Control on Import and Export of Waste
The Control Scheme
Cooperation Arrangement
Upon China's resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, the Basel Convention is no longer applicable to hazardous waste movements between the Mainland and Hong Kong, as such movements are within the territory of a sovereign state. On the other hand, waste movements between Hong Kong and overseas countries are regarded as movements between China and the overseas countries.
To ensure that an appropriate control arrangement will continue to be implemented for shipments of waste between the Mainland and Hong Kong, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in January 2000. Under the control framework established in the MOU, shipments of hazardous waste between the Mainland and Hong Kong are not allowed unless prior written consents are given by both competent authorities (the State Environmental Protection Administration (now the Ministry of Ecology and Environment) and the Hong Kong EPD). Waste movements between the Mainland and Hong Kong are thus continued to be controlled under the Waste Disposal Ordinance.
The MOU has been renamed "Cooperation Arrangement on Control of Waste Movements Between the Mainland and HKSAR" (CA) in November 2007. Also included in the CA are supplementary provisions on applications and approvals regarding waste shipments to overseas countries via the ports in the Mainland and the HKSAR.
