(Translation)

Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the Environment and Hygiene Committee of District Council (5th Term)

Date: 3 March 2016 (Thursday) Time: 9:30 a.m. Venue: Conference Room, Council

Present

Chairman Ms LAU Pui-yuk

Members Mr CHAN Kwok-wai Mr CHAN Wai-ming, MH Ms CHAN Wing-yan, Joephy Mr CHENG Wing-shun, Vincent Mr CHEUNG Wing-sum, Ambrose, MH, JP Ms CHOW Wing-heng, Zoé Mr CHUM Tak-shing (Arrived at 10:45 a.m.) Mr HO Kai-ming, Kalvin (Arrived at 9:35 a.m.) Mr KONG Kwai-sang (Arrived at 9:45 a.m.) Mr LAM Ka-fai, Aaron, JP (Arrived at 9:40 a.m.) Mr LEE Tsz-king, Dominic (Arrived at 9:38 a.m.) Mr LEE Wing-man Mr LEUNG Man-kwong (Arrived at 9:40 a.m.) Ms NG Mei, Carman (Left at 11:50 a.m.) Ms NG Yuet-lan (Left at 2:00 p.m.) Mr TAM Kwok-kiu, MH, JP (Left at 10:10 a.m.) Mr WAI Woon-nam (Left at 1:20 p.m.) Mr WONG Tat-tung, Dennis, MH, JP (Arrived at 10:15 a.m.) Mr YAN Kai-wing Mr YEUNG Yuk Mr YUEN Hoi-man

Co-opted Members Mr FUNG Chi-lam - 2 - Action by

Ms HA Wing-ka Mr HOU Chun-kaw Mr MAK Wai-ming (Left at 12:00 noon)

In Attendance Mr WAI Chun-yin, Mickey Assistant District Officer (Sham Shui Po) 2 Mr LAI Kah-kit District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Sham Shui Po), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department Mr LI Kam-hung, Joe Principal Estate Officer/ West (North) (District Lands Office, Kowloon West), Lands Department Ms YIP Yuk-ying Neighbourhood Police Co-ordinator/Police Community Relations Office (Sham Shui Po District), Police Force Mr CHANG Yiu-wa District Engineer/Lai Chai Kok, Highways Department Mr LAM Wing-yiu Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional West) 5, Environmental Protection Department Mr LUK Kar-tsun Samuel Environmental Protection Officer (Waste Transfer and Development) 13, Environmental Protection Department Mr TSE Yuet-kar, Albert Senior Engineer/Sewage Treatment 2/2, Drainage Services Department Mr FUNG Shu-wan Shift Charge Engineer/Sewage Treatment 2/2, Drainage Services Department Mr LO Kam-wing Divisional Commander (Kowloon West) (Acting), Fire Services Department Mr LAM Ming-yip Station Commander, Mon Kok Fire Station, Fire Services Department Mr CHOI Wai-fung Station Commander, Fire Station, Fire Services Department Ms YEUNG Yu-shan, Alice Senior Field Officer (Avian Influenza), Agricultural Fisheries and Conservation Department Mr WONG Koon-wang, Tony Agricultural Officer (Market Planning), Agricultural Fisheries and Conservation Department

Secretary Miss CHEUNG Ching-yee, Jennifer Executive Officer (District Council) 1, Sham Shui Po District Office Absent

Member Mr LEUNG Yau-fong - 3 - Action by

Co-opted Member Mr MIU Hoi-ming - 4 - Action by

Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed members and representatives from government departments to the second meeting of the Environment and Hygiene Committee (“EHC”).

Agenda Item 1: Confirmation of minutes of the 1st meeting held on 19 January 2016

2. The Committee confirmed the above minutes without amendment.

Agenda Item 2: Matters for discussion

(a) Stepping up cleansing work at hygiene black spots for the improvement of environmental hygiene (EHC Paper 5/16)

3. Mr Vincent CHENG introduced Paper 5/16. The Chairman added that she hoped the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (“FEHD”) could reply in response to the proposals of the paper.

4. Mr LAI Kah-kit replied as follows:

(i) During daily patrols, FEHD identified from time to time places where hygienic conditions were relatively poor. The Department would allocate more resources to handle the issues of these locations accordingly. Regarding the comments or complaints received by the public enquiry hotline 1823 or the Environmental Hygiene Office, the Department would handle them as early as possible. Besides, it would conduct in-depth investigations into hygiene-related cases as raised by Members.

(ii) After the meeting, the Department would provide the regular schedule for cleansing rear lane black spots for members’ reference. However, the actual time for cleansing would be adjusted subject to the actual environmental circumstances.

(iii) During the Clean Hong Kong Campaign, the Department provided two additional water jet teams to carry out deep cleansing services, and each of them was comprised of a “small trolley”, a high-pressure water jet and three workers. The Department also provided an additional street washing vehicle to strengthen the cleansing services at hygiene black spots, such as areas where restaurants were concentrated, rear lanes, etc. - 5 - Action by

(iv) As illegal dumping of construction waste mostly occurred at late night and there was a considerable distance between the locations involved and the CCTV cameras, the recorded information might not be sufficient for effective prosecutions. Installation of CCTV cameras involved privacy issues and therefore, residents in the vicinity expressed reservations about this. The Department maintained an open attitude and would gather views from the public and members in this respect.

(v) Currently, there were 10 public toilets in Sham Shui Po. Cleansing services of all these toilets were provided by cleansing contractors, and in each of these male and female toilets, there was a toilet attendant responsible for providing routine cleansing services. Meanwhile, the Department would arrange mobile teams to provide deep cleansing services at all public toilets on a weekly basis, and these teams would also be dispatched to public toilets with higher usage rates (such as Apliu Street and Nam Cheong Street) or to public toilets during peak periods to strengthen cleansing services. The Department would monitor the performance of the contractors in accordance with the contract requirements. If the performance of the contractors was not satisfactory, the Department would issue verbal or written warnings, or even default notices, to them and reduce the monthly payment of service charge.

(vi) Apart from strengthening cleansing services, the Department would carry out enforcement actions and raid operations. The Department would conduct three raid operations at hygiene black spots on a monthly basis. Plain clothes staff would be arranged to carry out operations so as to enhance the effectiveness of law enforcement.

(vii) The Department carried out publicity and education activities from time to time, for example, by organising hygiene seminars and distributing publicity leaflets and hygiene packs. The Department also proactively participated in publicity activities held by other government departments (e.g. the Home Affairs Department and the Environmental Protection Department (“EPD”)) in order to convey the message of cleaning Hong Kong and encourage the public to keep Hong Kong clean on their own initiative.

(viii) The Department proactively coordinated with EPD in the latter’s Peach Blossom Tree Recycling Campaign. It set up collection points for collecting peach blossom trees at two refuse collection points in the district while EPD - 6 - Action by

arranged vehicles to collect and recycle those trees into composting materials.

(ix) The Department had all along invited tenders for cleansing service contracts in accordance with the procurement requirements and procedures of the Government. The principle of outcome-based approach was adopted to formulate the contract requirements and tenders were evaluated in accordance with the marking scheme approved by the Central Tender Board of the Government. The tender with the highest overall score of technical score and price score would be accepted, and the lowest tender price was not the basis of tender evaluation. According to the past tender results, about 30% to 40% of cleansing service contracts were not awarded to the tenderers offering the lowest tender prices.

(x) The Department had participated in inter-departmental joint operations against the nuisance caused by second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities. It was mainly responsible for disposing articles which obstructed its street cleansing work or handling street obstruction issues arising from unlicensed hawking activities.

(xi) In the past six months, FEHD and the Police had carried out 60 joint operations at the black spots of second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities. The Department displayed 240 “Notices to Remove Obstruction”, seized some articles and instituted 11 prosecutions against obstruction activities.

[Post-meeting note: The Secretariat distributed FEHD’s schedule of cleansing rear lane black spots in April (EHC Paper 21/16) to all members for reference on 22 April 2016.]

5. Mr LAM Wing-yiu responded as follows:

(i) Regarding the installation of CCTV cameras, the views of EPD were similar to those of FEHD. The Department and Members had explored for suitable locations in the district for the installation of CCTV cameras. However, some locations might involve privacy issues, and the effectiveness of follow-up action was subject to whether CCTV cameras were able to capture the vehicle registration marks of offending vehicles and the appearance of offenders. It was less often that offenders in the district drove and therefore, it was more difficult to trace them. Nevertheless, the Department maintained an open attitude in this respect.

