What's New | Environmental Protection Department

What's New - Archives

Discharge Licence under Water Pollution Control Ordinance

Applicants of licences for effluent discharge can now submit a signed copy of the application to the corresponding Regional Office via email first before providing the original hard copy by post/in person to the Office . Please refer to Important Notes in Form A for details.

Training Courses by "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" Are Now Open for Application (Courses from February to March 2014)

"Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" is the first voluntary accreditation project in Hong Kong to help the restaurant industry to improve performance in resource utilization, pollution control and environmental management. Via the 3-level training programmes, the project disseminates useful knowledge in environmental protection and resource management for trade operators, managers (management level), supervisors, frontline staff (supervising level) and auditors and encourages the trade to implement environmental protection in their business planning and operation stages. All course attendees will be awarded with training certificates.
Please click here for details of training courses.

To strengthen the educational work and partnership efforts with the restaurant trade

To strengthen the educational work and partnership efforts with the restaurant trade, the EPD started to send out advisory letters to applicants of FEHD's licence for general restaurants and factory canteens to arouse their awareness in preventing air pollution that may be caused by their businesses. Leaflets on "Cooking Fume Emission Control for Restaurants and Catering Business" and requirements to comply with the "APC (Furnaces, Ovens and Chimneys)(Installation and Alteration) Regulations" were enclosed with the letters to provide general guidances to the applicants.

The Renewed Booklet "Green Restaurant - Environmental Legislation Requirements for the Restaurant Trade" (Chinese Version Only)

In order to assist the restaurant trade to understand the environmental requirements and the relevant licences needed, EPD has prepared this booklet with the aim to provide concise guidance to the restaurant trade. Other than updating the information on EPD offices and Green Restaurant website, minor editing has also been made. Please press here for downloading the latest version of the booklet.

The First Batch Accreditation Ceremony of the "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" (QREMS)

Launched officially on 8 December 2011, the "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" (QREMS) is the first voluntary accreditation project in Hong Kong to help the restaurant industry to improve environmental performance. In order to recognize the outstanding performance of food and beverage traders in adopting green practices, an accreditation ceremony for the first batch of twenty-three merchants was held on 28 September 2012 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. The Secretary for the Environment, Mr. Wong Kam-sing, was invited to be the guest of honour for officiating the ceremony and presenting certificates to the accredited restaurants.
Please visit their thematic website and HKPC's related webpage for project details.

Green Restaurant – Technical Information CD (Chinese Version Only)

The Renewed Green Restaurant CD (Chinese Version Only)

The EPD has prepared this environmental information CD for the restaurant trade and the public. The CDs are available free of charge. The leaflets of "Cooking Fume Emission Control for the Restaurant and Catering Trade" and "Good Management Practices on Food Waste Reduction " were added to the renewed CDs on top of the original contents.

The Launching Ceremony of "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" (QREMS)

With the preparation and effort of about 1 year from the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants and Related Trades (HKFORT), the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and the Project Steering Committee, the "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" was launched formally on 8 December 2011. On the same date, Dr. Kitty Poon Kit, the Under Secretary for the Environment; Dr. Chan Shou-ming, the Chairman of HKFORT; Mr. Clement Chen, the Chairman of HKPC; and Mr. Simon Tam, the Chairman of Project Steering Committee officiated the formal launching of the scheme at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Please visit their thematic website and HKPC's related webpage for project details.

Good Management Practices on Food Waste Reduction (Leaflet)

The promotional leaflet aims to provide guidance for restaurants, food and beverage processing industry and etc. to understand and employ practicable environmental management measures for food waste minimization. In addition, more information on food waste reduction could be read in the Chapter 7 of Environmental Guidebook for the Restaurant Trade (Chinese Version Only).

Training Courses by "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" Are Now Open for Application (Courses from February to March 2014)

EPD's Compliance Assistance Centre

The EPD's Compliance Assistance Centre (CAC) has been in operation. This one-stop information and advisory centre provides the public and business trades the support services and information on environmental compliance, pollution prevention and environmental management.

