An amendment regulation will be tabled to the Legislative Council on January 30, to prescribe a new application fee of $11,250 for authorisation to dispose of imported non-hazardous waste, the Environmental Protection Department says. The new fee will take effect on April 1.

The department said the proposed new fee as set out in the Waste Disposal (Permits & Licences)(Fees)(Amendment) Regulation 2008 gazetted today aims to tighten controls on the disposal of imported non-hazardous waste.

Under the new control regime, anyone who intends to dispose of any imported non-hazardous waste at designated waste-disposal facilities such as landfills must apply for authorisation from the Director of Environmental Protection.

An authorisation will require the application fee to cover the full administrative processing cost. The applicant must also bear the full cost of waste disposal at the department's waste facilities if authorisation is given.

No authorisation will be granted unless the applicant can prove the waste was originally imported for recycling and he has exhausted all possible recycling outlets and all means to return the waste to its place of origin, the department said.

By imposing these stringent conditions, the new measure will help deter the deliberate import of unwanted waste into Hong Kong for disposal under the guise of recycling, and conserve the city's valuable landfill capacity, it added.

Anyone who disposes of imported non-hazardous waste without authorisation is liable to a $200,000 fine and six months in jail on first conviction, and a $500,000 fine and a two-year jail term on second and subsequent convictions.