ENG-2019 — Page 209

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Food Safety, Environmental Hygiene, Agriculture and Fisheries

Hawkers

The FEHD regulates hawking in Hong Kong. As at end-2019, there were 5,045 licensed fixed- pitch hawkers and 370 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. 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. By 2 June 2018, the end of the application period for a grant or ex gratia payment, the department had received 3,424 applications for relocation and reconstruction grants, and 854 hawkers had surrendered their licences for an ex gratia payment, meaning nearly 99 per cent of the licensed hawkers had joined the scheme. In early 2019, reconstruction of the stalls was fully completed. The financial help provided under the scheme totalled $223 million.

Following the release of vacant hawker pitches from the scheme or due to other reasons, the FEHD identified 435 hawker pitches for reallocation and offered new licences for application. It conducted an open ballot to determine the order in which eligible applicants could select pitches and started to issue new hawker licences in late 2019.

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, 23,423 movement permits for imported livestock and 9,649 entry permits for local pigs were verified at the slaughterhouses, 33,467 samples of urine and tissue were taken from animals and tested for veterinary drug residues, and 945,660 pigs, 15,344 head of cattle and 1,802 goats were slaughtered.

Public Cleaning Services

The FEHD provides street cleansing services, household waste collection services 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 are cleansed by mechanical sweepers.

Household waste is collected all year round. In 2019, about 78 per cent of waste collection services were outsourced and about 5,830 tonnes of household waste were collected daily by the department and its contractors.

Toilet attendant services are provided at heavily used public toilets. During the year, 49 public toilets underwent refurbishment, of which 15 were at major tourist spots. To improve the air quality and hygiene of public toilets, the department rolled out several trial schemes in 2019 that made use of technology, such as atomised ozonated water technology, nano bubble technology and microalgae greenwall technology.

The department takes enforcement action against littering, spitting and other unhygienic practices in public places. In 2019, some 47,950 fixed penalty notices were issued. To support

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