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(ii) The Department had all along been working with FEHD in implementing the Peach Blossom Tree Recycling Campaign.

(iii) The Department had a limited number of enforcement staff and it was difficult for it to increase manpower. It had requested the central authorities to increase its manpower for the Clean Hong Kong Campaign but unfortunately in vain. Therefore, the Department had to prioritise its tasks according to the gravity of issues. For example, in response to the relatively large number of household renovations during Lunar New Year, the Department would deploy manpower and resources to handle issues relating to construction waste and even take enforcement actions during holidays and in the evenings.

(iv) The Department had all along coordinated with FEHD and the Police in the joint operations against issues arising from second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities. The Recycling Fund aimed to support small and medium-sized recycling enterprises. The Department hoped that the recycling enterprises would enhance their operational standards through the Recycling Fund and participate in the “Hong Kong Registration – Recycling Services” Scheme of the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency. It also hoped that these recycling enterprises would pay more attention to the environment, occupational health and safety during their operation. If they operated well and passed the evaluation, they would be awarded with certifications. No recycling enterprises in Sham Shui Po (“SSP”) District had applied for the Recycling Fund so far.

6. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following views: (i) although government departments carried out their work regularly, there were still hygiene black spots in the district as well as oil stains from restaurants and waste left by shops on the streets. The situation was particularly serious in the vicinity of Pei Ho Street Market, with nearby fruit shops obviously extending their business areas. However, government departments had all along been at wit’s end; (ii) the nuisance caused by second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities in the vicinity of Yee Kuk Street and Hai Tan Street was serious. Their activities not only obstructed the pavements but also occupied the carriageways; (iii) FEHD, EPD, the Police and the Transport Department (“TD”) should carry out joint operations on issues relating to construction waste, extension of business area and second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities. As second-hand electrical appliances might release toxic substances, EPD should deploy dedicated personnel to handle the issue. The Police should also assist EPD to take prosecution actions, and TD could consider re-planning the provision of parking spaces to prevent the latter from being occupied. - 8 - Action by

7. Mr TAM Kwok-kiu raised the following views: (i) the issues as mentioned in the paper were seen regularly. Government departments should identify hygiene black spots, consider the priority of issues when using resources, and carry out their duties in a planned manner; (ii) the locations for installing CCTV cameras should be suggested by residents; (iii) the tendering mechanism should consider targeting social enterprises as tenderers; (iv) the regular reports of FEHD should include the above information.

8. Mr YEUNG Yuk raised the following views and enquiries: (i) a whole truck of waste was illegally dumped at in October last year and January this year. Relevant government departments should install CCTV cameras there to capture the registration marks of these vehicles; (ii) he wondered whether the Department had received complaints about huge domestic waste other than those about construction waste; (iii) FEHD responded promptly as it took action in two working days upon receipt of the complaint; (iv) he enquired about the roles of EPD and FEHD in disposing waste. Although FEHD was responsible for cleaning up waste, EPD should be responsible for taking prosecution actions and installing CCTV cameras.

9. Mr FUNG Chi-lam raised the following views: (i) quite a number of members of the public reflected that some people would illegally dump kitchen waste from restaurants outside Cheung Wah Street Refuse Collection Point after it was closed every night. The waste would not be handled till the following morning, and therefore led to hygiene issues; (ii) tires and furniture were illegally dumped outside the entrances of both Cheung Wah Street Refuse Collection Point and carpark of Lai Po Garden, causing street obstruction. He hoped that the Department would increase its patrol frequency in the evenings.

10. Mr LEE Wing-man raised the following views: (i) illegal dumping of construction waste was often seen in various areas of the district. The issue had been in existence for years. Although the Department handled the complaints promptly, the issue came up shortly afterward. He believed that this was due to the relatively small number of prosecutions; (ii) if the Department reckoned that the installation of CCTV cameras was not feasible, it could deploy staff to station at black spots for a prolonged period of time so as to achieve a deterrent effect; (iii) there were a lot of second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities in the vicinity of Hai Tan Street and Yee Kuk Street causing street obstruction. He hoped that the Police would step up enforcement.

11. Mr Kalvin HO raised the following views: (i) FEHD was responsible for clearing up domestic waste while EPD and the Highways Department (“HyD”) were responsible for prosecuting against those who illegal dumped construction waste and clearing up construction waste respectively. He opined that the distribution of work was too refined that it would be difficult to handle the issues; (ii) if the way HyD used to dispose construction waste was the - 9 - Action by

same as the way it disposed general domestic waste, FEHD should clear them up altogether; (iii) both FEHD and EPD told him that prosecution actions had to be taken by uniformed staff during office hours. The effectiveness of prosecutions was lowered by this practice; (iv) normally, FEHD cleansed some of the streets once in a year but streets were cleansed twice on the election day, which affected the operation of street booths.

12. Ms NG Yuet-lan raised the following views: (i) FEHD claimed that the small number of prosecutions was due to manpower shortage. The environmental hygiene issues in SSP District were more serious than other districts. Also, it was poorer and had different ethnic groups as compared to other districts, and some residents disposed waste at will. Therefore, the Department should secure more manpower resources; (ii) the Department should not tolerate offenders and should step up prosecution.

13. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) he agreed that EPD should secure more manpower and resources to handle the environmental hygiene issues in the district. Since existing manpower was not adequate, it was even more necessary to try to install CCTV cameras so as to resolve the issue manpower shortage; (ii) the Department said that CCTV cameras were not installed because of the concerns over infringement of privacy. However, it did not mention whether residents had been consulted on this issue. The Department should first identify the locations of black spots and then consult the stakeholders; (iii) the environmental hygiene issue in the district was getting worse and the image of the district was tarnished.

14. Mr HOU Chun-kaw raised the following views: (i) the environmental hygiene issues in the district had all along been improving, however, the principle was that it was obliged to do the best; (ii) after residents reported the hygiene black spots at Pei Ho Street and Yee Kuk Street, etc., the Department should follow up as soon as possible and step up its publicity and education; (iii) FEHD should continue to use the established approach of attaching stickers on articles which caused street obstruction. If the articles were not removed before the deadlines specified in the stickers, they would be confiscated; (iv) he noted that in the selection of contractors, the Department would also take into consideration the work efficiency and past working experience of contractors, in addition to their tender prices.

15. Ms Carman NG raised the following views and suggestions: (i) all the litter containers of FEHD in the district were black spots of waste. No matter how hard FEHD cleared up waste, the litter containers remained full in the evening. Therefore, the crux was how to address the issues at root. FEHD should allocate more resources to SSP District in order to solve the issue; (ii) EPD had been using much of its resources in organising activities. He wondered why it did not have adequate resources to resolve the hygiene issues of the district. He suggested that the Chairman write to EPD to secure more resources in this - 10 - Action by

respect; (iii) the second-hand electrical appliance trading activities in the district were brisk. As the Government proactively promoted second-hand recycling enterprises and the EcoPark, the Department should consider arranging second-hand recycling enterprises in the district to relocate to the EcoPark; (iv) the proposal of installing CCTV cameras had been discussed for years. Similar practices had also been adopted by other countries. The Department should consider implementing a pilot scheme and identifying installation locations.

16. Mr YUEN Hoi-man raised the following views: (i) members appreciated the efforts of various government departments. However, the environmental hygiene issues in the district had not been improved significantly; (ii) if government departments did not reckon that the hygiene issues at the black spots as informed by members were serious, the effectiveness in handling the issues would not be significant; (iii) in handling the issues, prosecution was the most important element. The civic education in Hong Kong had been improved in recent years; however it was still necessary to take tough prosecution actions to achieve a deterrent effect on some members of the public.

