides for the issuing of licences for the collection and transport
of wastes. Licences are not, however,
currently issued for the collection and transport of construction waste or
trade waste.
The Waste
Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation defined
construction waste as any substance, matters or things that is generated from
construction work and abandoned, whether or not it has been processed or stockpiled
before being abandoned, but does not include any sludge, screening or matter
removed in or generated from any desludging, desilting or dredging works.
The Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme came
into operation on 1 December 2005.
Processing of account applications by the EPD started on the same
day. A contractor who undertakes
construction work with value of HK$1 million or above is required to open a
billing account solely for the contract.
Charging for the disposal of construction waste started on 20 January
2006.
Depending on the percentage of inert materials in the material, construction
waste can be disposed of at public fill reception facilities, landfills and
outlying islands transfer facilities, where differing disposal costs would be
applied. The scheme encourages waste
reduction so that the contractor or Project Proponent can minimise their
costs. Table 8.1 summarises the Government’s
construction waste disposal facilities, the types of waste accepted and the
associated disposal costs.
Table 8.1 Government
Waste Disposal Facilities for Construction Waste
|
Government Waste Disposal Facilities |
Type of Construction Waste Accepted |
Charge Per Tonne |
|
Public fill
reception facilities |
Consisting
entirely of inert construction waste |
$27 |
|
Sorting
facilities |
Containing more
than 50% by weight of inert construction waste |
$100 |
|
Landfills |
Containing not
more than 50% by weight of inert construction waste |
$125 |
|
Outlying |
Containing any
percentage of inert construction waste |
$125 |
8.2.2
Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General)
Regulation
Chemical waste as defined under the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General)
Regulation includes any substance being scrap material, or unwanted
substances specified under Schedule 1
of the Regulation, if such a
substance or chemical occurs in such a form, quantity or concentration so as to
cause pollution or constitute a danger to health or risk of pollution to the
environment.
Chemical waste producers shall register with the
EPD. Any person who contravenes this
requirement commits an offence and is liable to a fine and imprisonment. Producers of chemical wastes must treat their
wastes, utilising on-site plant licensed by the EPD or have a licensed
collector take the wastes to a licensed facility. For each consignment of wastes, the waste
producer, collector and disposer of the wastes must sign all relevant parts of
a computerised trip ticket. The system
is designed to allow the transfer of wastes to be traced from cradle-to-grave.
The Regulation
prescribes the storage facilities to be provided on site including labelling
and warning signs. To minimise the risks
of pollution and danger to human health or life, the waste producer is required
to prepare and make available written procedures to be observed in the case of
emergencies due to spillage, leakage or accidents arising from the storage of
chemical wastes. He/she must also
provide employees with training in such procedures.
8.2.3
Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance
(Cap 28)
The inert portion of construction waste ([1])
(also called public fill) may
be taken to public fill reception facilities.
Public fill reception facilities are operated by the Civil Engineering
and Development Department (CEDD). The Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance requires
that individuals or companies who deliver public fill to the public fill
reception facilities obtain Dumping Licences.
The licences are issued by the CEDD under delegated authority from the
Director of Lands.
Individual licences and windscreen stickers are
issued for each vehicle involved. Under the
licence conditions, public fill reception facilities will only accept inert
earth, soil, sand, rock, boulder, rubble, brick, tile, concrete, asphalt,
masonry or used bentonite. In addition, in accordance with paragraph 11
of Environment, Transport and Works Bureau (ETWB) Technical Circular (Works)
(ETWB-TC(W))) No. 31/2004, Public Fill Committee will advise on the acceptance
criteria (eg no mixing of construction waste, norminal size of the materials less than 250mm, etc. The material should, however, be free from
marine mud, household refuse, plastic, metal, industrial and chemical wastes,
animal and vegetable matter and any other materials considered unsuitable by
the public fill reception facility.
8.2.4
Public Cleansing and Prevention of
Nuisances Regulation
This Regulation
provides further control on the illegal dumping of wastes on unauthorised
(unlicensed) sites. The illegal dumping
of wastes can lead to a fine and/or imprisonment.
