*********************************
Following is a question by the Hon Kwok Wai-keung and a written reply by the Secretary for Food and Health, Dr Ko Wing-man, in the Legislative Council today (June 5):
Question:
At present, the refuse collection services in the territory are provided by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), cleansing contractors (contractors) engaged by FEHD, and other private companies. Although FEHD has put in place established guidelines and contract provisions to ensure respectively its refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) and those of its contractors being kept in a clean and hygienic condition, some members of the public still complain to me about the impact of RCVs on environmental hygiene. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the respective numbers of RCVs owned by FEHD, its contractors and other private companies in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by whether they were fitted with a packer plate to cover the rear refuse hopper or of an enclosed type design; whether the authorities have plans to provide financial assistance for contractors and other private companies to replace the RCVs fitted with a packer plate with those of an enclosed type design;
(b) of the number of complaints about RCVs received by the authorities in the past five years, together with a breakdown by the contents of the complaints (such as dripping of foul water and emission of odour); of the follow-up actions taken by the authorities on the relevant complaints;
(c) of the number of cases in which contractors were penalised in the past five years for breaching the contract provisions on hygiene and operational requirements for RCVs, together with a breakdown by the type of breach and punitive action; whether it has considered updating the relevant contract provisions in order to raise the hygiene requirements for RCVs and strengthen the regulation of their operation;
(d) whether the authorities have demarcated parking spaces on the roads exclusively for RCVs; if so, of the number of such parking spaces, together with a breakdown by District Council district; whether the authorities have assessed the adequacy of such parking spaces; whether it has plans to increase the number of such parking spaces; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(e) given that I have received complaints from members of the public about the odours emitted by some RCVs parked at roadsides at night in the vicinity of their residence impacting on environmental hygiene, whether currently there is any relevant guideline or legislation stipulating that the parking location of an RCV should not be too close to residential areas; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider imposing restrictions on the parking locations of RCVs?
Reply:
President,
The Environment Bureau is responsible for environmental protection, waste disposal policies and waste pollution control.
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) works with the waste disposal trade to ensure that their operations are carried out in a safe and environmentally hygienic manner. In 2012, the EPD compiled the Code of Practice on the Operation of Refuse Collection Vehicles (RCVs) in collaboration with the waste disposal trade and relevant government departments. The Code of Practice aims to provide general operational guidelines for the trade and practitioners in respect of environmental protection and hygiene as well as occupational safety and health, with a view to abating the environmental nuisance and hygiene problems that may be caused by the operation of RCVs.
One of the key tasks of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) is to collect household waste. RCVs run by FEHD and its contractors collect about 85 per cent of municipal solid waste generated by households. The remaining municipal solid waste from households (about 15 per cent) and commercial and industrial municipal solid waste are collected by privately run RCVs. Currently, RCVs run by FEHD and its contractors account for about half of all RCVs.
The FEHD reviews from time to time the adequacy of the relevant guidelines and contract provisions, for the purpose of ensuring that its RCVs and those of its contractors are kept in a clean and hygienic condition.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(a) Based on the records of the FEHD and the Transport Department (TD) for the past five years, Annex 1 gives the number of RCVs that are run by the FEHD and its contractors and the number of RCVs that do not belong to the FEHD or its contractors and are privately run.
At present, all the RCVs of the FEHD are either fitted with a packer plate that covers the rear refuse hopper (9 vehicles) or of the type with an enclosed design (129 vehicles). All the RCVs currently fitted with a packer plate will be replaced by those with an enclosed design by the end of 2013.
Furthermore, all RCVs run by FEHD's contractors must be fitted with a tailgate cover to prevent the emission of odour. To further improve the situation, contractors are required to use RCVs with an enclosed design as stipulated in refuse collection service contracts commencing in or after May 2011. Currently, 110 RCVs of FEHD's contractors are of the type with an enclosed design. Vehicles not of such a design will be replaced accordingly upon the renewal of contracts.