17. Mr Ambrose CHEUNG raised the following views: (i) the hygiene issues in the district were relatively broad and multi-faceted. He appreciated the efforts of FEHD and EPD, but their work was not effective and a new mindset was needed; (ii) some hygiene black spots were specifically mentioned in the paper. There were hygiene issues at Lai Wan Market Refuse Collection Point such as illegal extension of business area and rodent infestation, which were gradually extending to the underneath of the flyover. He hoped that government departments would pay more attention to this. In the short term, FEHD and the Lands Department (“LandsD”) would be contacted to collect waste. In the mid-term, an activity centre should be built there; (iii) during EHC meetings in the last term, EPD mentioned that the Waste Disposal Ordinance was amended but the legislation on the disposal of domestic waste was still under review. He hoped that the Department could disclose the progress of the review; (iv) Members of the last term also suggested that the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation be amended to facilitate the handling of the hygiene issues. As the existing hygiene issues were complicated, he suggested that the issues be split up in order to identify corresponding ordinances for further follow-up.

18. Mr Dennis WONG raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he supported to designate the underneath of the flyover in Mei Foo as a hygiene black spot. He had previously reflected to FEHD that there were second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities and scavengers placing miscellaneous articles at the location concerned, and these were handled by FEHD promptly. As the location was under the management of HyD, he enquired whether FEHD cleansed the location concerned regularly or took action at the request of Members. The Department should step up cleansing and prosecution actions; (ii) as all members hoped to improve the hygiene issues in the district, members should support - 11 - Action by

FEHD to tighten enforcement.

19. The Chairman raised the following enquiries: (i) the number of FEHD street washing vehicles; (ii) FEHD and EPD both indicated that they maintained an open attitude towards the installation of CCTV cameras, but she wondered whether they had any practical experience in the installation of CCTV cameras; (iii) the way by which the Department gathered information about the locations of hygiene black spots; (iv) the extent of manpower shortage in EPD.

20. Mr LAI Kah-kit gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) There were a relatively great number of restaurants in the vicinity of Pei Ho Street. The Department did step up its cleansing operations by cleansing rear lane black spots twice a week. Also, large-scale prosecution actions were carried out regularly against in particular restaurants which had extended their business area illegally or discharge foul water and waste caused by food handling at rear lanes and light wells. There were restaurants whose licenses were even cancelled under the Demerit Points System.

(ii) The contract of the two water jet teams and a street washing vehicle, which were additionally provided during the Clean Hong Kong Campaign, was expired. However, the Department was trying to retain them so as to strengthen its cleansing services.

(iii) The number of prosecutions in each of the Department’s large-scale prosecution action was desirable. Therefore, the Department would continue to review its resources allocation and consider stepping up prosecution actions. It would consider the work priority according to the gravity of hygiene black spots. There were many black spots in the district, and a certain amount of time was required to follow up. He hoped that members could understand.

(iv) Some restaurants and shops would illegally dump waste at rear lanes after their business hours. The Department would step up prosecution at those hygiene black spots (for example Cheung Wah Street and the underneath of the flyover in Mei Foo as pointed out by members).

(v) If shops placed and hawked their goods illegally on the streets and caused obstruction, the Department would institute prosecution against them. - 12 - Action by

(vi) The Department noted that members hoped to install CCTV cameras. The Department and EPD would proactively consider the issue, but a decision had yet to be made. There were many factors to be considered in the installation of CCTV cameras, and privacy was only one of them.

(vii) As requested by members, FEHD could include relevant information in the regular reports as appropriate.

(viii) The Department noted members’ proposal of inviting social enterprises as contractors.

(ix) Upon receipt of the complaints about illegal disposal of domestic waste at Stonecutters Island, the Department had cleared up the waste as soon as possible, and explored with EPD ways to prevent the recurrence of the issue. Afterwards, the Department arranged staff to conduct monitoring and considered providing additional warning signs.

(x) The Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation did not aim at domestic waste only. Therefore, the Department’s enforcement staff would take prosecution actions against those who were found illegally disposing waste (including construction waste).

(xi) The Department would arrange staff to patrol Cheung Wah Street Refuse Collection Point and its neighbouring areas at late night, and step up prosecution to improve environmental hygiene.

(xii) The Department had participated in the inter-departmental meetings held by the Sham Shui Po District Office (“SSPDO”) on the issue of second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities to discuss ways to alleviate the nuisance concerned.

(xiii) As domestic waste was perishable affecting environmental hygiene, they had to be cleared up as soon as possible. If domestic waste was found next to construction waste, the Department would also clear the domestic waste concerned up promptly. It would take prosecution actions against those who were found illegally dumping waste, no matter whether it was construction waste or domestic waste.

(xiv) As the Department’s staff had to wear uniforms to carry out their duties, dog - 13 - Action by

owners would be alert on seeing them. If dog owners cleared up their dogs’ excreta before they left, they did not commit an offence. Therefore, the Department would deploy plain clothes task force staff to take enforcement actions at black spots where the issue was relatively serious.

(xv) The Department would get more details about the street cleansing issue from Mr Kalvin Ho after the meeting.

(xvi) The Department noticed that some hawker stall owners left waste on the street after business hours and letters were issued to them earlier, requesting them to handle waste properly.

(xvii) The Department would investigate whether cleansing contractors had properly cleared litter containers according to the contract requirements.

(xviii) The Department would regularly review the black spot locations based on both the information provided by and complaints made by the newspapers and the public.

(xix) The Department had received many complaints about the underneath of the flyover in Mei Foo, particularly the nearby areas of a farmers’ market. Therefore, the Department had all along maintained contact with the organisation operating the farmers’ market to understand the situation, and had persuaded them to clean the area on a regular basis. Recently, the organisation conducted a large-scale cleansing exercise and cleared up about 8 tonnes of waste. The Department had also carried out rodent prevention and control work at the public places in the vicinity.

(xx) As was a private property, the Department and the management company concerned would conduct a site inspection on the issue of street obstruction, with a view to defining the scope of enforcement of both parties.

(xxi) Currently, the cleansing service contract of the Department included five street washing vehicles and three water jet teams, serving approximately 90% of the areas in the district.

21. Mr LAM Wing-yiu gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) There were only 14 frontline staff in the Sham Shui Po Regional Office - 14 - Action by

(West) of EPD, responsible for work relating to the affairs of SSP District. They did not work in shifts; however, they sacrificed their own time to work overtime and made their best effort to handle the issues in the district as they were aware of the concerns of members and the residents of the district. In spite of manpower constraints, the Department had tried its best to deploy its limited resources. He hoped that members could understand that it was difficult for the Department to increase manpower.

(ii) The Department had requested for more resources through the Clean Hong Kong Campaign but in vain. It was now reviewing the situation to secure resources.

(iii) Due to resources and manpower constraints, the Government would give priority to the handling of waste which was dumped and perishable. Although FEHD and EPD were responsible for handling domestic waste and construction waste respectively, both Departments would take prosecution actions against those who were found illegally dumping domestic or construction waste.

(iv) In respect of the incident at Stonecutters Island as mentioned by Mr YEUNG Yuk, the Department and FEHD had conducted joint operations outside normal working hours so as to handle the case as early as possible.

(v) Due to resources and manpower constraints, division of labour was necessary in handling hygiene issues. For the best use of resources, complaints relating to domestic waste would be handled by FEHD; construction waste of which it might be possible to trace the source would be handled by EPD; and the clearing of construction waste would be handled by HyD’s contractors. If HyD was required to assist in clearing up the waste only after EPD had arrived at the scene and found that the source of the waste was not traceable, it would be a waste of resources. Therefore, the Government established the work allocation mechanism, with a view to solving problems for the public and optimising resources.

(vi) As the staff of the Department patrolled and took prosecution actions in plain clothes, they required more time to explain to the public occasionally.

(vii) As the frontline staff did not work in shifts, the Department could not arrange them to station at the same location for a whole day. Moreover, the proposed arrangement would undermine other services provided by EPD. - 15 - Action by

(viii) EPD had all along kept close contact with FEHD, and maintained an open attitude towards the installation of CCTV cameras. However, even if appropriate pilot locations were identified, the Department was still required to secure resources for such installation, arrange manpower to monitor CCTV cameras, and take prosecution actions at all times.

(ix) In previous patrols and joint operations, the Department did not detect any leakage of toxic substances from second-hand electrical appliances. According to observations, the main problem of second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities was street obstruction.

(x) The Department was considering to amend legislation such that specified waste bags were required for domestic waste disposal in the future.

(xi) There were many “three nil” buildings in SSP District. As these buildings did not hire any cleansing contractors, a lot of residents placed their waste in the litter containers.

