Secretary for the Environment KS Wong today attended a seminar on construction waste management held by the Green Building Council.
He was joined by 100 members of the construction and recycling industries to discuss how to strengthen the management of construction waste.
Mr Wong said the Government attaches importance to the handling of construction waste, adding it has implemented the Construction Waste Disposal Charging Scheme since 2006 which has been effective in reducing construction waste.
However, most seminar attendants said it is untenable for the charging level to remain unchanged for years, and the large amounts of reusable public fill produced during different types of construction work requires proper management.
"The current cost of handling construction waste at the landfills has already increased to over $200 per tonne, which exceeds the existing charging level of $125 per tonne and no longer reflects the principle of polluter-pays, while the cost of handling public fill has also far exceeded the current charging level of $27 per tonne," he said.
The Government is considering fee adjustment and has been studying its potential impact on illegal dumping of construction waste.
It will also explore measures to provide technical support for the reduction and recycling of construction waste.