8.2.5
Other Relevant Guidelines
Other 'guideline' documents, which detail
how the project proponent or contractor should comply with the local
regulations, are as follows:
·
Waste Disposal Plan for Hong Kong (December 1989), Planning, Environment
and Lands Branch Government Secretariat,
·
Environmental Guidelines for Planning In
Hong Kong (1990), Hong
Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, Hong Kong Government;
·
New Disposal Arrangements for Construction
Waste (1992), EPD &
CED,
·
Code of Practice on the Packaging, Labelling
and Storage of Chemical Wastes (1992), EPD,
·
Works Branch Technical Circular (WBTC) No.
32/92, The Use of Tropical Hard Wood on Construction Site; Works Branch,
·
WBTC No. 2/93, Public Dumps. Works Branch,
·
WBTC No. 2/93B, Public Filling Facilities, Works Branch,
·
Waste Reduction Framework Plan, 1998 to
2007, Planning,
Environment and Lands Bureau, Government Secretariat, 5 November 1998;
·
WBTC Nos. 25/99, 25/99A and
25/99C, Incorporation of Information on Construction and Demolition Material
Management in Public Works Sub-committee Papers; Works Bureau,
·
WBTC No. 12/2000, Fill Management; Works Bureau,
·
WBTC
No. 12/2002, Specification Facilitating the Use of Recycled Aggregates. Works
Bureau,
·
ETWB-TC(W) No. 33/2002, Management of
Construction and Demolition Material Including Rock; Environment,
Transport and Works Bureau,
·
DevB
TC(W) No. 6/2010, Trip Ticket System for Disposal of Construction &
Demolition Materials,
Development Bureau,
·
ETWB-TC(W) No.
19/2005, Environmental Management on Construction
Sites,
8.3
Expected
Waste Arisings During the Construction Phase
During the construction phase, the main activities,
which will potentially result in the generation of waste, include site
formation, demolition of infrastructure and construction of new buildings. The typical waste types associated with these
activities include:
·
excavated
material from foundation works;
·
construction
waste from construction of new buildings;
·
waste
from renovation /modification works;
·
chemical
waste; and
·
general refuse.
8.3.1
Excavated Material
The quantity of excavated material to be
generated during the construction period is around 12,900 m3 mainly
from the construction of basement in Lower Courtyard, the tunnel underneath A
Hall and B Hall, and the new buildings (the Old Bailey Wing and Arbuthnot
Wing). Table 8.2 summarised the quantities of
excavated materials arising from the construction works.
Table 8.2 Excavated
Materials Generation during Construction
|
Building /
Structure |
Excavated
Materials ( m3) |
|
Lower Courtyard Basement for Plant Rooms |
4,000 |
|
Tunnel Passageway |
600 |
|
New Building at Old Bailey Wing – Basement |
6,800 |
|
New Building at Arbuthnot Wing – Foundation and Plant
Rooms |
700 |
|
Loading / Unloading Bay |
300 |
|
M&E Trenches |
500 |
|
Total |
12,900 |
Due to limited site area, it is not
practical to stockpile the excavated material on-site and reuse for subsequent backfilling
works. The excavated material will be
delivered to the government public filling reception facilities (ie Public Filling Barging points on
8.3.2
Construction and Demolition Materials
Construction of New Buildings and Structures
Construction and Demolition (C&D) material
(consisting of concrete, brick, wood, packing materials, plastics, metal, steel
and general refuse) will be generated from the construction of new buildings
and structures. The inert portion of the
C&D material is referred to public fill and the non-inert portion is
referred to construction waste. Public
fill will be disposed of at the Government Public Filling Facilities and the
construction waste will be disposal of at landfill. The main building and structures and the assoicated gross floor area (GFA) to be constructed are
summarised in Table
8.3.
Table 8.3 GFA
of Major Buildings and Structures to be Constructed
|
Buildings and Structures to be constructed |
GFA (m2) |
|
F&B
and Ancillary Support |
745 |
|
Public
Circulation |
1,935 |
|
Toilet
|
95 |
|
Multipurpose
and Ancillary Support |
308 |
|
Art
Gallery and Ancillary Support |
1,207 |
|
Total |
4290 |
Based on the generation rate of 0.1 m3
per m2 of GFA constructed ([3]), it is estimated that a total of about 430 m3
of C&D material will be generated from the construction of new buildings
and structures at the Project. The
C&D material will be sorted on-site into public fill (about 340 m3)
and construction waste (about 90 m3) ([4])
in order to reduce the amount
of construction waste to be disposed of at landfill.