22. The Chairman believed that members were aware of the hard work of the frontline staff. However, the existing system was unable to handle the environmental hygiene issues in the district effectively; therefore she hoped that government departments could step up enforcement.

23. Ms YIP Yuk-ying gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) The Police was mainly responsible for maintaining law and order and combating crime, but it also attached great importance to the environmental hygiene issues in the district. Therefore, the Police would fully complement and assist FEHD to take enforcement action.

(ii) The Police conducted street cleaning duties regularly including the “Normandy Operation” which was jointly carried out with FEHD. In the operation, FEHD decided the dates for taking prosecution action at black spots where restaurants extended their business area and recycling activities causing street obstruction. Usually, the operation would be conducted thrice a week. On the other hand, the Police deployed about five uniformed officers to conduct “Blue Sky Operation” on a daily basis against illegal parking and second-hand electrical appliance recycling activities. If second-hand electrical appliances caused street obstruction, the Police would - 16 - Action by

give verbal advice, issue summons and institute prosecutions against offenders. After giving verbal advice, the Police would allow a reasonable period of time for the parties concerned to clear up the articles. If the articles were not cleared by the time given, the Police would issue summons to them.

24. Mr CHANG Yiu-wa replied that HyD was not a law enforcement department, but it would assist in clearing up construction waste. The way to dispose construction waste was different to that was used to dispose general domestic waste. The Department would clear up construction waste and conduct sorting before delivering it to fill banks. Generally, the It would clear up construction waste within 48 hours upon receipt of a complaint. Priority would be given to construction waste which caused obstruction to main traffic road.

25. Mr YEUNG Yuk raised the following views: (i) he believed that members understood that various government departments had worked hard to handle the hygiene issues in the district; (ii) the Department was only required to play back the recorded footage of CCTV cameras after an offence was committed. Therefore, the installation of CCTV cameras could help solve the human resources issue; (iii) TD installed CCTV cameras to monitor vehicles in the vicinity of Lai Po Road. The Department could coordinate with TD and install CCTV cameras to monitor activities in respect of illegal dumping of waste.

26. Mr FUNG Chi-lam said that dog faeces were often found on the pavement adjacent to Lai Po Garden. He had complained to government departments and received a quick response. The Department only took action upon receipt of complaints; this could neither effectively improve the situation, nor could it resolve the issue of urine odour. He suggested that government departments install a dog toilet in the vicinity.

27. Ms Carman NG said that she understood the workload of EPD. Therefore, the Department should consider adopting a pilot scheme to reduce the workload and stress of frontline staff. She also suggested the Chairman write to EPD, requesting for an increase in frontline manpower and resources.

28. Mr HOU Chun-kaw said that a number of scavengers in Yee Kuk Street and Ki Lung Street overturned litter containers on the ground so as to collect litter. He hoped the Department would strengthen cleansing work.

29. Mr LAI Kah-kit gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) The Department would proactively consider the feasibility of installating CCTV cameras and would relay Members’ view to the headquarters. - 17 - Action by

(ii) The Department would pay attention to the dog faeces problem at Lai Po Garden and step up enforcement. It would also explore whether it was necessary to strengthen street cleansing in the vicinity. In addition, the Department would consider if it was necessary to provide a dog toilet there and if there was any suitable location for a dog toilet.

(iii) It was an offence to collect litter. The Department could take prosecution action in accordance with the existing legislation and strengthen cleansing services subject to the actual needs.

(iv) Street cleansing contractors provided five street washing vehicles and three water jet teams for the day-shift service and three street washing vehicles for the night-shift service. Non-outsourced cleansing services included a street washing vehicle for each of the day-shift and midnight-shift services.

30. Mr LAM Wing-yiu expressed gratitude to members for their understanding of the Department’s resources issue.

31. Mr Mickey WAI gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) The District Officer (Sham Shui Po) briefly introduced the Pilot Scheme on Enhancement of District Administration (“Pilot Scheme”) and the District-led Actions Scheme (“DAS”) at the District Council (“DC”) meeting on 2 February this year. He indicated that as the schemes mainly targeted at the environmental hygiene issues in the district, he would relay members’ views to the District Management Committee (“DMC”). Specific suggestions of DMC would be submitted to all Members for advice. He hoped that the environmental hygiene issues of the district could be alleviated through the collaboration of all government departments.

(ii) SSPDO understood that members and the public were concerned about the issues in the district relating to second-hand electrical appliance activities and construction waste. Therefore, it had organised inter-departmental meetings in the hope of handling the issues through enhanced collaboration among government departments and other strategic solutions. On the other hand, DMC had conducted discussions on specific issues and would submit the contents of the discussions to DC for information.

32. The Chairman concluded as follows: (i) the hygiene issues in the district involved - 18 - Action by

waste, rear lanes, construction waste and the nuisance caused by second-hand recycling shops, etc. The Committee hoped that FEHD and EPD would collect information about the locations of hygiene black spots from members through the Secretariat for specific follow-up action and selection of appropriate locations for installating CCTV cameras on a pilot basis; (ii) the Committee expressed gratitude to government departments for working hard to serve the district with insufficient resources, and hoped that government departments could focus on handling the hygiene issues with limited resources. In recent years, the environmental hygiene issues were increasingly complicated causing much more pressure to government frontline staff. The Committee suggested that government departments step up law enforcement, publicity and education, for example, by displaying banners at hygiene black spots to achieve a deterrent effect; (iii) the Committee would write to FEHD and EPD to reflect the issue of shortage in frontline staff and request for an increase in frontline staff resources, including increasing manpower and considering to provide uniforms to EPD’s frontline staff. Moreover, the Committee hoped that EPD would proactively consider improving environmental hygiene of the district through the Recycling Fund and enhancing the collaboration in its annual inter-departmental joint operation.

(b) Requests of relocating the Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market and following up wild birds congregation problem persistently (EHC Paper 6/16)

33. Mr CHAN Wai-ming introduced Paper 6/16.

34. The Chairman said that the Secretariat had invited the Planning Department to send representatives to the meeting, but the latter replied that it was unable to do so. Members were requested to refer to its response in Paper 15/16.

35. Mr Tony WONG responded as follows:

(i) The Government had all along been following up on the request for relocating Cheung Sha Wan Temporary Wholesale Poultry Market (“TWPM”). However, in identifying an alternative location, it had to take land use planning, land delivery programme and relevant road-based transport network into consideration. Having identified an initial location, the Department would be required to conduct environmental and traffic impact assessments and to consult the trades and residents in the district. The Government would report to DC when it had a specific plan and schedule on the relocation of TWPM.

(ii) In more than a decade, the Government, together with the poultry trade and the inspection and quarantine authorities in the Mainland, established a strict - 19 - Action by

monitoring, preventive and control mechanism on avian influenza in order to keep the risk of an avian influenza outbreak at a low level. Since no mechanism could achieve zero risk, individual avian influenza case would occasionally occur, causing impacts to the trades and the public. In this connection, the Government had appointed a consultant to carry out a study on the way forward for the poultry trade, including whether the selling of live poultry should continue. The Food and Health Bureau (“FHB”) would conduct a public consultation on the basis of the recommendations in the consultancy study. The Department would report the progress to DC in a timely manner.

36. Ms Alice YEUNG responded as follows:

(i) The Agricultural Fisheries and Conservation Department (“AFCD”) collected 230 samples of bird droppings in SSP District in the past year and another 25 samples between January and February this year. All the samples were tested negative for avian influenza.

(ii) The Department found the old-designed pigeon cage traps ineffective and therefore pigeon cage traps with a new design were used on a trial basis at wild bird congregation black spots in the district, such as , and the Police Sports and Recreation Club, etc. Some Members had also participated in the trial run at Tonkin Street. The newly designed pigeon cage traps were larger and equipped with remote controls. Pigeon corn was usually used to attract and catch wild pigeons, but breadcrumbs were also used as wild pigeons in the city mostly congregated because people fed them with breadcrumbs. The Department had caught eight wild pigeons in an operation in Lei Cheng Uk Estate, but the subsequent four to five operations at various black spots were unsuccessful.

