Maintaining a clean and hygienic living environment for the public is another key responsibility of the Department. The range of services includes street cleansing; waste collection; management of public toilets and aqua privies, public markets, cemeteries, crematoria and columbaria; and hawker management.
Street Sweeping
The Department and its cleansing contractors have a combined workforce of about 10,200 engaged in the provision of cleansing services, including street sweeping and washing, gully emptying, waste collection, and management of public toilets, aqua privies and refuse collection points.
Street sweeping is essential to keeping the city clean. All streets are swept manually from one to four times a day, depending on the need of the areas. Streets in highly pedestrianised areas or popular tourist spots may be swept up to eight times a day.
In addition to manual sweeping, mechanical suction sweepers are used to sweep highways, flyovers, central dividers and other busy traffic spots. Special cleansing squads operate on a need basis to clean hygiene black spots. They deploy tipper lorries to remove large abandoned articles and bulky waste that cannot be handled by street sweepers. The squads also undertake urgent clearance operations in the event of traffic accidents or natural disasters.
To facilitate the general public, there are about 21,020 litter containers located at almost every bus stop, major road junction, ferry concourse and public transport interchange. They are emptied at a frequency of one to eight times daily, depending on the need of the areas. The Department also provides some 490 dog toilets and 1,460 dog excreta collection bins.
Street Washing
Regular street washing is carried out in public places, including pavements, service lanes, hawker permitted areas, refuse collection points and black spots. A total of 110 street washing teams from the Department's in-house staff and cleansing services contractors wash heavily patronised pedestrian precincts and hawker/hygiene black spots at least twice weekly; busy areas at least once a week; and other areas on a need basis. For trunk roads with heavy traffic where normal washing is not practicable, flushing is done during non-busy hours.
Gully Emptying
Roadside gullies are cleared manually once every two to four weeks. Gully traps on highways and flyovers are cleared once every six weeks by mechanical gully emptiers after midnight when traffic is light.
About 75% of the Department's street cleansing services have been outsourced. A monitoring and sanction mechanism is in place to ensure that contractors deliver satisfactory services.
Refuse Collection
There are 3,231 refuse collection points (RCPs) in Hong Kong. These include 159 permanent off-street RCPs, which generally operate from 7 am to 3.30 pm, and up to 11.30 pm in busy areas; 25 temporary RCPs; 681 village-type RCPs; and 2,366 bin sites. The RCPs are of different designs to suit actual needs and site constraints. They are used for temporary storage of street litter and household waste pending collection. Whenever circumstances permit, the Department makes improvements to RCPs to minimise any possible environmental nuisance to nearby residents.
Waste in RCPs is collected at least once daily. Some 5,300 tonnes of household waste are collected daily - 1,060 from Hong Kong Island, 1,630 from Kowloon and 2,610 from the New Territories and outlying islands. Waste is delivered to refuse transfer stations or landfills managed by the Environmental Protection Department. The Department has outsourced about 72% of its refuse collection services. It has a monitoring and sanction mechanism to ensure that waste collection contractors deliver satisfactory services.
Waste Reduction
In support of the Government's initiative to reduce waste, the Department provides recyclable collection service to 3,199 collection points in public places, schools, clinics and government venues to recover waste paper, metal and plastic materials.
During the year, the average monthly weight of recyclable materials collected was 47,740 kilogrammes of waste paper, 1,305 kilogrammes of metal and 13,515 kilogrammes of plastic materials.
Wherever possible, retread tyres are used on the departmental vehicle fleet. In the past year, the ratio of brand-new to retread tyres was 1:0.342.
Public Toilets and Aqua Privies
Public toilets are provided mainly at tourist spots and busy areas, including ferry concourses, bus termini and picnic areas. Altogether, 580 public toilets are managed by the Department - 95 on Hong Kong Island, 62 in Kowloon, and 423 in the New Territories and on outlying islands. In addition, there are 272 aqua privies in the New Territories and on outlying islands.
Under an on-going Public Toilet Refurbishment/Improvement Programme, 14 projects were completed during the year. The Department is committed to further improving the hygiene, safety and comfort of public toilets. Many public toilets have been installed with new features, such as automatic infrared sensor water taps, hand dryers, urinal bowls and hand basins at children's height, baby changing counters, and racks inside individual toilet compartments for users to place their personal belongings. Air fresheners and free toilet paper are provided in all public toilets. To ensure that public toilets are kept clean at all times, the Department employs attendants to station at those with high usage to provide immediate cleansing services.
Pursuant to the government policy of incorporating gender mainstreaming in project design and to meet the needs of both genders, the Department adopts a general planning ratio of two female toilet compartments to every male toilet compartment.
