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approval on 31 May 1990. It will be stipulated in the vehicle contract that the 56 vehicles should all be delivered before 31 January 1991.
3. MR. FUNG KWONG-CHUNG asked the following question (in Cantonese): Video tapes are sold openly in some newspaper stalls. This violates the law governing the licensing of newspaper stalls. Is the Council going to take any action in this regard?
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Chairman, the question concerns the sale of video tapes at newspaper stalls.
Under the current Council policy, licensed newspaper hawkers are only permitted to sell newspapers, magazines, periodicals and books, as specified in the licence.
The Department is aware that video tapes are the latest addition to a number of miscellaneous items, such as tissue paper, chewing gum, cigarettes, etc., commonly sold in small quantities at newspaper stalls. A survey is being carried out with a view to ascertaining whether there is a need to review the present policy on newspaper hawker licences. Should a general policy review be considered necessary, the matter will be referred to the Working Party to Review Hawker and Related Policies for consideration.
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to collect and deliver waste to the refuse collection points. During the process, some form of separation by way of sorting is done to retrieve paper, bottles, metal, beverage cans, etc. as these materials are of value. A second sorting is done at the refuse collection points by the Department's staff during the loading of refuse onto the refuse collection vehicles. This informal waste separation is well organized and has helped reduce the waste bulk significantly. The household waste at refuse collection points has little value for separation and is relatively high in putrescibles, which account for 28% of the household waste collected. Also, further classification and separation of waste for collection at the refuse collection points would require additional vehicles, re-scheduling of collection routes, additional storage space both at home and in the private refuse chambers and refuse collection points.
The Department has no plan to change the present system of collection of household waste and separation of recyclable materials in the absence of a recycling programme which does more than just collect and separate reclaimable materials. Households will continue to rely on private refuse collectors in disposing of their waste, and these collectors will continue to perform the separation as long as there is a market for the salvaged materials. To encourage complete separation of waste by type, there has to be a stable and long term market for the reclaimed materials at prices which will justify the investment and continued spending on the programme. At present, recycling activity is mainly export-oriented and is mostly confined to paper and metal.
4. DR. SAMUEL P. W. WONG asked the following question (in English):—Of the 4600 t.p.d. (tonnes per day) household waste collected by private waste collection contractors and delivered to our RCP's, about 80% is relatively 'clean' waste that could either be re-cycled or is quite 'hygienic' to handle. The remaining 10-15% is putrescible matter. However, both types are thoroughly mixed at the point of origin.
Adverse environmental impacts associated with the collection of waste arise therefore from:
(i) odour both from points where the waste accumulates prior to collection and in vehicles used for collection; and
(ii) non-containment of leachate at points where waste accumulates prior to collection and in vehicles used for collection.
Last year, over 1 million tonnes of waste were exported at a value of $2.2 billion.
Would this Council consider encouraging the citizens of Hong Kong to help improve the environment by separating the putrescible matter diligently from the rest of the household waste so that waste collection contractors and our staff at RCPs could handle these two lots separately?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in English):—Mr. Chairman, the question concerns the separation of putrescible waste from other household waste to improve environmental hygiene.
In the urban area, the great majority of households and the commercial sector do not handle waste directly. Private refuse collectors are normally hired to collect and deliver waste to the refuse collection points. During the process...
As regards the smell of the refuse, separate collection alone will not eliminate completely the nuisance, because we still have to handle the putrescibles in the refuse collection points. Modernized refuse collection points equipped with sophisticated odour suppression systems are built so that waste collection can be effectively done within enclosed structures. Proper drains are provided within the modernized refuse collection points, and our refuse collection vehicles have sump tanks to drain off waste water before leaving the refuse collection points. Furthermore, the Department plans to replace on a phased basis the existing open containers and the 570-litre circular bins at both public and private refuse collection points by 660-litre plastic rectangular bins with self-closing lids. To further resolve the leachate problem, a fleet of new refuse collection vehicles will be put into service before the end of this year.
(Messrs. CHOW Wai-keung and Mox Ying-fan arrived at 2.38 p.m. and 2.39 p.m. respectively.)
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