Earlier (14th), the government launched a new city-wide clean-up campaign, announcing that it will focus on combating more than 600 hygiene black spots in Hong Kong, of which Tai Po District has the most with 134 places on the list; the densely populated Yau Tsim Mong District However, there are only 26 black spots. Are there more environmental sanitation problems in the district that have not been addressed?
Some residents have complained that a recycling shop in Jordan has long placed recycling debris on the pedestrian road, and occupies the parking space to place iron cages and environmental protection buckets. Occupying a large number of public spaces, and causing the entire street to be smoky and smoky, the low-rise residents of the building could not open their windows for ventilation under the sweltering heat, and the nearby bars were also plagued by odors and business was greatly affected. The FEHD responded that it received a total of 10 cases in the past three months. There were 11 complaints and prosecutions, and no violations were found during recent inspections, and the above address was not included in the list of more than 600 health black spots.
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After the recycling shop changed hands, the environmental sanitation deteriorated, and the low-rise residents suffered
The multi-departmental "District Matters Coordination Working Group" earlier launched a three-month "Government's Plan to Combat Hygiene Black Spots". Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration Cheuk Wing-hing also visited multiple districts with several officials to inspect the cleaning work.
The recycling shop involved in this complaint by the residents is located off of Austin Road near Shanghai Street in Jordan.
The recycling shop is located on the ground floor, and the upper floors are all residents. Among them, Ms. Li (pseudonym), a resident of the lower floor of the beautification building, said that they are now awakened by the loud noise of metal being thrown from the recycling shop downstairs every morning after 6 o’clock, " There was a sudden bang, and I really knew everything.” She also pointed out that the store does not pay attention to hygiene at all, and the sundries in the store, on the sidewalk, and in the environmental protection bucket attract mosquitoes, but the owner rarely cleans the building, which makes the building at least The fourth-floor unit is plagued by bad smells, and the children in the house are also bitten by mosquitoes and swollen in many places. Even a nearby private site has started construction in recent months, and a large number of rodents have also been found, which is suspected to be related to this.
Miss Li also pointed out that there are 4 parking spaces in front of the store, but they have been occupied by the store for a long time, sometimes using iron cages, trolleys, etc. To avoid the "overnight" rule in the parking space on the side of the road, "walk the gray area." Ms. Li said that every morning the sidewalks are also full of debris, and when taking children to school, they have to dodge around; a group of residents have reported the incident. I wrote to various government departments and initiated a joint signature request to follow up, but there was no improvement.
The rubbish is smelly and dirty, and the residents dare not open the windows in the hot summer
Although there are other small recycling shops in many old districts, which are incompatible with the nearby residences and restaurants, according to residents, the situation has only become so bad after the new shop owner took over the operation in the middle of last year.
Fanny (pseudonym), who is also a low-rise resident, also pointed out that the recycling shop has greatly affected daily life.
She said that she lives in a beautification building with her mother, who is over 90 years old. She has limited mobility and cannot go out. In the past, the only entertainment every day was to lean against the window and look at the scenery, but now the recycling store is "noisy and dirty", so they have to do it. Even if the hot summer comes, you can't open the windows for ventilation, and even if you open the door, there will be odors introduced.
She has even seen neighbors who "live on the top of the recycling store", who have been harassed for a long time but have no way to deal with them.
Recycling shops cause hygiene problems that don't just affect residents.
A Rong (pseudonym), the owner of a nearby bar, pointed out that because the recycling shop will sprinkle water on the paper from time to time, there are often a lot of mosquitoes in front of the shop, and a sour smell will drift into the shop.
"When the weather is hot, the sour taste becomes sharper, and there is no one sitting at our door... Sometimes, after drinking a beer or two, customers have to change the beer because insects fly." The glass door hopes to block it, and every one to two weeks, an exterminator company will come to spray it, and it will cost more than 1,000 yuan each time.