With the proper implementation of good construction
site practice, the on-site handling, transportation and disposal of small
quantities of public fill and construction waste to public filling facilities
and landfill, respectively will not cause adverse environmental impacts (including potential hazard,
dust emissions, noise and wastewater discharge).
Renovation / Modification Works
Most of the existing buildings in the
It is estimated that a total of 28 truck trips per
months (about 22 truck trips per months for public fill and 6 truck trips per
months for construction waste) will be required to dispose the materials/waste
off-site respectively ([6])
during
construction / modification works of the Project. In view of the small quantity of C&D
material generated and with proper implementation of good site practices and mitigation
measures recommended in Sections 8.5,
potential water quality, dust and noise impacts associated with on-site
handling and transportation of the public fill and construction waste to
disposal sites are not expected.
The off-site disposal of the small quantity of C&D
material will only generate a maximum of a few trucks per day. Hence, there will be no adverse impact on the
local traffic and public transport.
8.3.3
Chemical Wastes
Chemical waste, as defined under the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General)
Regulation, includes any unwanted substances specified under Schedule 1 of the Regulation. Substances
likely to be generated from the construction and modification works of the
Project will include:
·
Used
paint, engine oils, hydraulic fluids and waste fuel;
·
Spent
mineral oils/cleaning fluids from mechanical machinery; and
·
Spent
solvents/solutions from equipment cleaning activities.
Chemical wastes
will pose environmental, health and safety hazards if not stored and disposed
of in an appropriate manner as outlined in the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation and the Code of Practice on the Packaging, Labelling
and Storage of Chemical Wastes.
These hazards may include:
·
Toxic
effects to workers;
·
Adverse
effects on air, water and land from spills; and
·
Fire
hazards.
The amount of
chemical waste that will arise from the construction activities will be highly
dependent on the Contractor’s on-site maintenance activities and the quantity
of plant and equipment utilised. With
respect to the scale of the construction activities, it is anticipated that the
quantity of chemical waste to be generated will be small (less than a hundred
litres per month during the construction phase).
With the
incorporation of suitable arrangements for the storage, handling,
transportation and disposal of chemical wastes under the requirements stated in
the Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste)
(General) Regulation and the Code of
Practice on the Packaging, Labelling and Storage of Chemical Wastes, no
adverse environmental (including air and odour emissions, noise and
wastewater discharge) and
health impacts, and hazards will result from the handling, transportation and
disposal of chemical waste arising from the Project.
8.3.4
General Refuse
The presence of a construction site with workers and
associate site office will result in the generation of general refuse (mainly
consists of food waste, aluminium cans and waste paper) which requires off-site
disposal. The storage of general refuse
has the potential to give rise to adverse environmental impacts. These include odour if the waste is not
collected frequently, windblown litter and visual impact.
Assuming up to 200 construction workers will be
working on site at any one time, with a general refuse generation rate of 0.65
kg per worker per day, the maximum amount of general refuse to be generated
will be about 130 kg per day.
Recyclable materials (ie
paper, plastic bottles and aluminium cans) will be separated for recycling, in order
to reduce the amount of general refuse to be disposed of at landfill. Adequate number of enclosed waste containers
will be provided to avoid over-spillage of waste.
The non-recyclable refuse will be placed in bags and
stored in enclosed containers, and disposed of on a daily basis to the
landfills. Given that the quantity of
general refuse to be disposed of at landfill is small, no adverse impact on the
operation of the landfill is anticipated.
With the implementation of the mitigation measures recommended
in Section 8.5, no adverse
environmental impacts (including potential hazard, dust emissions, noise and wastewater
discharge) caused by the
storage, handling, transport and disposal of general refuse are expected. The off-site disposal of the refuse will only generate
a maximum of a few trucks per day.
Hence, there will be no adverse impact on the local traffic and public
transport.
8.4
Expected
Waste Arisings During Operation Phase
The
·
General
refuses from staff and visitors;
·
Food
and beverage waste from café and restaurant; and
·
Chemical
waste.
