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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Under the Hawker By-laws, all licensed hawkers are required to provide refuse bins or receptacles sufficient in number to hold the refuse resulting from the conduct of their business, while all refuse collected must be deposited in a public refuse bin or in a refuse disposal vehicle operated by the Urban Services Department. Alternatively, refuse should be taken to a refuse collection point for disposal. Under By-law 12 of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisance By-laws, refuse carried through any street or public place must be covered.
At the moment, there is no legislation which requires hawkers or any other person to put refuse into plastic bags. Whilst plastic bags are suitable for this purpose, the Urban Council would be just as happy if refuse were delivered to refuse collection points in other forms of container such as cardboard boxes, or large heavy-duty paper containers. The essential point is that the refuse should be secured in a container so as to stop it being blown on to the streets and to seal in any smell. With this in mind, the Department is examining the possibility of amending By-law 12 to require persons to use containers for transporting refuse through the streets.
It cannot be denied that hawker concentrations provide some of the worst litter problems and these are very difficult to deal with.
There is, however, a ray of hope as in some areas the hawkers have organized their own collection service and this has resulted in a marked improvement in the environmental standard of the area. This innovation has been introduced as part of the Clean Hong Kong Campaign, and the Council is very appreciative of the public spirit shown by the hawkers participating in these schemes. The Council sincerely hopes that the fine example already shown will be emulated by all hawkers in Hong Kong.
MR. CHOI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask, having seen the Mong Kok Hawker Permitted area and the Kwun Tong Hawker Permitted area at about 10 o'clock at night, after business hours, the streets are littered completely with plastic bags and other refuse. If we put a lighted cigarette there, we'll get a fire. Even before the close of business, there are plenty of plastic bags around the place and there is not one refuse bin or receptacle. Has the Urban Services Department enforced the Hawker By-laws in these areas?
DR. HUANG (in Cantonese): I am not sure whether the question is directed to me or to the Chairman?
MR. CHOI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would like the Chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee to answer my question.
DR. HUANG (in Cantonese): I think the Kwun Tong and Mong Kok Hawker Permitted areas will require examination by staff of the Urban Services Department who will give me a report on this.
# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
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MR. CHOI (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, if Dr. HUANG refuses to believe this, I can show you all the photographs of the areas. I haven't brought these photographs today, but I will bring them to the next meeting. Mr. Chairman, the refuse is like a refuse carpet and will need a whole team of persons to clean up the street. At the moment, if we can save this staff cost, then we can save at least a few million or tens of millions. I would like Dr. HUANG to answer this question.
DR. HUANG (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I believe everything Mr. CHOI has said, as always.
MR. CHOI (in Cantonese): Thank you.
5. MR. STEPHEN M. L. LAU asked the following question (in Cantonese): Private architects have been employed on Urban Council capital projects for some time now. Could Members be informed of the effectiveness of their work on Council's programmes?
MR. LAWRENCE H. L. FUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE CAPITAL WORKS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the effectiveness of the employment of private architects on Urban Council building projects.
Since 1977, the Principal Government Architect has engaged private consultants to supplement the staff of the Architectural Office working on the Urban Council's capital works programme. No less than 82 projects have now been included in eight separate packages, each of which is dealt with by a firm of private architects. Of the 82 projects, 27 have been completed, 11 are under construction, and the remainder are at various stages of planning.
The employment of private architects has been most valuable in enabling a larger number of projects to be carried out than would otherwise have been possible using the limited resources of the Public Works Department.
A consultants management group has been set up in the Architectural Office to provide administrative support for Urban Council projects handled by private architects. The Principal Government Architect advises that all private architects require some administrative support but that the extent of this support and guidance varies from project to project depending on their scope and nature as well as on the private architect's knowledge of Government standards and procedure.
One of the main advantages of employing private consultants is that, as private organizations, they have greater flexibility of staff for urgent work. This is particularly important in the case of Urban Council projects where it is often necessary to adjust priorities to make use of land which has become available earlier than was originally expected or to introduce new projects to meet specific demands. However, once a project goes beyond the initial