HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Both vehicles and labour were hired immediately after the typhoons in September for urgent clearance work and some hired vehicles are still being used, primarily for clearing away accumulations of junk.
An additional tug and two barges have been brought into use to speed up the disposal of refuse from the Island and two large new bulldozers are being purchased to replace the hired bulldozers at Gin Drinkers Bay dump.
(17) DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:
In view of the difficulty in recruiting staff of the junior grade for the Urban Services Department, will the Chairman take up with Government the need for urgency in up-grading the early completion of refuse incinerators for Kowloon as the volume of refuse grows with the rapidly increasing population and the desirability for the early closure of the refuse dump at Gin Drinkers Bay?
THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS replied as follows:-
The Kennedy Town incinerator is under construction and should be completed in December 1965. A fourth unit is being installed in this plant bringing the total capacity to 1,000 tons a day. When this incinerator is brought into operation, the refuse barge service from the Island will cease.
The Lai Chi Kok incinerator, also of 1,000 tons a day capacity, is in Category A of the Public Works Programme. The plant has been ordered from the makers and detailed planning by the Consultants for the Civil Engineering Works is proceeding. The estimated date of completion is December 1966. This incinerator has attached to it a pilot composting plant with a capacity of 6 tons a day.
Proposals have been made for the construction of two more incinerators, one on the Island and one in Kowloon which, it is hoped, will be completed before 1970. The site proposed for the second Island incinerator is being processed by the departments concerned, and subject to agreement, the incinerator will be recommended for inclusion in Category B of the Public Works Programme at the next review of the programme by the Public Works Sub-Committee of Finance Committee. The site proposed for the second Kowloon incinerator presents some difficulty as the Director of Civil Aviation is concerned about the possibility of smoke in the approaches to the airport. Alternative sites are being considered and a final decision will be deferred until experience has been gained of the operation of the Kennedy Town incinerator.
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DR. LEE: Can the Director of Public Works inform me what will be the height of the chimneys for these incinerators and will they produce obvious smoke in the urban areas?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:-The height of the chimneys will be approximately 200 feet. We are assured by the makers of the plant that they will not produce smoke, but I think we must get experience in the operation before we can be certain of this. I would say that at certain times, in the initial period in the experiment of the plant, you will get some smoke, but this should be a temporary thing which could be adjusted possibly in a quarter of an hour. When the incinerator is going properly and has been run in, no smoke is anticipated and the makers have said that there would be no smoke.
DR. LEE:-Regarding this question of the height of chimneys, Mr. Chairman, I believe it is the view of the experts in the United Kingdom that chimneys sited in the urban areas should not be less than 700 feet in height. I wonder whether the Director of Public Works agrees with that or not, but if he wants to challenge my remark I have Dr. FRANKLIN* in the Council Chamber. I am sure he will agree with what I have said.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:-I would not challenge that remark at all, Mr. Chairman, as I just do not know. I will, however, look it up, but to construct a chimney 700 feet high is a terrible job. Also in Hong Kong we have typhoons and to raise a chimney to that height would be a menace. We just could not do it.
DR. LEE: Mr. Chairman, would you like me to ask Dr. FRANKLIN to circulate the paper to the Director of Public Works for information? A second supplementary, Mr. Chairman. Why must a site for the second Kowloon project in Category B be near the Kai Tak Airport? Could it not be sited, say, at Kwun Tong or further away?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: Mr. Chairman, may I point out that the site is just round the bay off the Kwun Tong air approach in the Yau Tong area. This is, however, in the approaches to the Kai Tak Airport, where there is a possibility of smoke, and the place is declared a smoke control area with height restrictions imposed on chimneys. But I personally think that we will get over this problem. If we do not, the alternative is to look further afield, but that is the ideal location from the point of view of refuse collection and disposal. It shortens the haul for your vehicles and makes it much more efficient.
*The Assistant Director (Hygiene).