8.4.1
General Refuse
General refuse will arise from the
Recyclable materials (ie
paper, plastic bottles and aluminium cans) will be separated for recycling, in
order to reduce the amount of general refuse to be disposed of at the
landfill. Adequate number of enclosed
waste containers will be provided to avoid over-spillage of waste. The non-recyclable refuse will be placed in
bags and disposed of at the transfer station on
8.4.2
Food and Beverage Waste
Food and beverage waste will be generated from the
café and restaurants. Based on the
estimated maximum number of guests using the café and restaurants (9,800 per
day) and a generation rate of 0.047 kg per guest per day ([8]), the estimated maximum quantity of food and
beverage waste would be 460 kg per day.
With the implementation of the mitigation measures recommended in Section 8.5, no adverse environmental
impacts (including
potential hazard, air and odour emissions, noise and
wastewater discharge) caused
by the storage, handling, transport and disposal of food and beverage waste are
expected. The off-site disposal of the food and beverage
waste will only generate a maximum of a few trucks per day. Hence, there will be no adverse impact on the
local traffic and public transport.
8.4.3
Chemical Waste
Limited chemical
waste (mainly waste lube oil and spent solvents from maintenance of mechanical
and electrical equipments and audio/visual system) will arise from the
operation activities at the
With the
incorporation of suitable arrangements for the storage, handling,
transportation and disposal of chemical wastes in accordance with the
requirements stated in the Waste Disposal
(Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation and the Code of Practice on the Packaging, Labelling and Storage of Chemical
Wastes, no adverse environmental (including air and odour
emissions, noise and wastewater discharge) and health impacts, and hazards will result from the
handling, transportation and disposal of chemical waste arising from the
operation of the
8.5
Mitigation
Measures
8.5.1
Construction Phase
The assessment indicates that with the implementation
of the proposed waste management practices at the work site, no adverse environmental
impacts are envisaged for the handling, collection and disposal of waste
arising during the construction phase of the Project.
This section further describes the good construction
site practices to avoid or further reduce the potential environmental impacts
associated with the handling, collection and disposal of construction and
chemical wastes arising from the construction.
The Contractor must ensure that all the necessary
waste disposal permits or licences are obtained prior to the commencement of
the construction works.
Management of Waste Disposal
The construction contractor will open a billing
account with the EPD in accordance with the Waste
Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation. Every construction waste or public fill load
to be transferred to the Government waste disposal facilities such as public
fill reception facilities, sorting facilities, landfills will require a valid
“chit” which contains the information of the account holder to facilitate waste
transaction recording and billing to the waste producer. A trip-ticket system will also be established
in accordance with ETWB-TC(W) No.31/2004
to monitor the disposal of construction waste at landfill and to control
fly-tipping. The trip-ticket system will
be included as one of the contractual requirements and implemented by the
contractor.
A recording system (similar to summary table as shown
in Annex 5 and Annex 6 of Appendix G of ETWB-TC(W)
No. 19/2005) for the amount of waste generated, recycled and disposed of
(including the disposal sites) will be established during the construction
phase.
Measures for the Reduction of Construction Waste Generation
C&D material will be segregated on-site into
public fill and construction waste and stored in different containers or skips
to facilitate reuse of the public fill and proper disposal of the construction
waste. Specific areas of the work site
will be designated for such segregation and storage if immediate use is not
practicable.
Chemical Waste
The contractor will register as a chemical waste
producer with the EPD. Chemical waste
will be handled in accordance with the Code
of Practice on the Packaging, Handling and Storage of Chemical Wastes as
follows.
Containers used for storage of chemical wastes will:
·
Be
suitable for the substance they are holding, resistant to corrosion, maintained
in a good condition, and securely closed;
·
Have
a capacity of less than 450 L unless the specifications have been approved by
the EPD; and
·
Display
a label in English and Chinese in accordance with instructions prescribed in Schedule 2 of the Regulations.
The storage area for chemical wastes will:
·
Be
clearly labelled and used solely for the storage of chemical waste;
·
Be
enclosed on at least 3 sides;
·
Have
an impermeable floor and bunding, of capacity to
accommodate 110% of the volume of the largest container or 20% by volume of the
chemical waste stored in that area, whichever is the greatest;
·
Have
adequate ventilation;
·
Be
covered to prevent rainfall entering (water collected within the bund must be
tested and disposed of as chemical waste, if necessary); and
·
Be
arranged so that incompatible materials are appropriately separated.
