LCQ1: Improving environmental hygiene conditions of rear lanes
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Question:
Some members of the public have relayed to me that many rear lanes with low pedestrian flow or located in remote areas which have not been incorporated into the list of hygiene black spots (including rear lanes located near government sites, schools and communal facilities such as substations) (rear lanes which are not identified as hygiene black spots) have long been plagued by problems such as the accumulation of miscellaneous articles, illegal parking or abandoned motorcycles, which have not only affected environmental hygiene and cityscape but also increased the risk of fire hazards and posed threats to public safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has currently established a databank and compiled statistics on the location and number of rear lanes across the territory, as well as recorded the hygiene conditions of each rear lanes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) (i) of the number of complaints received by the Government concerning hygiene problems in rear lanes which are not identified as hygiene black spots, (ii) the number of joint enforcement operations conducted by different government departments (e.g. the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Lands Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Hong Kong Police Force) in rear lanes which are not identified as hygiene black spots, and (iii) the number of successful prosecutions resulting from such enforcement operations in each year from 2021 to 2025 (set out in the table below);
| Year | (i) | (ii) | (iii) |
| 2021 | |||
| …… | |||
| 2025 |
(3) given that the FEHD has set up 24 rear lane cleansing teams dedicated to the cleansing of rear lanes while the Working Group on Environmental Hygiene and Cityscape led by the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration has also co-ordinated the environmental hygiene work among various policy bureaux and departments, of the frequency of the cleansing operations conducted by the Government in rear lanes which are not identified as hygiene black spots, as well as the criteria based on which the Government determines which rear lanes require more frequent cleansing work;
(4) whether the various government departments will consider establishing a permanent inter-departmental inspection mechanism to proactively deal with non-compliant acts (e.g. the illegal placing of miscellaneous articles and illegal parking of motorcycles) committed in hidden rear lanes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) given that a number of Mainland cities have currently adopted artificial intelligence environmental hygiene systems to implement meticulous street management (including automated monitoring of street hygiene conditions), whether the Government has plans to draw reference from the Mainland's practices and launch a pilot scheme to implement intelligent systems in some rear lanes with low pedestrian flow which are not identified as hygiene black spots so as to step up efforts to combat illegal waste disposal and illegal parking; if so, of the specific locations where the pilot scheme will be implemented; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
Since July 2022, the Government has established the District Matters Co-ordination Task Force (later renamed the Working Group on Environmental Hygiene and Cityscape (the Working Group)). The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration (DCS) leads a number of bureaux and departments to improve the overall environmental hygiene and street management in Hong Kong, so as to build a liveable environment for the public and boost our city's image.
In response to the question raised by the Hon Dennis Leung, and after consultation with the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration's Office, the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, the Development Bureau, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau, the Security Bureau and the Transport and Logistics Bureau, our reply is as follows:
(1) and (2) As a rough estimate, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) currently provides cleansing services for more than 700 rear lanes. As rear lanes vary in form and ownership, the Government has not established a comprehensive databank to record the locations, numbers and hygiene conditions of all rear lanes across the territory.
The Government Programme on Tackling Hygiene Black Spots (the Programme), led by the DCS, was launched in August 2022. At the launch of the Programme, the total number of hygiene black spots was 663. In January 2023, a thematic website (www.hygieneblackspots.gov.hk), which enabled members of the public to provide feedback on hygiene black spots, was launched. According to the feedback from different organisations and citizens, the number of listed hygiene black spots has increased from the initial 663 to 738. Following continuous and thorough review and proactive follow-up by relevant departments, the number of hygiene black spots has been reduced from 738 to 66 as at February 2026.
Hygiene black spots refer to locations with persistent environmental hygiene problems. If complaints are received about a location (including rear lanes) and the problems are reviewed and concluded by departments as short-term and non-continuous, and could effectively be resolved with low chance of recurrence with cleansing, follow-up and inspection efforts, such locations will not be classified as hygiene black spots.
The FEHD maintains overall statistics on the number of complaints received concerning the environmental hygiene problems (including those relating to rear lanes), but does not keep separate figures for rear lanes. Regarding the number of joint enforcement operations conducted, between 2021 and 2025, District Offices co-ordinated 3, 81, 69, 57 and 62 inter-departmental operations respectively. Relevant departments do not keep statistics on the number of successful prosecutions resulting from these operations.
(3) At present, rear lanes not under private management are mainly cleansed by the FEHD. In addition to providing regular cleansing services, the FEHD has set up 19 rear lane cleansing teams. Regardless of whether a rear lane is classified as a hygiene black spot, the FEHD adjusts the cleansing frequency based on on-site inspections and feedback from local District Councillors and residents. For rear lanes with unsatisfactory hygiene conditions, cleansing teams carry out additional cleansing about two to three times per week; for rear lanes with satisfactory hygiene conditions, additional cleansing is conducted about once per month. The FEHD closely monitors the situation and increases cleansing frequency as necessary.
(4) For environmental hygiene problems that involve various departments, such as abandoned motorcycles in rear lanes, the Working Group has formulated the standard mode of operation under which relevant departments will conduct joint operations in accordance with the division of labour set by the Working Group. In addition, different departments handle issues relating to environmental hygiene and unauthorised occupation of government land according to their respective responsibilities, including the accumulation of miscellaneous items in public places such as rear lanes. District Offices will co-ordinate and organise inter-departmental joint clearance operations on a need basis and in accordance with case priorities where cases are more complicated.
(5) The Government has been actively applying technology to enhance enforcement efficiency and improve environmental hygiene. For example, the FEHD has deployed internet protocol (IP) cameras at illegal refuse deposits black spots to assist monitoring and enforcement. As at March 2026, the FEHD has installed IP cameras at about 600 illegal refuse deposits black spots (including rear lanes) across the territory. Based on the information obtained from artificial intelligence analysis of the video footages, prosecutions could be instituted and enforcement actions could be planned more effectively. The FEHD flexibly deploys IP cameras having regard to the actual needs and available resources, and will, subject to the effectiveness of IP cameras, gradually increase the number of locations to about 3 000, including considering expansion of the scope to cover rear lanes not classified as hygiene black spots. Meanwhile, the Government has no plan to deploy artificial intelligence system to tackle illegal parking of vehicles at this stage, but will remain open-minded and review the feasibility of different technological solutions as appropriate.
Ends/Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Issued at HKT 15:05
Issued at HKT 15:05
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