ENG-1975 — Page 118

HEALTH

Environmental Hygiene

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The Urban Services Department acts as the executive arm of the Urban Council in the urban area, and in the New Territories it operates under the Director of Urban Services. Its responsibilities include street cleansing, the collection of refuse, the collection and disposal of night-soil, the management of public conveniences and bathhouses, and the disposal of the dead. About 8,600 people are employed by the department in this work, and there are some 400 specialist cleansing vehicles.

An average of 3,300 tons of refuse and junk is collected daily. About 1,800 tons a day is burnt in the incinerators at Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island and Lai Chi Kok in Kowloon. The rest goes to refuse dumps in the New Territories. Night-soil is collected free of charge. As old buildings are demolished and replaced by modern buildings with proper sewerage, the amount of night-soil collected con- tinues to decline. In 1975, 4.7 million gallons of night-soil were collected and dumped at sea in the West Lamma Channel. Alternative arrangements for the disposal of night-soil were being explored at the end of the year.

Control of pests of public health or medical importance-including rodents, mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches, fleas, ticks and bed-bugs-is carried out by specially trained pest control staff. Their work includes clearing, draining, and regular weekly larvicidal oiling of streams to prevent the breeding of malarial mosquitoes on Hong Kong Island, in Kowloon, and at Kwai Chung, Rennie's Mill Village, and Cheung Chau Island in the New Territories. This work is based on technical advice issued by the pest control advisory unit of the Urban Services Department headquarters.

The Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign started the year with a five week clean-up operation throughout the territory. The emphasis was on education and community involvement, and particularly active were the Clean Your City groups which were formed in 1974 among schools and youth organisations. The main function of the CYC groups was to report accumulation of litter in public areas for follow-up action by USD staff.

A Clean Beach drive was held in the main swimming season from May to September. Refuse was collected from the sea near beaches and special publicity and entertainment focussed attention on the drive. Live performances and a multi-screen slide show called the 'Tomorrow Show' were presented in densely populated areas, and beach shows were given at selected beaches to encourage the public to keep the beaches clean. As a result of these efforts, and the active participation of Clean Your City members, all the gazetted beaches in Hong Kong and the New Territories were kept noticeably cleaner than in previous years.

Other activities covered reminders to the public about anti-litter legislation, operations to clean up canopies and ledges, and tidiness in parks and playgrounds.

Controls

Various methods are used to maintain and improve environmental health, which includes the hygienic control of all premises licensed under the Public Health and Urban Services Ordinance. The work is carried out by the district hygiene staff, which consists mainly of health inspectors.