MORE than half of all toxic waste is still being dumped into Victoria Harbour, despite the existence of a $1.3 billion chemical waste treatment plant on Tsing Yi Island.
The plant began taking small amounts of waste just over a year ago and officially opened in May, but the Environmental Protection Department said it would be the end of the year before it was running at full capacity.
Even then, it may take up to three years to stop polluters around Victoria Harbour because department officers have to catch them in the act of dumping waste down the drain - a near impossibility - and anti-pollution laws will not be in full effect untilthe end of 1996.
Department official Paul Holmes, who oversees the licensing and registration of polluters, believes most of the untreated waste is being flushed into the harbour, with a small proportion going to landfills.
Toxic, or chemical, waste can enter the food chain and cause serious health problems in humans. It also corrodes sewers and contaminates mud on the seafloor.
About 40 per cent of the expected 10,000 tonnes of chemical waste produced each month is being treated at the Tsing Yi plant.
''That's 40,000-odd tonnes [since May] that have not gone into Victoria Harbour and that is significant progress, but we've got a long way to go,'' said Mr Holmes.