For private RCVs not belonging to the FEHD or its contractors, the EPD and TD do not further classify them by type (i.e. those fitted with a packer plate that covers the rear refuse hopper as opposed to those of the type with an enclosed design). In 2011, the EPD launched the Trial Scheme on Retrofitting RCVs in collaboration with the waste collection trade. A total of eight waste collection companies participated in the trial scheme. The retrofitting works included changing the participating RCVs into the type with an enclosed design by installing a metal tailgate cover and replacing the waste hopper with an enlarged sump tank. After testing and trial use, most of the participants were satisfied that such an enclosed design could effectively reduce environmental pollution and nuisance. The EPD will continue to urge the waste collection trade to carry out similar retrofitting works on existing RCVs and purchase enclosed models in procuring new vehicles.
(b) and (c) To keep the RCVs clean and uphold environmental hygiene, the FEHD has installed sump tanks in all RCVs to trap leachate. Besides, 132 of the 138 RCVs have been installed with deodourising systems in the loading compartments. Similar installation work for the remaining six will be completed in 2013.
It is also stipulated in FEHD's refuse collection service contracts that the contractors' RCVs must be installed with sump tanks at the bottom of the vehicles and that the contractors have to take all necessary preventive measures against dripping of leachate during refuse loading, unloading and transportation.
Moreover, after the refuse is unloaded at refuse transfer stations or landfills, RCVs of the FEHD and its contractors will empty their sump tanks and have their vehicle bodies and/or wheels washed before departure, using vehicle washing equipment available on site. These RCVs have to undergo the washing process again after the daily collection work is finished or when they return to the depots. The FEHD reminds its staff from time to time that RCVs must be kept in a clean and hygienic condition, and washed properly every day in accordance with the relevant guidelines.
The number of complaints received by the FEHD over the past five years concerning RCVs dripping leachate, dropping waste and emitting odour is shown in Annex 2 (the figures do not include complaints that were received and acted on by other government departments (such as the EPD) and thus not referred to the FEHD).
If the FEHD finds any contractor in breach of contract provisions on the requirements for and operation of RCVs, it will take punitive actions accordingly, which may include the issuance of verbal warnings, written warnings and default notices. The monthly amount payable to the contractors who have received default notices will be deducted in the light of the breaches. Annex 3 gives the number of verbal warnings, written warnings and default notices issued by the FEHD, over the past five years, to contractors in breach of contract provisions on the requirements for and operation of RCVs (i.e. leachate dripping from RCVs and filthy RCVs):
The FEHD will review the contract provisions on the requirements for and operation of the contractors' RCVs from time to time to ensure that their cleanliness and sanitary condition are effectively monitored.
The number of prosecutions instituted by the FEHD over the past five years concerning RCVs dripping leachate or dropping waste is shown in Annex 4.
(d) and (e) At present, parking spaces for exclusive use by FEHD's RCVs as designated by the TD in accordance with the relevant road traffic legislation are mainly for temporary use by such vehicles for collection of refuse in areas nearby. Under normal circumstances, when designating parking spaces for exclusive use by RCVs, the TD will take into account the traffic conditions of individual locations, and consult the local community on the proposals through the respective District Offices. The number of parking spaces for exclusive use by FEHD's RCVs is shown in Annex 5.
The FEHD's RCVs must return to the department's premises for parking after the refuse collection work is finished.
When parking at non-designated roadside parking spaces, RCVs not belonging to the Government should comply with the requirements of the relevant road traffic legislation and park at parking spaces which they are allowed to use. As mentioned above, RCVs may also be parked at locations allowed to be used for the purposes concerned other than roads, such as short-term tenancy car parks available for use by these vehicles.
As stated at paragraph 1 above, the EPD compiled the Code of Practice on the Operation of Refuse Collection Vehicles in collaboration with the waste disposal trade and relevant government departments in 2012. The Code of Practice aims to provide general operational guidelines for the trade and practitioners in respect of environmental protection and hygiene as well as occupational safety and health, with a view to abating environmental nuisance and hygiene problems that may be caused by the operation of RCVs. Among other things, the Code of Practice requires that the driver should, as far as practicable, park the vehicle in parking places or car parks far away from residential buildings, thereby avoiding causing nuisance to nearby residents.
Ends/Wednesday, June 5, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:43
NNNN
