Construction, renovation and demolition works generate a large amount of waste requiring disposal everyday. As a responsible developer, contractor or property management company, you should implement a waste management plan to minimize waste generation and manage your construction waste properly and effectively.
- Prepare guidelines and implement a waste management plan
- Supervise material transportation and implement a trip ticket system
- Use suitable waste disposal facilities
- Help prevent illegal dumping activities
Take steps to avoid causing harm to the environment:
Prepare guidelines and implement a waste management plan
- Review all waste production procedures to minimize waste generation.
- Monitor waste production and waste flow.
- Provide suitable storage areas for sorting of inert and non-inert waste. Sort and separate by waste type such as metal, bricks and wood, to facilitate further processing.
- Prohibit depositing of construction waste outside the specific deposition area.
- Arrange, supervise and track waste transfer to ensure proper waste disposal.
- Refer to the document “Site Practice for Waste Reduction in Construction Industry” for further information.
Monitor construction waste transfer and implement a trip ticket system
- Employ only reliable and reputable waste transport companies.
- Confirm the types of waste for disposal and give clear instructions to the transporter.
- Ensure that the transporter would comply with all legal requirements, including: (a) no overloading; (b) covering dusty materials; and (c) washing truck bodies and wheels before leaving construction sites.
- Implement a trip ticket system to control waste flow. Request the transporter to keep and provide proper records for tracking of waste. For details of the trip ticket system, refer to the “Practice Note for Authorized Persons, Registered Structural Engineers and Registered Geotechnical Engineers” No. ADV-19 “Construction and Demolition Waste” available at the website of the Buildings Department or contact the Civil Engineering and Development Department.
 |
Dispose of construction waste at suitable waste disposal facilities
- Arrange for proper disposal of construction waste at suitable public waste disposal facilities. Visit the website of the EPD for details of these facilities.
- Send inert construction waste such as rubbles, bricks, soil and concrete to public fill reception facilities.
- Send non-inert and non-recycable construction waste for disposal at Government landfills.
- Comply with the trip ticket system and keep proper records.
- Do not deposit or stockpile construction waste on public roads or Government land.
Ensure written permission from all land owners and EPD’s acknowledgement on the notification form have been obtained if construction waste is to be transported to a private lot
Never dispose of any waste on a private lot without the permission from any owner or lawful occupier of the lot. If the total deposition area of construction waste on a private lot exceeds 20 m2 (regardless of who deposited the waste), you should ensure that:
- Written permission from all land owners has been obtained.
- A prior notification on the deposition submitted through a form (EPD-238) has been acknowledged by EPD.
- A copy of the relevant parts of the acknowledged form has been displayed in a conspicuous place on the lot.
- Necessary measures (e.g. use fencing and traffic cones to delineate the deposition area) have been adopted for easy identification of the specified deposition area to prevent depositors from carrying out land filling activities outside the specified area.
- Unless with the land owner’s consent and planning permission, do not deposit construction waste on any private land. In general, do not carry out land filling activity in any place, especially in conservation and Agriculture zones.
- Do not deposit contaminated waste (such as chemical waste) under any circumstances.
- If such activities cause pollution or violate the town planning or any other legislation, the relevant Government departments will take appropriate enforcement actions.
Offences and Penalties
- Under the Town Planning Ordinance, a person commits an offence if he undertakes an unauthorized development in the rural New Territories within the Development Permission Area. Any filling of land/pond within the conservation and Agriculture zones (even for undertaking a development which is a permitted use) without the planning permission from the Town Planning Board (TPB) would constitute an unauthorized development. Any land owner whose land is involved in the unauthorized filling of land/pond; or any person responsible for such operation may be subject to prosecution. An offender is liable to a fine of $500,000 for the first conviction; and a fine of $1,000,000 for subsequent convictions.
- Under the Waste Disposal Ordinance, a person commits an offence if he deposits or causes or permits to be deposited waste in any place except with lawful authority or excuse, or except with the permission of any owner or lawful occupier of the place. Moreover, if the total deposition area of construction waste within a private lot exceeds 20 m2, it would be an offence to deposit construction waste on the lot without EPD’s acknowledgement on a prior notification on the deposition together with written permission from all owners of the lot. An offender is liable to a fine of $200,000 and imprisonment for 6 months. In addition, the depositor is liable to a fine of $100,000 if he does not display a copy of the EPD’s acknowledged form in a conspicuous place on the lot at all time during the deposition.