(iii) Members had indicated that wild pigeons dared not get close to pigeon cage traps because there was a big difference between the colour of the traps and that of the ground. The Department adopted Members’ recommendation by making the colour of the traps close to that of the ground, however, it still could not catch any wild pigeons.

(iv) The Department would continue trying to use the newly designed pigeon cage traps, exploring alternative ways to handle the congregation of wild birds and monitoring avian influenza.

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(v) The congregation of wild birds in the city was mainly caused by feeding activities. If there was no feeding activity, the wild bird congregation issue would be alleviated.

37. Mr LAI Kah-kit responded as follows:

(i) FEHD cleansed the streets in the vicinity of TWPM with diluted bleach solution twice a day and provided disinfection services at wild bird congregation black spots to ensure environmental hygiene.

(ii) The Department had all along taken prosecution actions against those who dirtied public places while feeding wild birds by issuing fixed penalty notices of $1,500 each. Since last year, a total of 17 prosecutions had been instituted, and the latest prosecution was made on 1 March this year.

(iii) In order to remind the public not to feed wild birds, the Department displayed large publicity banners and posters at wild bird congregation black spots and arranged publicity vehicles to broadcast the message in the vicinity of Tonkin Street and Cheung Sha Wan Road.

(iv) The Department would report the work progress at each EHC meeting for members’ information.

38. Ms NG Yuet-lan raised the following views: (i) feeding activities were the main causes for wild bird congregation, but the number of prosecutions was low. The Department should consider increasing penalties for repeated offenders; (ii) previously, there were feeding activities under the flyover in Mei Foo. Although the number of wild birds congregated was reduced right now because of the construction work, she still hoped the Department would step up enforcement; (iii) feeding pigeons by members of the public might be out of good intention, however, their behaviours had caused a nuisance to residents.

39. Ms Zoé CHOW raised the following views: (i) an outbreak of avian influenza could occur at any time. Therefore, wild bird issue should not be treated lightly because samples of bird droppings were tested negative; (ii) she observed the operation of the newly designed pigeon cage traps for two hours, but no pigeon went into the cage traps. Meanwhile, the wild bird congregation issue at Tonkin Street had not been improved. The effectiveness of the pigeon cage traps was in doubt. The Department should find another way out as soon as possible; (iii) FEHD had dispatched plain clothes staff to carry out ambush operations at Tonkin Street but failed to achieve a deterrent effect. This might due to the fact that the penalty was not heavy enough; (iv) feeding activities caused a nuisance and adversely - 21 - Action by

affected environmental hygiene. Apart from the provisions relating to littering offences, the Department should consider legislating to prohibit people from feeding wild birds.

40. Mr YUEN Hoi-man raised the following enquiries and views: (i) he wondered when the report on the relocation of TWPM would be completed and whether the study would provide specific details on its relocation; (ii) the utilisation rate of TWPM was relatively low. If the traders in the market could be re-arranged, the areas to be vacant could be converted into open space.

41. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following views: (i) TWPM was located in the town centre. He hoped that the Department could expedite its relocation so as to prevent nearby residents from the nuisance and the risk of avian influenza; (ii) some lands in Hong Kong had been left vacant for over 10 years, TWPM should be relocated to a more remote area near the border of Hong Kong to facilitate the operation of the trades.

42. Mr CHAN Kwok-wai said that as wild birds were aware of the pigeon cage traps, the Department should make reference to the practices of other places and explore new, up-to-date solutions. It was a habit of wild birds to congregate at the same location, therefore resulting in a vicious cycle.

43. Mr CHAN Wai-ming raised the following views: (i) the later TWPM was relocated, the greater the risk of an avian influenza outbreak in the community would be; (ii) the Department could consider imposing heavier penalties on repeated offenders for feeding wild birds, otherwise it would condone them; (iii) the wild bird congregation issue at Cheung Sha Wan MTR Station near Cheung Sha Wan Estate and Un Chau Estate Phase 5 was relatively serious. Congregation of pigeons was also found at the nearby Ancillary Facilities Block. Besides, 50 to 60 pigeons regularly congregated at the open area outside Un Him House. He hoped that government departments would step up enforcement and cleansing operations.

44. Mr CHUM Tak-shing said that members had followed up on the relocation of TWPM for years, but the Department failed to explain specifically how to persuade the trades and proceed with the relocation. The presence of TWPM increased the risk of an avian influenza outbreak and failed to make the best use of land resources. He hoped that the Department could report the work progress and related information on a regular basis for the Committee to monitor the situation.

45. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong raised the following views: (i) members understood the work of the Government, but the work of the Department lacked transparency. The Department should keep members informed of the progress of the relocation, or even invite stakeholders to attend Committee meetings to discuss the issue; (ii) currently, wild bird - 22 - Action by

congregation was extended to areas near Tonkin Street, Sham Mong Road and Fu Cheong Estate. Moreover, there were feeding activities at Kiu Kiang Street and the park at Lai Chi Kok Road. He hoped that FEHD could pay more attention to this and handle the issue with a new mindset.

46. Mr YEUNG Yuk raised the following views: (i) the first EHC meeting passed a provisional motion, which included designating the issue of wild birds and relocation of TWPM as issue for regular discussion. Therefore, he hoped that government departments would report the progress of the relocation of TWPM at each meeting; (ii) some members of the public used pigeon corn and breadcrumbs to attract sparrows to congregate at the open area outside Hoi Lai Shopping Centre off Sham Mong Road around 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. every day. He hoped that FEHD would handle the issue as soon as possible.

47. Mr LEE Wing-man raised the following views: (i) TWPM was after all a temporary market, and the Department should provide a direction for its relocation; (ii) he had suggested that the traders in TWPM be concentrated in order to vacate some areas for other purposes, but he received no response; (ii) bird droppings were found on the ground near the Police Sports and Recreation Club on Mission Hill from time to time, along with the congregation of wild birds. He hoped that FEHD would step up large-scale cleansing services and prosecution actions persistently.

48. Mr LAI Kah-kit gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) It was an offence for a person to dirty a public place while feeding wild birds and the Department would issue a fixed penalty notice of $1,500 to the offender. If the offender was found to be a repeated offender, the Department would issue a summons instead, and the offender was required to attend court for trial. The magistrate would consider the facts of individual cases to make an appropriate ruling. Previously, a repeated offender was sentenced to imprisonment with a suspension by a magistrate. Between last year and February this year, the Department instituted prosecutions against two repeated offenders. No repeated offender was found since the middle of last year.

(ii) Apart from deploying uniformed staff to patrol, the Department arranged plain clothes task force staff to take enforcement action. The Department would continue to step up enforcement at the black spots as informed by members.

49. Mr Tony WONG gave a consolidated reply as follows: - 23 - Action by

(i) The Department needed to carry out a series of exercises in order to provide a specific relocation schedule.

(ii) AFCD had all along proactively followed up and considered rearranging site A and site B of TWPM and vacating some of the areas therein. Meanwhile, the Department had to take the market area and the traders’ intentions into consideration. In order to avoid cross-infection among the poultry, the Department had to segregate Mainland chickens, local chickens and minor poultry into different stocking areas. Therefore, one single site could not accommodate all the new facilities, parking spaces and stalls. In addition, as the existing number of traders was small, the environmental hygiene was relatively good. During the consultation, the traders strongly objected to the relevant proposal, therefore the Department could not rearrange TWPM for the time being.

50. Ms Alice YEUNG gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) AFCD was mainly responsible for monitoring avian influenza, and it would not slacken off because the samples of bird droppings taken earlier were tested negative.

(ii) The Department and FHB had no plans to legislate against the feeding of wild birds for the time being.

(iii) The Department had proactively made reference to the practices of other countries in the prevention and control of wild birds. It noted that some countries used bird spikes to disperse wild birds, and it had therefore suggested that the Housing Department (“HD”) install bird spikes on the footbridge connecting Cheung Sha Wan Estate and Un Chau Estate. When the MTR Corporation Limited (“MTRCL”) was aware of the Department’s suggestion, it also installed bird spikes on the top cover of one of the exits of Cheung Sha Wan MTR Station. As the issue was alleviated after the installation of bird spikes, MTRCL considered installing bird spikes at other exits.

