A landfill user was convicted at Fanling Magistrates' Courts today (August 2) for contravening the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation and fined $3,000. The user provided incorrect information to staff of the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) while he was preparing to dispose of waste at the West New Territories (WENT) Landfill.
A spokesman for the EPD said that the department is determined to stop landfill users from delivering construction waste to landfills in the guise of municipal solid waste to avoid construction waste disposal charges. In a blitz operation conducted at the WENT Landfill in January 2022, EPD staff encountered a landfill user who claimed that he was not delivering construction waste, but EPD staff subsequently found construction waste in what the landfill user had disposed of. After an investigation and collection of evidence, 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 and 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 deliberately 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 legal requirements. The EPD will continue to take stringent enforcement action to deter any illegal activities within landfills.
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