The phased programme to convert identified aqua privies into flushing toilets by 2013 continued in 2010. All the remaining 29 out of the 80 aqua privies, for which conversion works commenced in November 2008 for completion by mid-2010, were converted into flushing toilets in the year. Of the 90 aqua privies for which works commenced in November 2009 for completion by mid-2011, 13 were converted into flushing toilets in the year. Planning for the conversion of another 145 aqua privies in the final phase by 2013 is under way.
For aqua privies that are yet to be converted or with site constraints that restrict physical improvements, the Department has put in use microbial odour-arresting agents to alleviate odour problems. Free toilet paper and liquid soap are provided to users. A programme to retrofit all aqua privies with electric hand dryers is also in progress.
Sanitary Nuisances
The Department deals with environmental nuisances, including those caused by water seepage, dripping air-conditioners and accumulation of refuse, by issuing advisory letters and statutory Nuisance Notices to ensure abatement. In 2010, the Department handled some 25,700, 18,500 and 5,300 related complaint cases respectively.
Litter Offences
Officers of the health inspectorate, foreman and hawker control grades of the Department are empowered to issue summonses against people committing cleanliness offences. Apart from day-to-day enforcement action, anti-littering raids are conducted. During the year, about 560 convictions were recorded.
The Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance empowers enforcement officers to issue $1,500 fixed penalty notices for minor cleanliness offences, including littering, spitting, unauthorised display of bills or posters, and dog fouling in public place. In 2010, about 33,000 fixed penalty notices were issued by FEHD staff.
Hawker Management
It has been the standing policy of the Administration to satisfactorily regulate licensed hawking activity and take enforcement action against illegal hawkers. Apart from the sale of cooked food or restricted food without a licence, or conducting hawking activities in main thoroughfares, areas where there are high pedestrian flow or places where there are repeated complaints, the enforcement staff adopt a "warning first, followed by prosecution" strategy. The Department will continue with the above strategy in monitoring on-street hawking activities.
The number of licensed hawkers, including both fixed pitch and itinerant ones, gradually fell over the years and there were 7 171 such hawkers by the end of 2010. After consulting relevant stakeholders and the Legislative Council Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene on the proposals of the hawker licensing policy review, the Department has been re-issuing a specified number of certain types of hawker licences to interested persons. These include 61 new Itinerant (Frozen Confectionery) Hawker Licences, 218 Fixed Pitch (Other Classes) Hawker Licences for on-street vacant hawker pitches, eight Fixed Pitch (Bootblack) Hawker Licences, and eight Fixed Pitch (Other Classes) Hawker Licences selling tobacco and other dry goods.
To help preserve Dai Pai Dongs as part of Hong Kong's local heritage, the Department, with the support of the relevant District Council, relaxed the restrictions on the transfer of licence, number of tables and stools, etc. for 10 Dai Pai Dong licences in Central.
After taking into consideration the relevant hawkers' views, the Department has extended the options of an ex-gratia payment of $30,000 and priority selection of a vacant hawker fixed pitch under the voluntary surrender scheme for itinerant hawker licences for two years to 31 December 2012. The option of priority selection of a vacant public market stall at concessionary rent was terminated on 31 December 2010.
The management and control of hawkers is the responsibility of about 2,100 trained staff who are assigned to 191 hawker control teams.
Hawker control staff inspect fixed hawker pitches regularly and regulate the operation of itinerant hawkers to ensure that licensing conditions and relevant legislative provisions are observed. They also take enforcement action to prevent irregularities caused by licensed or illegal hawkers. There were 29,811 convictions for offences related to hawking in 2010.
Lunar New Year Fairs
The Department staged 14 Lunar New Year Fairs in 12 districts from 8 to 14 February and two Lunar New Year Fairs in two districts from 14 to 28 February. There were about 2,000 stalls offering commodities ranging from seasonal flowers and plants to traditional food, festive decorations, dry goods and fast food, and services of fortune-telling and lot-decoding. The fairs not only provided additional leisure and shopping places for citizens and tourists but also added zest to the festivity during the Lunar New Year period.
Public Markets and Cooked Food Centres/Markets
Public markets and cooked food centres/markets serve an important role in meeting public demand for fresh and cooked food and dry goods. There are 78 public markets, with 13,534 stalls offering commodities ranging from fresh food to household items, and 1,047 stalls in 39 cooked food centres and 25 free-standing cooked food markets. By end 2010, 12,267 stalls were let out, with 1 236 stalls vacant, and 1,078 stalls frozen for designated purposes such as re-siting and renovation. Stalls are let through auction, with successful bidders entering into a tenancy agreement with the Department.
The Department introduced a one-off Tenancy Transfer Scheme in May 2010 so as to regularise the status of public market stall operators. Eligible persons may apply on or before 30 June 2011.
