A bill proposing charges for construction waste disposal at landfills, sorting and public fill reception facilities will be tabled at the Legislative Council on December 17.

The Waste Disposal (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2003, to be gazetted Friday, proposes the following charges which represent full recovery of the capital and recurrent costs of the facilities:

* $125 per tonne at landfills;

* $100 per tonne at sorting facilities; and,

* $27 per tonne at public fill reception facilities.

The Environment, Transport & Works Bureau said the charging scheme aims to provide an incentive for waste producers to reduce waste and carry out sorting to facilitate reuse/recycling of waste, thereby helping to slow down the depletion of limited landfill capacity.

Hong Kong is now facing a serious waste problem, and the landfills are filling up much faster than expected and will last only eight to 12 years.

The bill will define construction waste and strengthen controls against its illegal disposal, as the introduction of the charging scheme may aggravate the problem.

The bureau said a regulation to set out details of the charging scheme will be introduced upon enactment of the bill.

Key features of the charging scheme are:

* the establishment of a direct settlement system requiring major waste producers to open accounts and pay waste disposal charges direct to the Government; and,

* the exemption of all construction contracts that are awarded before the commencement of the charging scheme.

The Government will continue discussion with the trade on the detailed arrangements.