HEALTH
gullies, management of public toilets and bathhouses, pest control and services for the dead.
In the urban areas, a regular workforce of about 5 022 is employed in cleansing duties. The cleansing force operates a fleet of 328 specialised vehicles which include refuse- collection vehicles, street washers, mechanical sweepers, nightsoil collectors and gully emptiers. All streets are swept at least once daily, either manually or mechanically, while busier thoroughfares are swept from four to eight times a day. Streets and lanes are also hosed down regularly. A daily refuse-collection service is provided and about 2 900 tonnes of refuse and junk are collected every day. A nightsoil collection service is also provided daily in those areas which do not have a water-borne sewage disposal system. These services are free.
The Urban Council continued to implement its policy of contracting-out selective cleansing services to private contractors to reduce the involvement of direct departmental labour and to enhance cost-effectiveness.
By the end of the year the Urban Services Department had contracted-out cleansing services for the Shau Kei Wan squatter area, all urban cargo working areas and almost all public toilets and bathhouses in Hong Kong and Kowloon. These contracts were supervised by departmental staff and the results have been highly satisfactory.
Two similar cleansing contracts, undertaken on a self-help basis by local residents of Ma Hang Village at Stanley and Telegraph Bay Village in the Southern District, were _working well.
To help improve the hygiene condition of the environment, the Regional Services Department introduced rectangular-shaped plastic bins to replace traditional metal drum containers at refuse collection points in the Regional Council area. They eliminate much of the nuisance attributable to the older models and are more pleasant in appearance. Launched in September 1988, the scheme has been successfully implemented to cover private estates in the built-up areas of Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, Tsuen Wan, Kwai Tsing and parts of Sai Kung. Public housing estates in these districts, which joined the scheme in April 1989, should be completing their conversion to the new bins in 1990.
Regular cleansing duties in the council area are carried out by a work force of 3 552 and a specialised fleet of 217 vehicles. The waste-collection services collected 555 260 tonnes of refuse and junk during 1989–90, about 8.1 per cent higher than the previous year.
The 'Keep Hong Kong Clean' campaign co-ordinated by a Joint Urban Council- Regional Council Steering Committee launched a seven-phase clean-up programme covering the environment, water, roads, schools, homes, squatter areas and villages as well as the countryside, with emphasis on community involvement, education and publicity. Enforcement of the law, however, remained the major weapon in the war against littering. During the year 28 595 people were fined $7.1 million for littering offences in the Urban Council area. In the Regional Council area, 10 332 people were fined $2.1 million.
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Controls
In maintaining and improving standards of hygiene through the enforcement of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation, health inspectors of the Urban Services Department and the Regional Services Department regularly inspect licensed and permitted premises, common parts of residential and commercial buildings, construction and vacant sites and squatter areas throughout the territory. They also carry out inspections to deal with complaints on poor sanitation and vermin infestation and