1973 — Page 90

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

(13) MR. JOHN MACKENZIE asked the following question (in English):-

What progress has been made by the Urban Council in obtaining sufficient Off-street Collection Points to service current and future needs of garbage collection?

How many such points are now in operation, how many will be provided in the current year and what is the estimate of total community requirements? What is being done (by the Council) to speed-up the process of providing Off-street Collection Points in each urban district?

DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in Cantonese): —

The policy of providing off-street refuse collection points was first adopted in 1970 when experimental off-street points, introduced as early as 1965, proved to be a considerable improvement on the usual kerb-side refuse collection. Since then, the Council has continually pressed Government to allocate more sites for the provision of off-street collection points with a view to the eventual phasing out of all on-street collection points.

At present, there are 8 permanent off-street refuse collection points (1 in Hong Kong, 7 in Kowloon) supplemented by 35 temporary off-street collection sites (8 in Hong Kong, 27 in Kowloon). It is expected that 6 more permanent off-street collection points (2 in Hong Kong, 4 in Kowloon) will be completed in the current year, out of 42 projects (23 in Hong Kong, 19 in Kowloon) already in Category B of the Public Works Programme. At the same time, 13 additional items (3 in Hong Kong, 10 in Kowloon) have been recommended for inclusion in the Public Works Programme for 1974-75.

There are presently over 700 on-street collection points in the urban areas. It is estimated that about 200 suitably sited off-street collection points would be required to replace them, each providing facilities for collecting 10-12 tons of refuse daily. This calculation is, of course, subject to revision in the light of future developments. Although a standard design has, in fact, been adopted to streamline the construction of off-street collection points and although adequate funds are also available, efforts by the Council to provide more off-street points have been seriously hampered by several factors, namely, the acute shortage of suitable and accessible sites, strong objections from the public, and contingent traffic problems. Meanwhile, only one off-street collection point was completed during 1972-73, although it has been claimed that up to 12 per year can be built. The Council has therefore asked the Public Works Department to look urgently into expediting the construction of off-street collection points, and of conducting a comprehensive feasibility study on how the target can best be achieved.

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been seriously hampered by several factors, namely, the acute shortage of suitable and accessible sites, strong objections from the public, and contingent traffic problems. Meanwhile, only one off-street collection point was com- pleted during 1972-73, although it has been claimed that up to 12 per year can be built. The Council has therefore asked the Public Works Department to look urgently into expediting the construction of off-street collection points, and of conducting a comprehensive feasibility study on how the target can best be achieved.

(14) MR. JOHN MACKENZIE asked the following question (in English):—

How many Funeral Parlours now exist in Hong Kong; has there been any expansion in numbers in recent years and what steps, if any, are being taken to develop additional Funeral Parlours to service the community?

Has the Urban Council any plans for providing low-cost Funeral Parlours for the benefit of low-income families in the Colony?

MR. PETER P. F. CHAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE CEMETERIES, CREMATORIA AND FUNERAL PARLOURS SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-

This question concerns Funeral Parlours in the Urban Area of Hong Kong and Kowloon.

There are at present only two commercial funeral parlours in existence, one on Hong Kong Island and one in Kowloon. In addition, the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals also provides non-profit-making services at its Yau Ma Tei Funeral Parlour. This additional service provided by Tung Wah has recently been offset by the closing down last month of a commercial funeral parlour on the Island where Tung Wah had had facilities for providing low-cost services for the poorer members of the public.

In order to develop additional funeral parlours a project has been included in Category B of the Public Works Programme to reprovision the existing Hung Hom Funeral Depot. When this is completed in 1976, the Council will, in fact, be providing funeral facilities comparable to those

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