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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

The Environmental Hygiene Select Committee had asked for full details of existing refuse collection points and will be considering methods

to improve them whenever possible.

2 We are pressing ahead with the construction of permanent off-street refuse collection points to replace the existing on-street ones wherever possible. Up to the present, the Council has constructed 32 of these and another 10 will be completed within the next two years. Twenty-six more are under active planning. However, a major limitation on this construction programme is the difficulty of getting sites. But I feel that sites for refuse collection points deserve a high priority and I can assure Members that the Urban Services Department has taken this matter up with the Environ- ment Branch of the Government Secretariat at a high level.

3 It has recently been decided that all new permanent refuse collection points should be provided with air-conditioning or mechanical ventilation in order to make them less offensive to the public. This will be done in the Spring Garden Lane refuse collection point due for completion in the near future.

Finally, in those areas where sites for the construction of permanent refuse collection points are not likely to be available, the Council will explore the possibility of putting them underground, for example, where there are other Council facilities such as parks and playgrounds. It is too early to say whether this idea will prove to be practicable, but if it is, it will add substantially to the sites which can be used for refuse collection points.

DR WONG (in English):-Mr Chairman, may I ask two small questions: (1) is the Council or the department aware of how many hours in a day the refuse collecting baskets are allowed to remain on the road and how long it takes for the car to carry away the baskets; and (2) is the Council or the department looking into any possibilities of renovating the present air-leaking and water-leaking refuse collecting baskets?

MRS Ho (in English):-Mr Chairman, in reply to Dr WONG's first question, there are some statistics which the department keeps because each district area has a man in charge and he should be able to find out. I wish I had notice of that question because I would have been able to give an answer. But as I have not, I can assure Dr WONG that each district supervisor is responsible for checking the conditions of the refuse collection points in the different areas. Perhaps I should add that last month, we had some problems with the incinerators and with the typhoons, and because of this extra pressure, vehicles taking refuse to the incinerators had to wait some- times as long as four hours to queue up and this contributes to the time lag. So it is very difficult to say just how long it takes but if Dr WONG

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

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wants the average figure or any daily figures, I am sure I will be able to

give it to him.

On the second point on the refuse baskets, we will certainly look into it. As I said in the earlier reply to his question, it is the private refuse collectors who now convey the rubbish from households to refuse collection points. It is obviously not a question of just Council itself to tackle. We must look into the whole question because it affects private refuse collectors. MR KIM Y. S. CHAM (in English):-Mr Chairman, to minimize the time the refuse is on the road waiting to be collected by the vehicles, will considera- tions be given to synchronize the timing of collection so as to minimize refuse lying on the roads before chambers are built, which will obviously

take a long time?

MRS HO (in English):-Mr Chairman, this will be considered. As I pointed out, there are other problems. The vehicles may be there, but due to traffic blocks or a delay of the incinerator, this can be a problem. But I can assure Mr CHAM that we place great stress on this problem to minimize nuisances to residents and people in the area.

MR HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Mr Chairman, could I ask whether offensive smell is one of the problems in regard to some of the off-street and on-street sites which are near schools?

MRS Ho (in English):---Mr Chairman, that is obviously one of them, as anybody who walks near would appreciate. There is also another point with the refuse collection point, a lot of junk is left, adding junk odour, so if this is refrigerated, it will not smell, but visually, people object quite rightly, Sir.

MR CHEONG-LEEN (in English):—Adjacent to these sites where it has been found that offensive smell is one of the problems, has consideration been given to using chemicals or any other methods to temporarily neutralize such offensive smell?

MRS HO (in English):· I am sure this would be studied, Mr Chairman, but the question is that when collection points are cleared and washed down, no sooner does the lorry turn round the corner, private collectors just dump other refuse and this creates quite a problem.

4 DR P. C. WONG asked the following question (in English):—Will the Urban Council consider setting up an Ice-skating rink in response to the Governor's call for more community recreation?

MR F. K. HU VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION AND AMENITIES SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question refers to the

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