August 2, 2022
The DAB launched the "Hong Kong Blackspot Inspection Campaign" from 16 July to 22 July in response to the government’s upcoming Hong Kong New Cityscape clean-up campaign.
During the inspection, a total of 142 black spots were found, while 90% of which have existed in the community for a long time. Common hygiene problems included garbage and styrofoam waste, sewage, abandoned motorcycles, foul odors from drains, shops garbage blocking the streets, and food waste blocking drains in back alleys.
We believed that there were two main problems in the environmental hygiene work in Hong Kong. Firstly, the division of labor among government departments was too meticulous that there was often dispute over which department was responsible. This gave the public the impression that departments were just passing the buck among themselves. Secondly, the government’s anti-rodent and anti-mosquito work was aimed at preventing rodent-borne diseases and dengue fever. However, as the society progresses, the government should step up efforts in its anti-rodent and anti-mosquito work to improve the quality of the living environment.
The DAB proposed the following recommendations regarding improving environmental hygiene:
Authorize FEHD officers to use video recording for collecting evidence to combat shop front extension
Review existing schemes and step up law enforcement
Provide supports to cleaning workers
Strengthen cleaning of "Three-Nil Buildings"
Strengthen anti-rodent work
Promote publicity and education on public hygiene
Work on refuse collection in rural areas
Strengthen anti-mosquito work