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QUESTIONS

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

(1) MR HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in English):— (a) What is the Capital cost of the new VDK refuse collection vehicles purchased by the Council and how does it compare with the current cost of the Revopak previously used? What are the respective capacities

of the two types?

(b) By using the new refuse collection vehicles, are there any savings in

labour costs compared with

(i) Revopak

(ii) Manual labour and ordinary non-compact type lorries, and if so,

can we quantify such savings of public money?

MRS GRACE HO, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): --The first part of the question refers to the cost and capacity of the new VDK refuse collection vehicles compared to the Revopaks which are already in service. Each VDK refuse collection vehicle costs $198,393. Compared to the current cost of $271,000 for a Revopak, it is $72,607 cheaper. Furthermore, the VDK has a cubic capacity of 19 cubic metres and a maximum payload of 12.5 tonnes whilst the Revopak has a cubic capacity of 13.76 cubic metres and a maximum payload of 7.32 tonnes. The cost of the VDK refuse collection vehicle can be split up into two parts:

(i) the Belgian loading unit known as VDK Unimatic costing $98,500; and (ii) the Japanese Mitsubishi Fuso Chassis/cab costing $99,893 each. The second part of the question deals with the question of saving in labour costs through the use of the new vehicle. If we assume that altogether 25 tonnes of refuse and junk have to be cleared from a refuse collection point in an 8-hour shift, the removal of this material can be done by either one VDK in 2 loads or trips, or 2 Revopaks in 4 loads or trips, or 4 Pantechnicon non-compaction lorries in 8 loads or trips. Turning now to the manning scale for these types of vehicles, that for the new VDK is 4 labourers together with one senior motor driver, for the Revopak 2 labourers with 1 senior motor driver and for the Pantechnicon lorry 3 labourers with one motor driver. This means that, for the same job of clearing 25 tonnes of refuse and junk within an 8-hour shift, the Council can save 1 senior motor driver by using one of the new VDK vehicles instead of two Revopaks, which is equivalent to $23,382 per annum in terms of staff costs. The Council can save up to 8 labourers and 3 drivers by using the new VDK vehicle instead of four Pantechnicon lorries, which is equivalent to a total saving of $191,882 per annum in terms of staff costs. In so doing, we are in fact comparing the labour costs of manning one VDK to the cost for two Revopaks and four Pantechnicons. Apart from savings in labour costs, there will also be savings in fuel and maintenance because, for clearing the same load, the VDK will be required to do a lesser number of trips. These figures may be more easily

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appreciated if you look at the comparative table printed at the end of the

written version of this reply.

Compared to the Revopak, the main operational advantage of the new VDK refuse collection vehicle lies in its much bigger payload so that refuse and junk collected at various refuse collection points can be removed for disposal more quickly.

However, I should stress that the VDK cannot replace the Revopak because the latter can shred tough rattan items and bamboo crates into small pieces, for feeding into the hoppers of the incinerators. Also, the VDK requires a larger manoeuvring area and cannot negotiate narrow streets as easily as the Revopak.

Comparative Table showing Vehicles and Staff needed to move 25 tonnes of

rubbish in 8 hours

| VDK | REVOPAK | PANTECHNICON |

| --- | --- | --- |

| No. of Vehicles ( ): No. of Trips per vehicle in 8 hours | 1 (2) | 2 (2) | 4 (2) |

| Senior Motor Drivers or Motor Drivers | 1 | 2 | 4 |

| Labourers | 4 | 4 | 12 |

MR YOUNG (in English):-Mr Chairman, since the figures just quoted show that the savings by using this new type of vehicle can be up to as much as $190,000 per annum, if you take into account the capital cost savings and by the time we take into account the fuel savings, it may be up to as much as a quarter of a million, can we be assured that we will work towards substituting the existing vehicles with new VDKs wherever possible, i.e. as mentioned in the reply those refuse collection points which do have 25 tons per 8-hour shift to clear?

MRS Ho (in English):-Mr Chairman, this point has been taken into consideration by the Environmental Hygiene Select Committee. At the moment, we have 5 VDKs in operation and these are being assessed by the different districts and as soon as we do have any feedback, we will certainly review the situation.

(Mr Edmund W. H. Chow arrived at this point.)

2 MR HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in English): Can the Council be informed of the success or otherwise of the Third Festival of Asian Arts which took place from 14 to 27 October?

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