Page 62 of 166
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
114
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE replied to the question (in English):- Mr. Chairman, this question asks what the Council can do to minimize the bad odour generated at the refuse collection point at Tung Ching Road, and to prohibit illegal dumping there and to ensure that refuse collection operations are conducted away from the public view.
I have paid a personal visit to the site and with the help of the Department I drafted the following answer. The RCP referred to is a permanent off-street and is one situated in Tung Ching Road near the Kowloon Walled City, which is the main catchment area for this RCP, it is visited by our refuse collection vehicles twice a day, collecting about 10-15 tonnes of refuse and junk from the residents of Kowloon Walled City.
The total number may sometimes be up to 10-18 tonnes per day including domestic wastes, refuse and junk. There is an increasing amount of junk to be disposed of from the residents, on account of the impending clearance of the Walled City area.
The odour nuisance is caused mainly by wastes from some of the unlicensed food factories making fish balls in the Kowloon Walled City. These factories deposit each day about 10 buckets of wastes consisting mainly of bones, intestines and wastes of fish at the RCP. In view of the wet and easily decomposed nature of these types of refuse, bad odour will be readily generated within hours. To minimize this nuisance, staff of our Department have advised the private refuse collectors concerned to put the food wastes in plastic bags before delivering them to the RCP. They are also advised to deliver them nearer the time when the refuse collection vehicles arrive.
This RCP is open to the public from 6.10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. each day. Some residents of the Kowloon Walled City have the habit of dumping their domestic wastes indiscriminately in small plastic bags at the entrance of the RCP. The district cleansing staff of the department have taken prosecution action against some of the offenders, and 30 summonses have been issued in the past 12 months.
There are two collection times for this RCP fixed at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and so there is a long interval between the last collection at 10 a.m. in the morning till 7 a.m. the next day, and this long interval will allow for wet domestic wastes to accumulate in the RCP and very often overflow to block the entrance of the RCP. Improvement may be effected if the two collections can be spaced out at a longer interval say, one in early morning and another in the late afternoon. Alternatively, one additional daily collection may be arranged specially to handle the junk collections in the interim before the clearance scheme of the Walled City is completed.
The RCP, which is of an old design, was completed in 1983. It has only an activated carbon filtration system and is not equipped with a vehicle exhaust system. During a refuse collection operation, the metal roller shutter of the RCP cannot be closed, and the refuse collection has to be exposed to public view. The department is well aware of this unsatisfactory situation and has asked the Architectural Services Department to install a vehicle exhaust system at this RCP so that the roller shutter can be closed during the refuse collection operations. It is expected that the installation work will commence in early 1990. As a temporary measure, an electric air curtain has been installed to curb the exfiltration of the bad odour.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
115
MOTIONS
1.
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, moved the following motion:—
'RESOLVED that the Milk (Urban Council) (Amendment) By-laws 1989 be made under section 56 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap. 132.'
He said (in English):- Mr. Chairman, as the Chairman of the Public Health Select Committee, I rise to move the motion in my name that the Milk (Urban Council) (Amendment) By-laws 1989 be adopted.
The existing Milk (Urban Council) By-laws provide for public health control on the processing, reconstitution and the sale of milk and milk beverages. These by-laws also stipulate the requirements of heat-treatment, e.g. pasteurisation; the input of reasonably hygienic transportation of milk and milk beverages both before and after heat-treatment.
On the transportation, these by-laws presently impose control only on the temperature of milk and milk beverages during transport. In view of the larger and larger proportion of milk being imported from the People's Republic of China, and hence, a longer distance and time will be taken for the transportation, there is a need to strengthen the control on transport to provide an upgraded health protection.
These amendment by-laws will not only contribute to upgrading Hong Kong's food laws but will also make use of the opportunity to correct an erroneous reference which has existed in the main by-laws.
Mr. Chairman, I beg to move.
MR. TONG KAM-BIU, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE Seconded the motion (in Cantonese):- Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
Page 62 of 166
Page 62 of 166
1
1
!]
