Green group Friends of the Earth say the problem may be only the tip of the iceberg and that huge amounts of
e-waste may be stuck in Hong Kong without an outlet.

The recycler said he used to receive e-waste, including televisions and fridges, from foreign companies on the mainland and pass them on to traders, who would resell them.

He used to get about HK$1,000 for a tonne of such waste.

But a month ago, the traders began to refuse it, saying it would soon be against the law.

As a result, his circuit boards, for computer mice, have nowhere to go. "I don't know what to do with them. I'm looking for recyclers who know how to treat them," he said.

"But I know many others are having the same problem. It's a problem for Hong Kong."

The mainland law was passed in August 2008.

It dictates that products defined as banned waste and electronic products shall not be imported.

Michelle Au Wing-tsz, senior environmental officer of Friends of the Earth, urged the Hong Kong government to speed up legislation against the import and export of such waste.

She also called for the administration to work out ways to deal with it as soon as possible.

The Environment Bureau consulted the public in January on legislation for the proper management of electronic waste. Its findings are due early next year.

But Au said: "Legislation may take more than a year, and treatment facilities may take several. We can't afford to let the waste accumulate. Even China has done it already. What are we waiting for?"

The bureau proposed that bulky electrical appliances, electronic equipment and computer products be banned from disposal as ordinary rubbish but recycled separately.

Together these products account for 86 percent of the total e-waste generated in Hong Kong.

The proposal includes an extra fee, possibly up to HK$250 per product, to be paid by customers for waste treatment. More than 70,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated in Hong Kong each year, an amount expected to grow 2 percent a year.

Much of the waste is now exported after preliminary treatment in recycling yards, but the storage before shipment creates environmental hazards. The environmentally harmful practice of heating electronic circuit boards over coal-fired grills to remove gold is widespread.

Au said a government-led collection and recycling system would also stave off the waste that ends up in unregulated recycling yards in the New Territories.