Activities which produce / dispose chemical wastes :
The Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation controls all chemical waste from non-household sources, from the point of production to point of disposal. The controls are on chemical waste but NOT activities. All chemical waste producers are required to be registered with EPD, and to provide suitable packaging, proper labelling and storage of their waste. Only licensed waste collectors should transport chemical waste and any disposal which includes treatment, re-processing and recycling of chemical wastes should be carried out at licensed disposal facilities. The requirements are summarised as follow:
a) Production
Any person who produces or causes to be produced chemical waste is required to register with EPD. Chemical waste producers are required to provide particulars of location of waste generating premises and waste types on their application forms.
b) Packaging, Labelling, Storage
Chemical waste producers are required to arrange proper packaging, labelling and storage of chemical waste before transporting to licensed disposal facilities. EPD's approval is required when large containers (capacity in excess of 450 litres) are to be used. Applications for approval should be made in relevant forms to the Director of Environmental Protection.
c) Collection and Transportation
Under the regulation, a chemical waste producer should only engage a "waste collector" who is licensed by EPD to collect his chemical waste. Any waste producer who wishes to transport his own chemical waste also needs to apply for a collection licence.
d) Disposal
Disposal including treatment, reprocessing and recycling of chemical waste should be carried out at licensed facilities. Details of the "licence application" are described in the next section of the guidance. Moreover, for disposal of any waste containing Part A chemical (as listed below), waste producers are required to provide prior notification to EPD in a specified form (EPD 132) and to follow any EPD's directions for the subsequent disposal.
- Any substance to which the Antibiotics Ordinance (Cap. 137) applies
- Asbestos
- Dangerous drugs (as defined in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 134))
- Class 2 dangerous goods, NES*
- Class 4.2 dangerous goods, NES*
- Class 4.3 dangerous goods, NES*
- Dibenzofurans
- Dioxins
- Pesticides (as defined in the Register referred to in Section 4(b) of the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133))
- Poisons (Part I) (as defined in the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (Cap. 138)).
- Polychlorinated biphenyls
* as defined in the Dangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap. 295)
How to apply:
The table below illustrates the application documents to be submitted for each type of application:
Table 2: Application Requirements
| Documents required | Registration as chemical waste producer | Approval for use of containers >450L | Chemical waste collection licence | Notification for Part A chemical wastes | Waste Disposal Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Duly completed EPD application form |  |
|
|
|
|
| Operational Plan | --- | --- | |
--- | |
| Drawings to show specifications of vehicles employed | --- | --- | |
--- | --- |
| Drawings to show location and layout of maintenance depot | --- | --- | |
--- | |
| Site location plan of the facility | --- | --- | --- | --- | |
| Resume of management staff | --- | --- | |
--- | |
| Further information may be required, e.g. emergency plan and list of safety and anti-spill equipment, BRC, Certificate of Inc. for a limited company. | |
|
|
|
|
| Application fee to be accompanied with the application | |
--- | |
--- | |
Application should be submitted to any Customer Service Counters of EPD in person, by mail or through online at https://epic.epd.gov.hk/eForm/. For more detailed information on the responsibility of a chemical waste producer, please refer to the EPD's publications: "A Guide to the Chemical Waste Control Scheme", "Code of Practice on the Packaging, Labelling and Storage of Chemical Wastes", "Code of Practice on the Handling, Transportation and Disposal of Asbestos Waste", "A Guide to the Registration of Chemical Waste Producers" and "Code of Practice on the Handling, Transportation and Disposal of Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Waste".
