ENG-2018 — Page 211

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Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

Hawkers

The FEHD regulates hawking in Hong Kong. As at end-2018, there were 5,148 licensed fixed- pitch hawkers and 383 licensed itinerant hawkers.

A five-year Assistance Scheme for Hawkers in Fixed-pitch Hawker Areas, launched in 2013, offered financial help to 4,330 hawkers in 43 fixed-pitch hawker areas to reduce fire risks in hawker areas. Under the scheme, all 508 fixed-pitch hawkers whose stalls were situated at building staircase discharge points or places that might obstruct the operation of fire engines. have been relocated. As at 2 June 2018, the end date of the scheme, the department had received 3,424 applications for relocation and reconstruction grants, and 854 hawkers had surrendered their licences for ex gratia payment, meaning nearly 99 per cent of the licensed hawkers had joined the scheme.

Slaughterhouses

The FEHD oversees the hygiene standards of licensed slaughterhouses in Sheung Shui, Tsuen Wan and Cheung Chau. Meat supplied by the slaughterhouses has to pass inspection before delivery to markets. During the year, 38,545 movement permits for imported livestock and 8,950 entry permits for local pigs were verified at the slaughterhouses, 47,687 samples of urine and tissue were taken from animals and tested for veterinary drug residues, and 1,573,139 pigs, 17,128 head of cattle and 3,245 goats were slaughtered.

Public Cleaning Services

The FEHD provides services for street cleansing, household waste collection and public toilets. All streets are swept one to eight times a day and are washed regularly, from daily to fortnightly or whenever the need arises, depending on the conditions of individual locations. Flyovers and high-speed roads undergo mechanised cleansing. Between 2017 and 2018, the department put on trial the use of mini mechanical sweepers in Tai Po and Yuen Long to serve roads with low traffic, and introduced pressure washer surface cleaners in all street cleansing contracts to remove stubborn stains on roads speedily.

Household waste is collected all year round. In 2018, about 77 per cent of waste collection services were outsourced and about 5,920 tonnes of household waste were collected daily by the department and its contractors.

Seven new public toilets were constructed and 14 public toilets were refurbished during the year. Refurbishment works for four public toilets at major tourist spots were completed. Toilet attendant services are provided at heavily used public toilets.

The department takes enforcement action against littering, spitting and other unhygienic practices in public places. In 2018, it issued some 49,680 fixed penalty notices. The department started installing internet protocol cameras at 96 illegal refuse deposit black spots in June to support its enforcement action against fly-tippers and curb the illegal deposit of refuse.

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