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to urge that people will, in future, wrap their rubbish in order to simplify the collection of rubbish and also to make it a cleaner business at rubbish collection stops. The Committee is working on these two points.
CHAIRMAN: -Ladies and gentlemen, the next item on the Agenda is questions. It has been suggested to me that, in view of the length of the Agenda, if we could in some way exercise restraint over the number of supplementary questions asked at this meeting, we might get on to the three Motions by about 5.30 p.m.
MR. SALES: Sir, may I have your assurance that you are in no way attempting to muzzle the Unofficial Members of this Council?
CHAIRMAN: -That is correct Sir.
MR. SALES: -Thank you.
QUESTIONS.
(1) DR. A. M. S. BELL asked the following question:-
Will the Chairman please state whether any nuisance has been or is likely to be caused by smoke, smell and smuts to residents in the neighbourhood of the new incinerator at Kennedy Town?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL replied as follows:
The Kennedy Town incinerator has now been in partial operation for about 4 months, and recently has been burning refuse at an average rate of approximately 350 tons per day. There is as yet no evidence that any nuisance is being created by either smoke, smell or smuts.
District Health Staff made observations on smoke from the chimneys between 11th and 17th March, and found no evidence that smuts were being deposited in the surrounding area. According to their observations which were made, on average, twice a day for a period of half an hour the smoke emitted was either white or light brown in colour, and only for very brief periods was any darker smoke observed.
The amount of visible smoke emitted depends on the maintenance of correct combustion conditions. With increasing experience in the operation of the incinerators it is anticipated that the quantity of smoke should be progressively reduced, and that this will be achieved despite future increases in the quantity of refuse incinerated.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
5
DR. BELL: Mr. Chairman, a brief supplementary. How much tonnage per day is the Kennedy Town incinerator supposed to burn when it is working at maximum capacity?
CHAIRMAN: -Dr. BELL, that comes in a later answer, but it is 750 tons a day.
DR. BELL: -Mr. Chairman, in paragraph 2 of your answer, when you refer to darker smoke being observed for very brief periods, what length of time is meant by "very brief periods"?
CHAIRMAN: Dr. BELL, you and I have the same turn of mind. When I saw this expression, in the text of the reply, I enquired. The facts are there were two brief periods when there was dark smoke; one lasted 2 minutes, the other lasted 21 minutes.
DR. BELL: Mr. Chairman, 21 minutes is surely contravening the Clean Air Ordinance?
CHAIRMAN: -No, the smoke was not sufficiently dark to be an offence under the Ringelmann Chart.
DR. BELL: -One further Question. In the light of what you said on the difficulties that have been encountered so far, you are only now in fact, after two or three months of using the incinerator, able to burn half the quantity of rubbish that you expect to burn. As a result of this, will any modifications be necessary to the new incinerator in Kowloon, and is this going to delay starting the new incinerator in Kowloon?
CHAIRMAN: -The reason why, up to now, only 350 tons a day is being burnt is because the working up to full capacity takes a long time. I should also correct something which I said earlier about the capacity of the incinerator being 750 tons a day. So it is, but the amount of Island refuse which is being produced at the moment is between 550 and 600 tons a day, so that we are burning over 50% now.
The aim never was to have a crash start, but a gradual one. In answer to the second part of the question, it was expected there would be teething troubles, and there have been. The lessons learnt from these in the Kennedy Town incinerator are being applied to the Lai Chi Kok incinerator, and the last progress report states that excellent progress has been made over there.
DR. BELL: -Mr. Chairman, when do you expect to actually get up to full capacity on this incinerator?
CHAIRMAN: -I cannot predict that Dr. BELL.
Page 11 of 259
Page 11 of 259
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
to urge that people will, in future, wrap their rubbish in order to simplify the collection of rubbish and also to make it a cleaner business at rubbish collection stops. The Committee is working on these two points.
CHAIRMAN: -Ladies and gentlemen, the next item on the Agenda is questions. It has been suggested to me that, in view of the length of the Agenda, if we could in some way exercise restraint over the number of supplementary questions asked at this meeting, we might get on to the three Motions by about 5.30 p.m.
MR. SALES: Sir, may I have your assurance that you are in no way attempting to muzzle the Unofficial Members of this Council?
CHAIRMAN:-That is correct Sir.
MR. SALES:-Thank you.
QUESTIONS.
(1) DR. A. M. S. BELL asked the following question:-
Will the Chairman please state whether any nuisance has been or is likely to be caused by smoke, smell and smuts to residents in the neighbourhood of the new incinerator at Kennedy Town?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL replied as follows:
The Kennedy Town incinerator has now been in partial opera- tion for about 4 months, and recently has been burning refuse at an average rate of approximately 350 tons per day. There is as yet no evidence that any nuisance is being created by either smoke, smell or smuts.
District Health Staff made observations on smoke from the chimneys between 11th and 17th March, and found no evidence that smuts were being deposited in the surround- ing area. According to their observations which were made, on average, twice a day for a period of half an hour the smoke emitted was either white or light brown in colour, and only for very brief periods was any darker smoke observed.
The amount of visible smoke emitted depends on the main- tenance of correct combustion conditions. With increas- ing experience in the operation of the incinerators it is anticipated that the quantity of smoke should be pro- gressively reduced, and that this will be achieved despite future increases in the quantity of refuse incinerated.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
5
DR. BELL: Mr. Chairman, a brief supplementary. How much tonnage per day is the Kennedy Town incinerator supposed to burn when it is working at maximum capacity?
wwww.........
CHAIRMAN: -Dr. BELL, that comes in a later answer, but it is 750 tons a day.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, in paragraph 2 of your answer, when you refer to darker smoke being observed for very brief periods, what length of time is meant by "very brief periods"?
CHAIRMAN: Dr. BELL, you and I have the same turn of mind. When I saw this expression, in the text of the reply, I enquired. The facts are there were two brief periods when there was dark smoke; one lasted 2 minutes, the other lasted 21 minutes.
DR. BELL: Mr. Chairman, 21 minutes is surely contravening the Clean Air Ordinance?
CHAIRMAN:-No, the smoke was not sufficiently dark to be an offence under the Ringelmann Chart.
DR. BELL:-One further Question. In the light of what you said on the difficulties that have been encountered so far, you are only now in fact, after two or three months of using the incinerator, able to burn half the quantity of rubbish that you expect to burn. As a result of this, will any modifications be necessary to the new incinerator in Kowloon, and is this going to delay starting the new incinerator in Kowloon?
CHAIRMAN:-The reason why, up to now, only 350 tons a day is being burnt is because the working up to full capacity takes a long time. I should also correct something which I said earlier about the capacity of the incinerator being 750 tons a day. So it is, but the amount of Island refuse which is being produced at the moment is between 550 and 600 tons a day, so that we are burning over 50%
The aim never was to have a crash start, but a gradual one. In answer to the second part of the question, it was expected there would be teething troubles, and there have been. The lessons learnt from these in the Kennedy Town incinerator are being applied to the Lai Chi Kok incinerator, and the last progress report states that excellent progress has been made over there.
now.
DR. BELL:-Mr. Chairman, when do you expect to actually get up to full capacity on this incinerator?
CHAIRMAN:-I cannot predict that Dr. BELL.
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