Page 100 of 118
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN:-Before we proceed with the business of the day, may I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Members reciprocated the wish.
MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 6th December, 1960, were confirmed.
PAPER.
THE CHAIRMAN laid upon the table the following paper:-
Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department for the month of December 1960.
QUESTIONS.
MR. LI YIU-BOR asked the following question:-
"I have been informed by a member of the European community that many new multi-storey apartment houses are not provided with chutes or other facilities for the disposal of refuse, and that as a result, dustbins or other garbage receptacles are often found at the doors of these apartments, thereby creating a nuisance.
Will the Chairman inform this Council whether the above information is in fact true, and if so, what appropriate steps this Council can take to raise the hygienic standards of these buildings?"
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
"Unless multi-storeyed blocks of flats are equipped with refuse chutes, individual occupiers are required by law to have dustbins with lids and to put their refuse into them. There is no legal requirement, however, that the dustbins shall be kept within the flat. In practice, many tenants leave their dustbins outside on the landings so that they can be emptied daily by private refuse collectors. Cleansing staff of the Urban Services Department are not allowed to enter private premises and therefore collect refuse only from designated points outside buildings.
2.
While it is true that the state of affairs mentioned in the question does occur, provided lids are kept properly closed over the dustbins, there is no spillage around them and the refuse is removed once in every 24 hours, there should
3.
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be no health nuisance. The practice of leaving dustbins on landings is, of course, unsightly and possibly even malodorous, but unless an actual health nuisance is caused and is reported to the department, the matter is one between tenants and landlords.
There is at present no legal power to compel the owners of multi-storeyed domestic premises to install refuse chutes. With the assistance of the Public Works Department, a paper prepared by the Urban Services Department was sent on 1st July, 1960, to all authorized architects in Hong Kong, describing the difficulties of refuse removal from multi-storeyed buildings and encouraging the installation of refuse chutes.
4. Steps will be taken to have the matter of the improvement of hygienic standards in multi-storeyed domestic premises considered by the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, if you so wish."
DR. LEE-Arising out of paragraph 4 of your answer, Mr. Chairman, I can say, as Chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, that the question has been discussed by that Committee.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I ask a supplementary question, Mr. Chairman. Since the paper prepared by the Urban Services Department was sent to authorized architects on 1st July, have any noticeable results come to the attention of the Department?
CHAIRMAN:-I would require notice of that question.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I would be happy to give you that notice, Mr. Chairman.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
"Since the provisions of the Buildings Ordinance of 1955 do not compel owners to provide refuse chutes in new buildings and since it is the present policy of Council not to require the compulsory installation of such refuse chutes, will the Chairman advise what specific and positive steps are being taken to encourage owners and architects to install refuse chutes in new multi-storey buildings for the purpose of providing a more sanitary disposal of accumulating rubbish?”
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
“I think that the answer already given to Mr. Li Yiu-bor's similar question provides the information sought. But I must point out that the assumption that it is the present
Page 101 of 118
Page 100 of 118
182
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
CHAIRMAN:-Before we proceed with the business of the day, may I wish you all a very Happy New Year.
Members reciprocated the wish.
MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 6th December, 1960, were confirmed,
PAPER.
THE CHAIRMAN laid upon the table the following paper:-
Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services
Department for the month of December 1960.
QUESTIONS.
MR. LI YIU-BOR asked the following question:-
"I have been informed by a member of the European com- munity that many new multi-storey apartment houses are not provided with chutes or other facilities for the disposal of refuse, and that as a result, dustbins or other garbage receptacles are often found at the doors of these apart- ments, thereby creating a nuisance.
Will the Chairman inform this Council whether the above information is in fact true, and if so, what appropriate steps this Council can take to raise the hygienic standards of these buildings?"
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
"Unless multi-storeyed blocks of flats are equipped with refuse chutes, individual occupiers are required by law to have dustbins with lids and to put their refuse into them. There is no legal requirement, however, that the dustbins shall be kept within the flat. In practice, many tenants leave their dustbins outside on the landings so that they can be emptied daily by private refuse collectors. Cleans- ing staff of the Urban Services Department are not allowed to enter private premises and therefore collect refuse only from designated points outside buildings.
2.
While it is true that the state of affairs mentioned in the question does occur, provided lids are kept properly closed over the dustbins, there is no spillage around them and the refuse is removed once in every 24 hours, there should
3.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
183
be no health nuisance. The practice of leaving dustbins on landings is, of course, unsightly and possibly even malodorous, but unless an actual health nuisance is caused and is reported to the department, the matter is one between tenants and landlords,
There is at present no legal power to compel the owners of multi-storeyed domestic premises to install refuse chutes. With the assistance of the Public Works Department, a paper prepared by the Urban Services Department was sent on 1st July, 1960, to all authorized architects in Hong Kong, describing the difficulties of refuse removal from multi-storeyed buildings and encouraging the installation of refuse chutes.
4. Steps will be taken to have the matter of the improvement of hygienic standards in multi-storeyed domestic premises considered by the Environmental Hygiene Select Commit- tee, if you so wish."
DR. LEE-Arising out of paragraph 4 of your answer, Mr. Chair- man, I can say, as Chairman of the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee, that the question has been discussed by that Committee.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I ask a supplementary question, Mr. Chairman. Since the paper prepared by the Urban Services Department was sent to authorized architects on 1st July, have any noticeable results come to the attention of the Department?
CHAIRMAN:--I would require notice of that question.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-I would be happy to give you that notice, Mr. Chairman.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
"Since the provisions of the Buildings Ordinance of 1955 do not compel owners to provide refuse chutes in new build- ings and since it is the present policy of Council not to require the compulsory installation of such refuse chutes, will the Chairman advise what specific and positive steps are being taken to encourage owners and architects to install refuse chutes in new multi-storey buildings for the purpose of providing a more sanitary disposal of ac- cumulating rubbish?”
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
“I think that the answer already given to Mr. Li Yiu-bor's similar question provides the information sought. But I must point out that the assumption that it is the present
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