80. The first steps were taken at the end of the year towards the implementation of the Housing Board's recommendation that a block in an old estate should be converted into modern self-contained accommodation as a basis for deciding the feasibility of a general conversion scheme. The block selected was block 25, Wong Tai Sin estate, which contains some 360 domestic rooms housing about 2,000 people, and also a number of welfare and educational institutions. Notices terminating the tenancies were served in January, and the residents were given the choice of moving to other estates permanently or of moving temporarily and returning to block 25 after conversion. A disturbance allowance and initial rent-free period in their new accommodation has also been offered. After conversion, it is expected that the block will contain just over 200 domestic rooms of a standard comparable with Mark V rooms.
CLEANSING
81. The cleansing of the public parts of domestic blocks, courtyards and open ground, surface drains and banks has always been a heavy task for the labour force, particularly in the old Mark I and II estates. The design of these blocks is not conducive to the orderly disposal of rubbish, and although sanitation companies contract to remove and empty individual tenants' dust bins for a very small fee, many tenants neither employ them nor are willing to carry their own rubbish down several flights of stairs to the refuse collection points. The open-sided balconies, on the other hand, are a constant temptation to throw waste paper and refuse over the side, to be swept up by the department's sanitation labourers. A free door to door collection service exists at three of the old estates, which has resulted in some improvement, but this service cannot be extended to other old estates because of the lack of staff. The problem is not as serious in the Mark III, IV and V estates where there are refuse chutes with openings on every floor, and where the metal grilles which tenants install on their private balconies discourage the anti-social habits prevalent in the older estates. The cleansing of the public parts of the newest estates is by contract instead of by direct labour.
COMMERCIAL PREMISES, SHOPS AND COTTAGE INDUSTRIES
82. One of the first modifications to the early resettlement blocks was the conversion of a number of ground floor rooms into shops or
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