(iv) Members had suggested the use of contraceptives in this respect. The Department studied and found that contraceptives were not suitable for use in Hong Kong. The humid weather in Hong Kong would reduce the effectiveness of the medication, and it would only be effective if the - 24 - Action by

medication was taken by the same wild pigeon for a prolonged period of time. As it was necessary to mix the contraceptives with pigeon corn for wild pigeons to eat, this might attract more wild pigeons to congregate.

(v) If there were wild birds causing nuisance to private properties, the Department would give advice and a sample of pigeon repellent spray to the management office concerned. If the management office was satisfied with the effectiveness of the pigeon repellent spray, it could ask the Department for the supplier’s information.

(vi) The Department would continue to monitor avian influenza and try its best to identify new ways to reduce the nuisance caused by wild birds. It also welcomed members to make suggestions.

51. Mr Mickey WAI gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) EHC and DMC had all along followed up the wild bird congregation issue in the district. They noted that the bird spikes on the top cover of Exit A1 of Cheung Sha Wan MTR Station and the footbridge of HD were effective.

(ii) SSPDO had all along maintained close liaison with MTRCL. It was noted that MTRCL started to add bird spikes on the top covers of Exits A2 and A3 of Cheung Sha Wan MTR Station in the recent two weeks. The works were expected to be completed in the first half of this year. The Co. (1933) Ltd had already installed a device to prevent wild bird congregation on the top cover of the bus stop opposite to Un Him House, with a view to alleviating the wild bird congregation issue. He hoped that various government departments would continue to pay attention to this and SSPDO would also keep monitoring the situation.

52. Ms Zoé CHOW said that the addition of bird spikes might not be able to reduce the number of wild birds effectively. Instead, she was worried that wild birds would congregate somewhere else, e.g. the Ancillary Facility Block at Un Him House.

53. Ms Alice YEUNG understood members’ concerns. AFCD had all along emphasised that the congregation of wild birds was mainly caused by feeding activities. If there were no feeding activities, there was no need to install bird spikes. However, the Department hoped that after bird spikes were installed, the congregation of wild birds would be reduced because there was less space for them to stay and congregate.

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54. Mr Mickey WAI responded that he believed that members of EHC and DMC understood that feeding activities were the cause of wild bird congregation. As MTRCL was aware that the top covers of the MTR station were rather spacious and this made it easy for people to throw food and wild birds to congregate, it had installed bird spikes on the top covers.

55. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following enquiries and views: (i) whether AFCD had set a deadline for the relocation of TWPM; (ii) if the Department encountered any difficulties during the consultation, it could seek assistance from Members or other government departments.

56. Mr YUEN Hoi-man enquired when AFCD would complete the consultancy study, as well as when and how the traders of TWPM would be consulted.

57. Mr Tony WONG gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) FHB had commissioned a consultant, which was expected to submit a report and relevant recommendations in the second quarter of this year. A public consultation would be conducted afterwards.

(ii) The re-arrangement of TWPM faced difficulties in two aspects. Firstly, the floor area of one of the markets might not be able to accommodate the facilities of both markets. Secondly, the traders of TWPM strongly objected to the proposal.

(iii) The Department would provide supplementary information on details of the consultation after the meeting.

[Post-meeting note: AFCD consulted live poultry wholesalers on SSPDC’s proposal of merging site A and site B of TWPM in November 2012. Representatives of the trade opined that the proposal concerned would affect their business, and they worried that site A would not have adequate floor area to accommodate the tenants of site B and enough facilities (e.g. chickens stocking areas, parking spaces, chicken holding cage cleaning facilities, etc.) for use of them. Representatives of transporters also objected to relocating tenants of site B to site A, worrying that the parking spaces in site A would be inadequate upon implementation of the proposal, thereby affecting their operation. Generally speaking, wholesalers of site B also objected to the merger proposal and reckoned that remaining in their existing stalls, which were larger in size, would be conducive to their operation.

In response to the avian influenza cases in recent years, the Department needed to step up - 26 - Action by

biosecurity measures of the markets. In order to minimise cross-infection among live poultry coming from different sources, the Department had converted vacant business premises in TWPM into chickens stocking areas and segregated areas for the purpose of segregating and holding the unsold local and imported live chickens as well as minor poultry. After such modification, the floor area of site A was inadequate to accommodate the wholesalers’ business premises, parking spaces and chickens stocking areas of site B.]

58. The Chairman concluded as follows: (i) the Committee had all along been concerned about the relocation of TWPM and the wild bird congregation issue. It suggested that AFCD and FEHD gather information on wild bird congregation black spots from members through the Secretariat, and report the updates on the relocation of TWPM and the enforcement action against wild bird congregation at each meeting; (ii) the Non-Standing Working Group on Wild Bird and Poultry Market Problems (“WGWB”) would continue to follow up on the issue concerned and submit reports to the Committee. Relevant government departments should send representatives to WGWB meetings; (iii) members could submit papers on those issues to the Committee for discussion.

(c) Concern over the fire and explosion incident outside Kwai Chung Container Terminal (EHC Paper 7/16)

59. Mr YEUNG Yuk and Ms NG Yuet-lan introduced Paper 7/16.

60. The Chairman said that the District Lands Office (“DLO”), Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing of LandsD submitted a response paper to the Secretariat before the meeting and was unable to send representatives to the meeting. Members were requested to refer to its response in Paper 16/16.

61. Ms YIP Yuk-ying responded that the case was handled by the Kwai Tsing District Crime Squad and was still under investigation. The exhibits seized at the scene were subject to laboratory tests and the reports were still pending.

62. Mr LO Kam-wing responded as follows:

(i) Upon receipt of a call reporting a fire at an open-air carpark at Container Port Road South at 00:05 a.m. on 13 February, the Fire Services Department (“FSD”) immediately dispatched four fire appliances to the scene. The fire appliances arrived at the scene in six minutes. It was found that at the centre of the carpark, polystyrene foam boxes were on fire in an area measuring appropriately 30 metres by 20 metres which was surrounded by metal panels. Since the fire spread rather quickly and was quite far away from the water - 27 - Action by

supply in the neighbourhood, FSD upgraded the fire to No. 3 alarm in 12 minutes. At last, FSD deployed a total of six fire hoses and eight breathing apparatus teams, and it took them two hours to put out the fire. The fire spread from the polystyrene foam boxes to the vehicles parked in the vicinity, therefore leading to explosion sounds and black smoke.

(ii) Since the cause of the fire was suspicious, the case was handed over to the Police for investigation. FSD did not identify anything at the scene that was in contravention with the Fire Services Ordinance (“FSO”) or the Dangerous Goods Ordinance (“DGO”).

63. Mr YEUNG Yuk raised the following enquiries and views: (i) since the coverage of the fire scene was rather large, he enquired whether the existing FSO stipulated the locations of water supply and whether there were any fire service facilities in the carpark; (ii) using the water supply at Container Port Road South might affect the speed of the fire-fighting operation; (iii) as there were sites under short-term tenancy (“STT”) in SSP District, he enquired about the inspection frequency of LandsD.

64. Ms NG Yuet-lan raised the following enquiries and views: (i) she enquired about the inspection criteria and frequency of LandsD; (ii) the carpark located at the STT site was used for storage of polystyrene foam pieces, and this was obviously in contravention of the tenancy terms. She enquired why the authorities concerned had not taken any action; (iii) it was the responsibility of LandsD to inspect STT sites to avoid incidents from happening.

65. Mr WAI Woon-nam raised the following enquiries and views: (i) LandsD should stipulate the restrictions on land use when granting a tenancy. He enquired whether placing polystyrene foam pieces and parking petrol tankers in a carpark under STT were breaching the tenancy terms; (ii) although the location of the incident was not in SSP District, residents of SSP District were affected; (iii) he appreciated the work of FSD and hoped that relevant government departments could step up inspections in carparks under STT in the district.

66. Mr Joe LI gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) The Government should optimise its land resources, and should not allow any site to be left vacant casually. If a site was not designated for long-term use, the Government would consider granting STT, and carparks and open-air areas for placing goods were common use of STT.

(ii) With reference to the response of DLO, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing, STT of the site allowed the location to be used as a carpark or for placing goods, with - 28 - Action by

the exception of dangerous goods and construction waste. As to whether polystyrene foam pieces were dangerous goods, it would be more appropriate for FSD to respond. If polystyrene foam pieces were not dangerous goods, the usage of the site for either placing polystyrene foam pieces or parking cars did not contravene the tenancy terms.