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Page 158 of 312
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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Both vehicles and labour were hired immediately after the typhoons in September for urgent clearance work and some hired vehicles are still being used, primarily for clearing away accumulations of junk.
An additional tug and two barges have been brought into use to speed up the disposal of refuse from the Island and two large new bulldozers are being purchased to replace the hired bulldozers at Gin Drinkers Bay dump.
(17) DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:
In view of the difficulty in recruiting staff of the junior grade for the Urban Services Department, will the Chairman take up with Government the need for urgency in up- grading the early completion of refuse incinerators for Kowloon as the volume of refuse grows with the rapidly increasing population and the desirability for the early closure of the refuse dump at Gin Drinkers Bay?
THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS replied as follows:-
The Kennedy Town incinerator is under construction and should be completed in December 1965. A fourth unit is being installed in this plant bringing the total capacity to 1,000 tons a day. When this incinerator is brought into operation, the refuse barge service from the Island will
cease.
The Lai Chi Kok incinerator, also of 1,000 tons a day capacity, is in Category A of the Public Works Programme. The plant has been ordered from the makers and detailed planning by the Consultants for the Civil Engineering Works is proceeding. The estimated date of completion is December 1966. This incinerator has attached to it a pilot composting plant with a capacity of 6 tons a day.
Proposals have been made for the construction of two more incinerators, one on the Island and one in Kowloon which, it is hoped, will be completed before 1970. The site proposed for the second Island incinerator is being processed by the departments concerned, and subject to agreement, the incinerator will be recommended for inclusion in Category B of the Public Works Programme at the next review of the programme by the Public Works Sub-Committee of Finance Committee. The site proposed for the second Kowloon incinerator presents some difficulty as the Director of Civil Aviation is concerned
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
293
about the possibility of smoke in the approaches to the airport. Alternative sites are being considered and a final decision will be deferred until experience has been gained of the operation of the Kennedy Town incinerator.
DR. LEE: Can the Director of Public Works inform me what will be the height of the chimneys for these incinerators and will they produce obvious smoke in the urban areas?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: -The height of the chimneys will be approximately 200 feet. We are assured by the makers of the plant that they will not produce smoke, but I think we must get experience in the operation before we can be certain of this. I would say that at certain times, in the initial period in the experiment of the plant, you will get some smoke, but this should be a temporary thing which could be adjusted possibly in a quarter of an hour. When the incinera- tor is going properly and has been run in, no smoke is anticipated and the makers have said that there would be no smoke.
DR. LEE-Regarding this question of the height of chimneys, Mr. Chairman, I believe it is the view of the experts in the United Kingdom that chimneys sited in the urban areas should not be less than 700 feet in height. I wonder whether the Director of Public Works agrees with that or not, but if he wants to challenge my remark I have Dr. FRANKLIN* in the Council Chamber. I am sure he will agree with what I have said.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:-I would not challenge that remark at all, Mr. Chairman, as I just do not know. I will, however, look it up, but to construct a chimney 700 feet high is a terrible job. Also in Hong Kong we have typhoons and to raise a chimney to that height would be a menace. We just could not do it.
DR. LEE: Mr. Chairman, would you like me to ask Dr. FRANKLIN to circulate the paper to the Director of Public Works for information? A second supplementary, Mr. Chairman. Why must a site for the second Kowloon project in Category B be near the Kai Tak Airport? Could it not be sited, say, at Kwun Tong or further away?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: Mr. Chairman, may I point out that the site is just round the bay off the Kwun Tong air approach in the Yau Tong area. This is, however, in the approaches to the Kai Tak Airport, where there is a possibility of smoke, and the place is declared a smoke control area with height restrictions imposed on chimneys. But I personally think that we will get over this problem. If we do not, the alternative is to look further afield, but that is the ideal location from the point of view of refuse collection and disposal. It shortens the haul for your vehicles and makes it much more efficient.
*The Assistant Director (Hygiene).
T
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