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this By-law so as to discourage this practice. I also agree that this sort of practice is totally undesirable from the point of environmental hygiene and I wish the Department to take more active enforcement of this By-law.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, can we refer this matter for further consideration to the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign Committee, attention, the Chairman?
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MR. TONG KAM-BIU (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I would still like Dr. LEUNG to tell us the following: would the Department or the Public Health Select Committee work out the exact estimate for separate collection of food remains? Shall we consider legislative amendments to this effect in future because this practice has already been done in some advanced cities? Since Hong Kong is also a modernized city, should we follow this practice as well?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, well, I think the answer is yes. We should discuss the problem whether we should insist the cooked food stallholders to separate their food wastes from other types of waste. But one fact we have to note is that the number of cooked food stallholders is diminishing because of our programme of putting them into our UC complexes and also we are taking back their licences by paying them ex-gratia payment.
MR. TONG KAM-BIU (in Cantonese): Mr. Chairman, I have one further question. In some overseas countries, they have already practised separate collection of waste, not merely food remains, but also the intestines of fish and rotted fruit. It is said in the reply that it is not economically feasible to do so. I do have a different view. I would like to know how much do we need? What is exactly meant by economically infeasible since this is in the public interest to use the taxpayers' money?
6. MR. TONG KAM-BIU asked the following question (in Cantonese): With Council's efforts over the years, on-street cooked food stalls in Sham Shui Po West have already moved into UC complex. However, there are still cooked food stalls operating in the streets in Sham Shui Po East. Has the Council any plan to resite on-street cooked food stalls in Sham Shui Po East so as to improve the environmental hygiene and amenities of the area?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English): Mr. Chairman, I think the answer mentions about the economics in regard to specialised vehicles for collections, But if we can encourage the cooked food stallholders to separate their wastes and put the food remains in the plastic bags for our collection and we handle them differently, in that case, economic and costing will not come into questions since part 3 of the question asks whether specialized vehicles would be made available for collections and I think in answer to that particular point, economics and costing were raised as a problem. But I think if the cooked food stallholders can separate the waste, put the food remains into plastic bags for our collections that would solve the problem without involving too much expenses.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in English): Mr. Chairman, the question concerns the resiting of on-street licensed cooked food stalls in the Sham Shui Po East area, which includes three District Board constituencies, namely, Nam Cheong East, Nam Cheong West and Nam Cheong North. There are 56 licensed cooked food stalls remaining on the streets in the Sham Shui Po East area. The Department has the following plans to resite them:
(a) to re-develop the existing old Sham Shui Po Market into a new UC market complex, which includes a cooked food centre with 20 stalls;
(b) to develop a mini UC complex at the Wing Hong Street Special School site near Yu Chau Street West with a cooked food centre which provides 9 stalls for the operators in the existing temporary cooked food bazaar on the site, and 11 stalls for resitees;
(c) to develop the site at the junction of Fuk Wing Street and Camp Street into a joint-user building, which includes a cooked food centre with 20 stalls; and
(d) to construct a cooked food market with 8 stalls at the Cheung Sha Wan Salt Water Pump site near the Wholesale Fish Market in Fat Tseung Street to serve the factory workers in the area.
Upon the completion of the first three projects which I mentioned just now, there will be a total of 51 stalls in new cooked food centres available for the resiting of the on-street cooked food stalls. The number should be good enough
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this By-law so as to discourage this practice. I also agree that this sort of practice is totally undesirable from the point of environmental hygiene and ] wish the Department to take more active enforcement of this By-law.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN (in English): Mr. Chairman, can we refer this matter for further consideration to the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign Committee, attention, the Chairman?
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MR. TONG KAM-BIU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I would still like Dr. LEUNG to tell us the following: would the Department or the Public Health Select Committee work out the exact estimate for separate collection of food remains? Shall we consider legislative amendments to this effect in future because this practice has already been done in some advanced cities? Since Hong Kong is also a modernized city, should we follow this practice as well?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, well, I think the DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):---Mr. Chairman, the answer is, of answer is yes. We should discuss the problem whether we should insist the course, yes.
cooked food stallholders to separate their food wastes from other types of waste. But one fact we have to note is that the number of cooked food
MR. TONG KAM-BIU (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, I have one further stallholders is diminishing because of our programme of putting them into our question. In some overseas countries, they have already practised separate UC complexes and also we are taking back their licences by paying them collection of waste, not merely food remains, but also the intestines of fish and ex-gratia payment.
rotted fruit. It is said in the reply that it is not economically feasible to do so. I do
have a different view. I would like to know how much do we need? What is exactly 6. MR. TONG KAM-BIU asked the following question (in Cantonese):--With meant by economically infeasible since this is in the public interest to use the Council's efforts over the years, on-street cooked food stalls in Sham Shui Po taxpayers' money?
West have already moved into UC complex. However, there are still cooked food stalls operating in the streets in Sham Shui Po East. Has the Council any plan to resite on-street cooked food stalls in Sham Shui Po East so as to improve the environmental hygiene and amenities of the area?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I think the answer mentions about the economics in regard to specialised vehicles for collections, But if we can encourage the cooked food stallholders to separate their wastes and put the food remains in the plastic bags for our collection and we handle MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN, CHAIRMAN OF THE MARKETS AND STREET TRADERS them differently, in that case, economic and costing will not come into SELECT COMMITTEE replied as follows (in English): Mr. Chairman, the questions since part 3 of the question asks whether specialized vehicles would be question concerns the resiting of on-street licensed cooked food stalls in the made available for collections and I think in answer to that particular point, Sham Shui Po East area, which includes three District Board constituencies, economics and costing were raised as a problem. But I think if the cooked food namely, Nam Cheong East, Nam Cheong West and Nam Cheong North. stallholders can separate the waste, put the food remains into plastic bags for
There are 56 licensed cooked food stalls remaining on the streets in the Sham our collections that would solve the problem without involving too much Shui Po East area. The Department has the following plans to resite them:
expenses.
MR. CHAN TAK-CHOR (in Cantonese):--Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like to ask a question. Usually cooked food stalls which pose a very serious environmental problem operate late at night. Since our health inspectors do not really work late in the evening, how can we effectively take enforcement action against cooked food stalls?
DR. RONALD D. B. LEUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman, I think the inspection by our health inspectors are done during the day time. The pollution or environmental nuisance caused by cooked food stallholders will not only be visible during the night time. If they have the bad practice, I think the environmental problem would also be in existence during the day time and this can be detected by health inspectors. Of course, because of limited resources we cannot pay overtime allowances to health inspectors to do inspection during the night time.
(a) to re-develop the existing old Sham Shui Po Market into a new UC market complex, which includes a cooked food centre with 20 stalls; (b) to develop a mini UC complex at the Wing Hong Street Special School site near Yu Chau Street West with a cooked food centre which provides 9 stalls for the operators in the existing temporary cooked food bazaar on the site, and 11 stalls for resitees;
(c) to develop the site at the junction of Fuk Wing Street and Camp Street into a joint-user building, which includes a cooked food centre with 20 stalls; and
(d) to construct a cooked food market with 8 stalls at the Cheung Sha Wan Salt Water Pump site near the Wholesale Fish Market in Fat Tseung Street to serve the factory workers in the area.
Upon the completion of the first three projects which I mentioned just now, there will be a total of 51 stalls in new cooked food centres available for the resiting of the on-street cooked food stalls. The number should be good enough
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