(iii) The Department would carry out inspections regularly after granting STT. Although he was unsure of the inspection frequency in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing, he believed that inspections had surely been carried out. Normally, the Department would not grant STT which allow the parking of petrol tankers for any site near residential areas, and that type of tenancy was different from the tenancy for general carparks. Prior to the grant of the tenancy, the Department would also seek professional advice from other government departments (e.g. FSD, TD, etc.) in order to explore whether the site involved was appropriate for parking petrol tankers.

67. Mr LO Kam-wing gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) The area of the carpark involved was rather large, but FSD’s frontline staff still managed to arrive at the scene in six minutes. Since the coverage of the fire scene was rather big and the water supply was relatively far away, FSD upgraded the fire to No. 3 alarm shortly and deployed manpower to handle the incident.

(ii) Petrol tankers were generally governed by DGO.

68. The Chairman concluded as follows: (i) although the explosion incident at Kwai Chung Container Terminal did not take place in the district, residents of SSP District were affected. It was hoped that the Police could solve the crime case as early as possible; (ii) the Committee hoped that government departments could review the existing inspection mechanism and step up enforcement.

(d) Request for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to organise special anti-rodent campaign at Kim Shin Lane (EHC Paper 8/16)

69. Mr CHUM Tak-shing introduced Paper 8/16.

70. Mr LAI Kah-kit responded as follows:

(i) FEHD had all along carried out rodent prevention operations in the vicinity of - 29 - Action by

Kim Shin Lane to prevent the breeding of rodents. These included setting cage traps, applying poisonous baits and filling rat holes.

(ii) Upon receipt of complaints about rodent infestation, the Department would send its staff to carry out investigation and provide the residents or management company concerned with advice and technical instructions on rodent prevention and control. According to the existing policy of the Government, the Department would not carry out rodent disinfestation operations for owners of private premises. Currently, for effective rodent prevention and control, the Department would provide “three nil” buildings with limited rodent disinfestation services, which included implementing anti-rodent measures in the common areas of those buildings (e.g. staircase, rooftops, etc.)

(iii) Under normal circumstances, the Department’s staff did not have the lawful authority to enter a vacant private property, but they would investigate whether there was any sign of rodent infestation in the vicinity. If it was confirmed that there were rodent infestation, a notice would be issued to request the owner or the occupier of the premises to carry out cleansing work to eliminate rodents. If the person concerned failed to comply with the requirements of the notice, he/she committed an offence and was liable to a fine of $5,000 on top of a daily penalty of $100.

(iv) Apart from carrying out rodent disinfestation operations at the public places in the vicinity of Kim Shin Lane, the Department had already handled the waste issue in the vicinity and improved the hygiene conditions of restaurants for rodent prevention.

(v) The Department would maintain close liaison with the stakeholders of Kim Shin Lane as well as giving advice to offenders and providing them with health education. If necessary, the Department would organise talks on health education for residents there to enhance their awareness of rodent prevention.

71. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following views and suggestions: (i) he hoped that FEHD could pay additional attention to the rodent issue in Kim Shin Lane. More effective legislation might be needed to handle issue involving vacant premises; (ii) he suggested that FEHD consider enhancing its collaboration with DO or other government departments in the hope of handling the rodent issue in “three nil” buildings or training anti-rodent ambassadors to share their professional knowledge in rodent disinfestation with residents. - 30 - Action by

72. Mr LAI Kah-kit responded that the Department had to eliminate mosquitoes and rodents as they would adversely affect public health and cause diseases. If necessary, the Department would seek assistance from experts in the Pest Control Advisory Section to handle complicated mosquito and rodent issues.

73. Mr Mickey WAI responded that the Pilot Scheme would be completed in March and relevant cleansing work had already been done. When DMC discussed the implementation of DAS in 18 districts, he would relay members’ concerns over the management of “three nil” buildings, particularly their environmental hygiene conditions.

74. The Chairman concluded that FEHD organised special anti-rodent campaigns every year. She hoped that the Department would pay additional attention to the rodent issue at Kim Shin Lane in addition to its routine operations. Members should also proactively pay attention to and coordinate with the anti-rodent work of relevant government departments.

(e) Request of stepping up the monitor of the sewage treatment works and refuse transfer station at Stonecutters Island so as to proactively resolve the air pollution problem in Mei Foo (EHC Paper 9/16)

75. Mr Dennis WONG and Mr Ambrose CHEUNG introduced Paper 9/16.

76. Mr Albert TSE gave a PowerPoint presentation to introduce the odour control measures and facilities of the sewage treatment works.

77. Mr Ambrose CHEUNG raised the following enquiries: (i) whether sludge treatment would become a source of odour; (ii) the completion date of the works of the deodourisation unit 6B.

78. Mr Albert TSE responded as follows:

(i) Sludge treatment would produce odour, but the chemicals added by the Department could effectively control sludge odour. Besides, the dewatered sludge was transported in newly designed, sealed sludge containers to EPD’s sludge treatment facilities by marine vessels, and the loading and unloading process of sludge was also conducted in an enclosed environment. Therefore, proper treatment had been given in respect of odour.

(ii) In line with the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme (“HATD”) Stage 2A, the Stonecutters Island Sewage Treatment Works (“SCISTW”) would collect - 31 - Action by

sewage from the , and therefore, the silo for the dewatered sludge was divided into two parts with self-contained deodourisation units 6A and 6B for the purpose of odour control. The works of deodourisation unit 6A had been completed while that of deodourisation unit 6B was underway. Occupying only 10 hectares of land, SCISTW would have its treatment capacity upgraded from the initial design of 1.7 million m3 per day to 2.4 million m3 per day, and the new facilities had to be provided in stages. Upon commissioning of some of the facilities, the existing facilities could then be replaced and demolished to make room for the remaining works.

79. Mr Samuel LUK responded as follows:

(i) Since Tseung Kwan O (“TKO”) Landfill started to receive only construction waste, the Waste Diversion Plan (“WDP”) was put into full implementation. The Department diverted some of the waste from areas such as Wong Tai Sin, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, etc., which was originally delivered to Transfer Station (“WKTS”), to other refuse transfer stations or landfills so that WKTS could receive the waste which was originally delivered to TKO Landfill.

(ii) Upon the implementation of WDP, the total amount of waste treated by WKTS was about 2,600 tonnes per day. This was similar to the amount of about 2,700 tonnes per day before its implementation.

(iii) WKTS carried out a number of improvement works to enhance odour control in the past few years. During those years (including upon implementation of WDP), there was no incident of excessive odour.

(iv) The Department accepted members’ views earlier. At the end of last year, it commissioned an independent consultant to conduct an odour analysis on WKTS. Preliminary results were available and had been submitted to the Regional Office concerned in order to have a comprehensive study on the sources of odour in the district.

(v) No matter whether odour in the district came from WKTS or not, the Department would continue to explore ways to enhance odour control of WKTS. Relevant works were expected to be implemented this year.

(vi) WKTS would continue to review the scope and results of odour monitoring, and submit the monitoring results to the Regional Office concerned regularly - 32 - Action by

to help identify the sources of odour. If members were interested in the information concerned, the Department could submit relevant reports to members at each Committee meeting.

(vii) Since there were quite a number of new members in the current DC term, the Department welcomed members to conduct site visit at WKTS.

80. Mr LAM Wing-yiu responded as follows:

(i) He reiterated that the Department was aware of the odour complaints made by members or the public, and would not regard them as false complaints although odour was not detected at the time when the Department’s staff arrived at the scene.

(ii) Since last year, the Department had received 26 odour complaint cases, among which complainants of 18 cases and 14 cases believed that WKTS and SCISTW were the sources of odour respectively, whereas some complainants believed that both were the sources of odour.

(iii) The Department would conduct unscheduled inspections upon receipt of complaints, and such inspections would be carried out based on the time information provided by the complainants. Most of the complainants were unwilling to allow the Department’s staff to enter their premises for investigation. Therefore, he expressed gratitude to Mr Dennis WONG for arranging the Department’s staff to go into a complainant’s premises for inspection.

