Transcript of remarks by SEN
​Following is the transcript of remarks by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, on municipal solid waste (MSW) charging after attending radio programmes this morning (November 1):
Reporter: Mr Wong, many people have expressed concerns about the increase in fly-tipping or illegal dumping once this waste charging scheme is implemented. How are you going to give the public confidence that this problem will be tackled and do you think there is a need to have better integration between the FEHD and the EPD to solve this problem?
Secretary for the Environment: As I said earlier, public education is the priority. Before the implementation of MSW charging, we will reach different key stakeholders through various means, including public education, community support and our outreaching teams. We will communicate with them so that they can understand more about MSW charging and do more on clean recycling. Certainly, we will adjust our resources to suit the enforcement plan in the future. Meanwhile, emphasis should be placed on publicity and education first.
Reporter: But is there enough co-operation between the EPD and the FEHD on this matter? Do you think there is a need to have a waste authority as suggested by some green groups?
Secretary for the Environment: As mentioned in our brief to the Legislative Council on MSW charging, in the future, we will set up an office to strengthen the collaboration among different departments in relations to this issue.
(Please also refer to the Chinese portion of the transcript.)