Chemical waste will be disposed of:
·
Via a
licensed waste collector; and
·
To a
facility licensed to receive chemical waste, such as the Chemical Waste
Treatment Facility which also offers a chemical waste collection service and
can supply the necessary storage containers.
General Refuse
General refuse will be stored in enclosed bins
separately from construction and chemical wastes. The general refuse will be delivered to the
transfer station, separately from construction and chemical wastes, on a daily
basis to reduce odour, pest and litter impacts.
Recycling bins will be provided at strategic
locations to facilitate recovery of aluminium can and waste paper from the
Site. Materials recovered will be sold
for recycling.
Staff Training
At the commencement of the construction works, training
will be provided to workers on the concepts of site cleanliness and on
appropriate waste management procedures, including waste reduction, reuse and
recycling.
8.5.2
Operation Phase
Chemical Waste
Measures are similar to those outlined in Section 8.5.1.
General Refuse and Food and Beverage Waste
General refuse and food and beverage waste will be
stored in enclosed bins and disposed of at the tipping area on a daily basis to
reduce odour, pest and litter impacts.
Once the proposed Organic Waste Treatment Facility (OWTF) at Siu Ho Wan is available, the management office of the
Recycling bins will be provided at strategic
locations to facilitate recovery of aluminium can and waste paper from the
Site. Materials recovered will be sold
for recycling.
8.6
Residual
Environmental Impacts
No residual waste management impact is envisaged
during the construction and operation of the Project.
8.7
Environmental
Monitoring and Audit
8.7.1
Construction Phase
It is recommended that monthly audits of the waste
management practices be carried out during the construction phases to determine
if wastes are being managed in accordance with the recommended good site
practices. The audits will examine all
aspects of waste management including waste generation, storage, recycling,
transport and disposal.
8.7.2
Operation Phase
No environmental and monitoring programme is required
for the operation of the
Table 8.4 summarises the waste arisings and disposal location during the construction and
operation of the Project.
Table 8.4 Summary
of Waste Arisings and Disposal Location
|
Type |
Quantity |
Disposal Location |
|
Construction Phase |
|
|
|
Excavated material |
12,900 m3 |
Public Fill |
|
C&D Material – inert |
3,540 m3 |
Public Fill |
|
C&D Material – construction waste |
890 m3 |
Landfill |
|
Chemical waste |
Less than 100 L per month |
Chemical Waste Treatment Facility |
|
General refuse |
130 kg per day |
Transfer Station / landfill |
|
Operation Phase |
|
|
|
General refuse |
9,250 kg per day |
Transfer Station / landfill |
|
Food waste |
460 kg per day |
Transfer Station / landfill (a) |
|
Chemical waste |
Few litres per month |
Chemical Waste Treatment Facility |
|
Note: (a) Once the Organic Waste Treatment Facility (OWTF)
at Siu Ho Wan is available, the management office
of the CPS could consider segregating the food waste and delivered to the
OWTF for treatment. |
||
8.8.1
Construction Phase
It is estimated that a total of 16,440 m3
of public fills (consisting of 12,900 m3 of excavated materials,
3,540 m3 of public fill from new building construction and modification/
renovation works) and 890 m3 of construction waste will be generated
during the construction phase. The
public fill will be sent to public filling facilities for beneficial reuse
while the construction waste will be disposed of at landfills.
With respect to the scale of the construction
activities, it is anticipated that the quantity of chemical waste to be
generated will be small (less than a hundred litres per month during the
construction phase). It is also
estimated that about 130 kg of general refuse will be generated per day by the
construction workers. With the
implementation of general good construction site practices, the construction of
the Project will not cause adverse waste management, traffic or environmental
impacts (including
potential hazard, air and odour emissions, noise and
wastewater discharge).
8.8.2
Operation Phase
It is estimated that general refuse (9,250 kg per
day) and food waste (460 kg per day) will be generated during the operation
phase. With good site practices, the
potential environmental impacts (including potential hazard, air and odour emissions, noise and wastewater discharge) associated with the storage, handling,
collection, transport and disposal of waste arising from the operation of the
Project will meet the criteria specified in the EIAO-TM and no adverse waste management impacts are anticipated.