To enhance the variety of public market services and make better use of vacant market stalls, the Department introduced a pilot scheme in October 2010 to let out stalls which have been vacant for eight months or longer by a three-month short-term tenancy at a concessionary upset price. By the end of 2010, 11 stalls were let out under the scheme. In dealing with markets with very low occupancy and which were lacking potential to be revitalised, the Department, with the support of the relevant District Councils, closed the Mong Kok Market in March 2010 and consolidated the Tang Lung Chau Market and Peng Chau Market from two floors into one floor in June and December 2010 respectively.
In 2010, various market promotion activities were carried out in public markets and cooked food centres/markets to attract and broaden patronage. They included festive decoration and celebration activities during Lunar New Year, Tuen Ng and Mid-Autumn Festivals and Christmas, exhibitions on topical subjects, thematic talks with cooking demonstrations, publication of a well-illustrated booklet in several languages on common food items, goods and service trades in markets, and installation of display boards on "Recipes of Chef's Daily Recommendation" displaying seasonal recipes. An information booklet on public markets and cooked food markets and a quarterly Market Newsletter were published for wide distribution.
Market staff undertake daily checks to ensure that stall operators observe the law and tenancy conditions. Health inspectorate officers inspect meat, poultry, fish and cooked food stalls regularly to ensure compliance with relevant legislation and codes of hygiene practices and that food is clean and wholesome. Enforcement action is taken as and when necessary. In 2010, 1,056 prosecutions were taken against market stall operators for breach of statutory provisions and, as a result of investigation into suspected subletting cases, two market stall tenancies were terminated by the Department while another two tenancies were surrendered by the relevant tenants.
Enhanced Measures against Avian Influenza
The frequency of inspection on overnight stocking of live poultry to the remaining 133 retail outlets has been stepped up since April 2010 for better control of human infection of avian influenza. During major Chinese festive periods, such as Mid-Autumn Festival, Winter Solstice and Lunar New Year where over-stocking of live poultry is common, the inspection frequency will further be increased.
Enhanced Measures against Human Swine Influenza
To combat the spread of human swine influenza in the community, the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council approved funding of $99 million for the Department in July 2009 to implement a series of special measures to improve the environmental hygiene. The improvement measures completed by the Department included thorough cleansing of 105 hygiene black spots; provision of one-off clean-up services to common areas of some 5,000 private tenement buildings that do not have management organisations; enhanced cleansing and disinfection services in public markets, public toilets, busy streets, rear lanes in the vicinity of licensed food premises; and enhanced publicity and educational programmes on personal, domestic and environmental hygiene.
On publicity and public education programmes, a series of anti-flu activities were organised to disseminate personal, domestic and environmental hygiene messages to the public. These activities included "Maintain Hygiene for a Healthy Life" Activity Days in six different districts; distribution of 100,000 copies of a personal and domestic health message booklet in several languages; distribution of 40,000 bookmarks with personal and environmental hygiene messages to schools admitting non-Chinese speaking children; organising exhibitions, stall games, talks and cooking demonstrations on anti-flu measures and dietetic therapy in public markets; and distribution of over 120,000 cleansing packs to tenants and patrons of public markets and cooked food markets as well as visitors to the Health Education and Exhibition Resource Centre.
Cemeteries, Crematoria and Columbaria
The Department manages six crematoria and 11 public cemeteries for the provision of cremation and burial service to the public. It also monitors 28 private cemeteries in accordance with the provisions of the Private Cemeteries Regulation. Six years after their burial in public cemeteries, human remains have to be exhumed to be either cremated or reburied in an urn cemetery.
The Government's policy is to promote cremation over burial. During the year, about 89% (38,006) of dead bodies were cremated. The Department is upgrading cremation facilities at Wo Hop Shek Crematorium and Cape Collinson Crematorium to increase capacity and efficiency to meet the increasing demand for cremation service. Environmentally friendly features are also introduced for these facilities.
For public convenience, the booking of cremation sessions at all of the six public crematoria, namely Cape Collinson, Diamond Hill, Fu Shan, Wo Hop Shek, Kwai Chung and Cheung Chau, can be made in person at Wu Chung House in Wan Chai and Cheung Sha Wan Government Offices in Kowloon.
Some 167,900 niches are provided at affordable prices for the storage of cremated ashes in eight public columbaria. The Department actively promotes sustainable forms of burial and mourning. To provide more alternatives for the handling of cremated ashes, the Government encourages scattering them at designated Hong Kong waters or in the eight Gardens of Remembrance managed by the Department. In January 2010, the Department launched a pilot scheme of providing free ferry service on Saturdays to facilitate the public to scatter cremated ashes of the deceased at sea. There were 804 cases of scattering ashes at sea and 1,171 cases of scattering ashes in the Gardens of Remembrance in 2010 as compared to 279 and 650 cases respectively in 2009.
The Department also launched the Internet Memorial Service in June 2010 to enable the public to pay tribute and express condolences to their lost loved ones at any time and from anywhere online through a dedicated webpage (memorial.gov.hk).