Cooking Fume Emission Control for Restaurant and Catering Trade(Leaflet)

Cooking Fume Emission Control for the Restaurant and Catering Trade (Leaflet)

The promotional leaflet aims to provide general and practical guidance to the restaurant trade on how to control their cooking fume emission.

Hong Kong Green Awards 2013 Are Now Open For Application (Submission Deadline: 14 September 2013)

The first Hong Kong Green Awards (HKGA) was formulated and staged by the Green Council (GC) in 2010, its direct focus is to seek out, identify and recognize select participating companies that have pursued and achieved outstanding performance and results in the areas of green purchasing, green management and green governance. Nevertheless, the broader objective of this year's event -- "Hong Kong Green Awards 2013" (HKGA 2013) is to encourage all large corporations and SMEs in Hong Kong to include environmental considerations, responsibility, management, performance, continuous improvement and leadership in their operations.
Please click here for details of the HKGA 2013 on the Green Council website or click here to download their application forms.

Training Courses by "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" Are Now Open for Application (Courses from July to September 2012 )

Public Consultation on Municipal Solid Waste Charging

Public Consultation on Introduction of Waste Charging to Strengthen Waste Reduction

The Environment Bureau launched on 10 January 2012 the public consultation on the introduction of charging as an economic means to reduce the generation of municipal solid waste. The consultation document gives an overview of waste management in Hong Kong, and outlines the international experience in waste charging and key considerations for the implementation of such scheme in Hong Kong. The consultation will last for three months from now until 10 April 2012. Views are welcome.
For more information on the public consultation, please visit the dedicated webpage.

"Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" Kick-off Ceremony

The Kick-off Ceremony of "Quality Restaurant Environmental Management Scheme" was held on 9 December 2010. It was organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades (HKFORT) and the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), funded by the Environment and Conservation Fund (ECF). The objective of scheme is to enhance the competitiveness of local restaurant trade and improve the environment in Hong Kong through encouraging the trade to implement environmental management and resources conservation measures. For more details, please visit HKFORT's or HKPC's webpage.

Banning the Import of Hydrochloroflurocarbons(HCFCs) Products to Recover the Ozone Layer

To protect and recover our ozone layer, the Environmental Protection Department has banned the import of products using HCFCs (including refrigeration/air-conditioning equipment, aerosol products and etc.) in phases from 1st January 2010. For more information on the regulation, please browse the related webpage.

Environmental Compliance Promotion Programme – Thematic Workshop for the Food & Beverage Manufacturing Industry

To enhance the environmental awareness and promote environmental compliance for the trades, the Environmental Protection Department organized the thematic workshop for the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industry. The representatives invited from the Food and Beverage Manufacturing Industry shared their successful experiences to reveal how they used the green measures and environmental management to improve their operating efficiencies, reduce costs and achieve the goals of energy saving, emission reduction and effectiveness improvement.

Environmental Compliance Promotion Programme – Thematic Workshops for the Restaurant Trade

To facilitate the local trades and industrials to further understand the environmental legislation and related requirements, the Environmental Protection Department organized 5 workshops for the Restaurant Trade. Speakers from the restaurant trade associations and related organizations shared their successful experiences and practical tips in implementing environmental management and green measures in their food services operations.

Amended Fuel Restriction Regulation to Cut Sulphur Dioxide Emission

The Air Pollution Control (Fuel Restriction) (Amendment) Regulation becomes effective on 1 October 2008. Diesel fuel users in industrial and commercial sectors have to switch to using ultra low sulphur diesel (ULSD) with a sulphur content of not more than 0.005% by weight.

Tax Deduction for Environmental Protection Facilities

The government has introduced accelerated tax deduction for environment-friendly facilities in an effort to encourage the business community to use them. The proposal takes effect from the year of assessment 2008-09.

Promotion of Green Lunch in Schools

The EPD released the "Guideline on how to promote Green Lunch in schools". The guideline introduces the "List of School Lunch Suppliers" and "List of Disposable Lunch Box Recyclers" to help the schools to choose the appropriate lunch box suppliers. This guideline is also valuable for reference of restaurants and food suppliers.