A landfill user who gave incorrect information to the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) while he was planning to dispose of waste at the North East New Territories (NENT) Landfill was convicted at Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (April 2) for contravening the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation and fined $2,000.
A spokesman for the EPD said that the department received reports in mid-2018 that some landfill users delivered construction waste to landfills in the guise of municipal solid waste to evade construction waste disposal charges. The EPD then stepped up blitz operations against the malpractice at landfills. During a blitz operation in November 2018 at the NENT Landfill, EPD officers inspected the waste delivered by a landfill user during waste transportation. The landfill user claimed that he was not delivering construction waste but the EPD officers subsequently found construction waste in the waste he had disposed of. After investigation and evidence collection, the EPD prosecuted the landfill user concerned in accordance with the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation.
The spokesman said that according to the Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation, construction waste producers, including construction contractors, renovation contractors or premises owners, are required to open a billing account with the EPD and pay the construction waste disposal charge in advance for using government waste disposal facilities. In accordance with the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation, a person who recklessly makes any statement or gives any information in a material particular that is incorrect commits an offence and is liable to a maximum fine of $100,000.
The spokesman reminded the construction and transport sectors to strictly comply with the requirements of the law. The EPD will continue to take strict enforcement action to deter any illegal activities within landfills.
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