114
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE replied the question (in English):-Mr. Chairman, this question asks what the Council can do to minimize the bad odour gencrated at the refuse collection point at Tung Ching Road, and to prohibit illegal dumping there and to ensure that refuse collection operations are conducted away from the public view.
I have paid a personal visit to the site and with the help of the Department I drafted the following answer. The RCP referred to is a permanent off-street and is one situated in Tung Ching Road near the Kowloon Walled City, which is the main catchment area for this RCP, it is visited by our refuse collection vehicles twice a day, collecting about 10-15 tonnes of refuse and junk from the residents of Kowloon Walled City.
The total number may sometimes be up to 10-18 tonnes per day including domestic wastes, refuse and junk. There is an increasing amount of junk to be disposed of from the residents, on account of the impending clearance of the Walled City area.
The odour nuisance is caused mainly by wastes from some of the unlicensed food factories making fish balls in the Kowloon Walled City. These factories deposit each day about 10 buckets of wastes consisting mainly of bones, intestines and wastes of fish at the RCP. In view of the wet and easily decomposed nature of these types of refuse, bad odour will be readily generated within hours. To minimize this nuisance, staff of our Department have advised the private refuse collectors concerned to put the food wastes in plastic bags before delivering them to the RCP. They are also advised to deliver them nearer the time when the refuse collection vehicles arrive.
This RCP is open to the public from 6.10 a.m. to 10.30 p.m. each day. Some residents of the Kowloon Walled City have the habit of dumping their domestic wastes indiscriminately in small plastic bags at the entrance of the RCP. The district cleansing staff of the department have taken prosecution action against some of the offenders, and 30 summonses have been issued in the past 12 months.
There are two collection times for this RCP fixed at 7 a.m. and 10 a.m. and so there is a long interval between the last collection at 10 a.m. in the morning till 7 a.m. the next day, and this long interval will allow for wet domestic wastes to accumulate in the RCP and very often overthrow to block the entrance of the RCP. Improvement may be effected if the two collections can be spaced out at a longer interval say, one in early morning and another in the late afternoon. Alternatively, one additional daily collection may be arranged specially to handle the junk collections in the interim before the clearance scheme of the Walled City is completed.
The RCP, which is of an old design, was completed in 1983. It has only an activated carbon filtration system and is not equipped with a vehicle exhaust system. During a refuse collection operation, the metal roller shutter of the
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
Page 62 of 166
115
RCP cannot be closed, and the refuse collection has to be exposed to public view. The department is well aware of this unsatisfactory situation and has asked the Architectural Services Department to install a vehicle exhaust system at this RCP so that the roller shutter can be closed during the refuse collection operations. It is expected that the installation work will commence in early 1990. As a temporary measure, an electric air curtain has been installed to curb the exfiltration of the bad odour.
MOTIONS
1.
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG, CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE, moved the following motion:—
'RESOLVED that the Milk (Urban Council) (Amendment) By-laws 1989 be made under section 56 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap. 132.'
He said (in English):-Mr. Chairman, as the Chairman of the Public Health Select Committee, I rise to move the motion in my name that the Milk (Urban Council) (Amendment) By-laws 1989 be adopted.
The existing Milk (Urban Council) By-laws provide for public health control on the processing, reconstitution and the sale of milk and milk beverages. These by-laws also stipulate the requirements of heat-treatment, e.g. pasteurisation; the input of reasonably hygienic transportation of milk and milk beverages both before and after heat-treatment.
On the transportation, these by-laws presently impose control only on the temperature of milk and milk beverages during transport. In view of the larger and larger proportion of milk being imported from the People's Republic of China, and hence, a longer distance and time will be taken for the transportation, there is a need to strengthen the control on transport to provide an ungraded health protection.
These amendment by-laws will not only contribute to upgrading Hong Kong's food laws but will also make use of the opportunity to correct an erroneous reference which has existed in the main by-laws.
Mr. Chairman, I beg to move.
MR. TONG KAM-BIU, VICE-CHAIRMAN OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH SELECT COMMITTEE Seconded the motion (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I second the motion.
The question was put.
The motion was carried unanimously.
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.