Local people: FEHD strengthens cleaning to treat symptoms rather than root causes
Mr. Xu, a local person in Yau Tsim Mong District, pointed out that regarding the nuisance caused by the recycling shop, there are opinions that the 4 parking spaces in front of the shop should be banned so that they cannot occupy illegally, and the business scale will be reduced accordingly, or the recycling process may be reduced. Impact on other nearby stakeholders.
He pointed out that he knew that the government would conduct relevant studies and hoped that it would be accelerated.
Xu also pointed out that although the FEHD has stepped up its efforts to clean the area, it is "solving the symptoms, not the root cause." Subsidized, so we all want to know, will there be a monitoring and deduction system after the DH is subsidized?" He believes that there are recycling shops in other regions that cause environmental sanitation problems. Deputy Director Zhuo Yongxing led various departments to pay attention to environmental hygiene issues. He hoped that in addition to the more than 600 hygiene black spots listed by the FEHD, we should also pay attention to other hidden black spots that are not on the list.
▼18 District Health Black Spot List▼
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FEHD received 10 complaints and 11 prosecutions in the past three months not listed as hygiene black spots
In response to the enquiry, a spokesman for the FEHD stated that street blockade by shops is a matter of street management and involves the purview of various government departments. Necessary actions will be taken according to the actual situation, including conducting surprise inspections and enhancing street cleaning, rodent control and rodent control at relevant locations. In the past three months, the FEHD has received 10 related complaints and instituted 11 prosecutions.
The spokesman went on to point out that, in recent days, officers have been dispatched to inspect the public streets around the designated locations, and no violations have been found during the period. However, the department has reminded the street cleansing service contractors to strengthen street cleansing services in the designated locations to prevent pests and rodents. The team has placed rodent baits in public areas around the relevant locations, and will continue to strengthen the prevention and control of rodents in the vicinity.
An EPD spokesman pointed out that since the outbreak of the fifth wave of COVID-19, recycling industry practitioners have been doing their best to serve the people of Hong Kong, including frontline staff working in environments with higher health risks; In April, the "One-off Frontline Recycling Industry Employee Subsidy Scheme" was launched to provide financial support to frontline recycling industry employees to support and affirm their anti-epidemic work.
The Recycling Fund provides a five-month subsidy of $2,000 per person per month to front-line workers in the recycling industry, which is a total of $10,000 per person.
The scheme subsidizes front-line workers in the recycling industry in Hong Kong, benefiting a total of about 4,100 front-line workers, including the front-line workers currently located in the recycling company at the above site.
The spokesman pointed out that the department had recently received complaints about noise and unpleasant odour nuisance caused by the operation of the recycling shop. The shop mainly recycles waste paper and scrap metal. Recycling items such as waste paper were also found on the pavement outside the shop, and there was a garbage truck used for compressing, storing and transporting waste paper and a truck carrying metal such as scrap iron. The trucks parked in the nearby public parking spaces, but during the inspection, no noise from the recycling shop was found to cause nuisance or the smell of waste paper or dirt in the place caused nuisance to pedestrians. He stressed that we will continue to dispatch personnel to It monitors the situation.
A spokesman for the Transport Department said that it had dispatched staff to inspect the site at 17-35 Shanghai Street and observed that some trucks paid for and legally used the relevant on-street parking spaces most of the time, but occasionally outdated illegal parking, or there were sundries placed on the relevant roads. In a parking space or on the side of the road.
Regarding the suspected violation, the department has referred the Police and the FEHD for follow-up and requested the relevant departments to take appropriate follow-up actions.
As for the proposal to abolish on-street parking spaces, since it involves traffic management and environmental hygiene, it needs to be followed up by different departments. The department said it will continue to seek suitable solutions with relevant departments.
▼August 12th, the representative of the government's inter-departmental account explained the "regional affairs coordinating working group" to combat the health black spot plan▼
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It is important to crack down on hygiene blackspots, break down departmental barriers and more important hygiene blackspots | Zhuo Yongxing: The list has grown unabated. Welcome to report that there are relevant plans for the next two years. Hygiene blackspots | notification of disaster
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