(iv) The Department would step up inspection in seasons with southerly wind. It had conducted 27 air monitoring inspections through Mei Foo, Manhattan Hill, Hoi Lai Estate, etc., and detected a low level of odour on two occasions. Although the odour level did not reach the level of air pollution, the Department had immediately followed up with WKTS and SCISTW. However, there was no conclusive evidence to prove that odour came from those locations.

(v) The Department had established a complaint mechanism. If members of the public detected any odour at any time, they could contact WKTS contractor’s staff and SCISTW’s staff on duty for immediate follow-up. Upon receipt of complaints, WKTS’s contractor and SCISTW would submit relevant information to the Department. Since last September, the Department had - 33 - Action by

not received any complaint in this respect.

(vi) The operation of WKTS would certainly produce odour, but it was not found that the contractor concerned had breached its contract with the government.

(vii) Apart from WKTS and SCISTW, facilities such as refuse collection points in the district, the automated refuse transfer system in Hoi Lai Estate, etc. could also be the sources of odour. The Department would take follow up action at those locations independently.

(viii) In January this year, EPD commissioned a consultant to study issues relating to the coastal waters of the , including odour coming from the Victoria Harbour and inshore facilities. It was hoped that the consultancy study would help identify the sources of odour.

81. Ms NG Yuet-lan raised the following views: (i) the environmental standards of Hong Kong was not comparable to other places. She hoped that EPD could provide the criteria for assessing odour as stipulated in the contract; (ii) currently, the odour issue was not so serious due to the seasonal wind direction. Also, the Department had provided additional deodourising facilities, and therefore the odour issue was alleviated. However, she hoped that the Department would continue to improve the odour issue; (iii) whether the amount of waste treated by WKTS was similar to the amount before.

82. Mr Dennis WONG raised the following views: (i) he recognised the past efforts of EPD and the Drainage Services Department (“DSD”) in alleviating the odour issue. EPD had been proactively following up the odour issue, and had invited members to conduct site visits at WKTS and SCISTW; (ii) although EPD mentioned that the amount of waste treated by WKTS before the implementation of WDP was similar to that after its implementation, but the amount might fluctuate subject to seasonal factors. Therefore, he hoped that the Department could compare the amount of waste treated by WKTS in a month this year to that in the same month last year; (iii) he noted that the deodourising facilities in SCISTW were perfect whereas odour was detected at WKTS during a site visit. He hoped that the Department would consider installing odour detection devices in WKTS; (iv) as the odour issue was one of the issues for regular discussion in the Committee, he hoped that the Department could provide information about odour complaints as well as odour monitoring data of WKTS and SCISTW at each meeting in order to analyse the correlation between them; (v) generally, the odour nuisance was more noticeable between May and August, and odour of the waste was particularly noticeable in the evenings.

83. Mr Ambrose CHEUNG raised the following views and enquiries: (i) he reckoned - 34 - Action by

that there was progress in the Department’s work; (ii) he welcomed EPD to commission a consultancy study on the odour issue. He enquired whether the consultant would conduct a consolidated study on various sources of odour in the district, and hoped that the Department would provide the preliminary analysis and data of the consultancy study for members’ information; (iii) he enquired about the completion date of the deodourisation unit 6B; (iv) although there was no increase in the amount of waste treated by WKTS, the types of waste it treated might not be the same. Also, having no increase in the amount of waste treated did not mean that the odour issue was resolved; (v) he agreed that the Department should provide more data on the amount of waste treated by WKTS for members’ analysis.

84. Mr YUEN Hoi-man raised the following views: (i) the odour issue in the district was significantly alleviated in recent years, but odour complaints were still received in summer. He hoped that the Department could provide the odour monitoring data and the locations involved in the complaints to help analyse the sources of odour; (ii) he hoped that the government departments concerned could pay additional attention to the odour issue in summer.

85. Mr Albert TSE responded that the foundation works of the deodourisation unit 6B had been completed and the entire project was expected to be completed in early 2017.

86. Mr Samuel LUK gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) Supplementary information about the amount of waste treated by WKTS would be provided after the meeting.

(ii) EPD could provide information about the complaints and odour monitoring at each meeting.

(iii) The Department was also aware that the odour nuisance was more noticeable in the evenings, but in terms of the operation of WKTS, the peak hours were between 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Therefore, the odour nuisance in the evenings might be more relevant to the waste collection time. The Department would continue to investigate the sources of odour.

(iv) The consultancy study of WTKS focused on issues relating to WKTS. The preliminary report would be submitted to the Regional Office concerned for comprehensive analysis of the odour issue in the district.

[Post-meeting note: The Secretariat distributed EPD’s supplementary information (EHC Paper 19/16) to all members for information on 18 April 2016.] - 35 - Action by

87. The Chairman concluded as follows: (i) the Committee had all along been concerned with the odour issue in the district. She requested EPD and DSD to provide relevant reports at each Committee meeting to enable members to understand and monitor the Departments’ work; (ii) members could submit papers on this issue to the Committee for discussion.

(f) Reports on enforcement operations by the District Lands Office/Kowloon West, the Hong Kong Police Force, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Environmental Protection Department and the Highways Department in tacking environmental hygiene problems in the district (EHC Paper 10-14/16)

88. Mr Joe LI introduced Paper 10/16.

89. Ms YIP Yuk-ying introduced Paper 11/16.

90. Mr LAI Kah-kit introduced Paper 12/16.

91. Mr LAM Wing-yiu introduced Paper 13/16.

92. Mr CHANG Yiu-wa introduced Paper 14/16.

93. Mr YUEN Hoi-man enquired whether FEHD conducted inspections and made prosecutions against dog fouling at Sham Shing Road and Lai Chi Kok Road. He requested the Department to provide relevant inspection schedules.

94. Mr Dennis WONG said that the hawking problem at Exit A of Mei Foo MTR Station was more serious after working hours. He hoped that the Department would step up prosecution.

95. Mr CHAN Wai-ming said that there were often reports from the public that the lifts recently installed by HyD at the footbridges near Un Chau Estate at Lai Chi Kok Road and SKH Kei Fook Primary School were in poor hygiene conditions. He hoped that the Department would follow up in this respect.

96. Mr LAI Kah-kit gave a consolidated reply as follows:

(i) When handling complaints about dog fouling, the Department would conduct investigations based on the time provided by the complainants. Besides, the Department would conduct blitz operations against littering offences between late night and early morning of the following day from time to time, and - 36 - Action by

include all relevant black spots in the patrol routes.

(ii) The Department would step up enforcement against the hawking issue in Mei Foo Sun Chuen.

97. Mr CHUM Tak-shing raised the following views: (i) there was a flower display at the junction of Hing Wah Street and Po On Road. In the past, contractors of minor cleaning services did place their waste trolleys near the flower display temporarily. Since the above location was the main pedestrian access, he hoped that the Department could pay more attention to this; (ii) the area opposite to the Trade Square in Cheung Sha Wan at the junction of Cheung Sha Wan Road and Hing Wah Street was currently occupied by a contractor of HyD. Recently, waste was accumulated at the above location. He hoped that government departments would clarify which department was responsible for matters relating to the above location.

98. The Chairman suggested that members provide government departments with the detailed address of the location after the meeting in order to confirm which department should be responsible for that.

99. Mr LEUNG Man-kwong said that there were birds living on the trees at Sai Chuen Road and Shun Ning Road, and therefore bird droppings were persistently found on the ground. He hoped that the Department would step up the cleansing work.

100. The Chairman suggested that FEHD ask the member about the details after the meeting.

101. The Chairman concluded that the contents of the aforesaid five reports were noted by the Committee.

Agenda Item 3: Any other business

102. The Chairman said that since 2015, members of the public had been relaying to DC from time to time that second-hand recycling shops at Yee Kuk Street persistently occupied nearby pavements and carriageways and made noises, thereby causing nuisances to residents in the neighbourhood. The Committee hoped that the government departments concerned could proactively follow up the nuisance issue caused by the second-hand recycling shops in the vicinity of Yee Kuk Street, Yen Chow Street and Ki Lung Street.

Agenda Item 4: Date of next meeting

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103. The next meeting would be held at 9:30 a.m. on 5 May 2016 (Thursday).

104. There being no other business, the meeting ended at 2:30 p.m.

District Council Secretariat Sham Shui Po District Office April 2016