Following is a question by the Hon Albert Chan and a written reply by the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands, Mr Michael Suen, in the Legislative Council today (May 10):
Question:
Recently, I have received complaints from members of the public that many metal cages were placed illegally in public places for collecting used clothes, posing a hazard to the environmental hygiene of the community. They have also pointed out that under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance, the Lands Department can confiscate such cages three days after posting a notice for clearance of the cages concerned. However, the owners of the cages have usually moved them elsewhere before the Lands Department takes the clearance action. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years about the illegal placing of such cages, and the number of cages confiscated as well as their locations;
(b) whether currently there are any measures to prevent an increasing number of metal cages being illegally placed in public places for collecting used clothes; if so, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c) whether the Lands Department will consider enhancing its cooperation with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department by arranging for the latter to confiscate cages illegally placed in public places for collecting used clothes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
Madam President,
(a) In 2003 and 2004, the Lands Department (LandsD) received a total of 26 complaints about collection activities of used clothes. In 2005, the number of complaints rose to 2 598. Notices were put up by LandsD under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance on 2 551 metal cages, requiring the owners to remove the cages within 24 hours or the cages in question would be confiscated. As most of the cages had been removed before deadline, only 657 cages were confiscated. The breakdown of complaints by district in 2005 is shown in the Annex.
(b) To address the problem of environmental nuisance caused by the casual placing of metal cages and to release more manpower for enforcement actions against unauthorised placing of collection cages on streets, LandsD introduced the "Designated Spots Scheme for Placing Used Clothes Collection Cages". According to the Scheme, LandsD will only accept and approve applications submitted by non-profit-making or charitable organisations. If any member of the public suspected that used clothes are collected for money-making purpose, he/she may report the suspected fraud to the Police. The Police, on receipt of such reports, will determine if the case is one with a criminal element on its own merits and take appropriate actions accordingly. On the other hand, to ensure the effective implementation of the Scheme, District Lands Offices across the territory have stepped up inspection of local black spots and taken control actions against non-compliant or unauthorised placing of collection cages.
(c) Joint actions are taken on a frequent basis by LandsD and the relevant departments, including the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Hong Kong Police, the Home Affairs Department, etc., to address non-compliant or unauthorised placing of collection cages. Moreover, the Government has set up an inter-departmental group to look for ways to eradicate the problems of used clothes collection cages on streets and the environmental nuisance and street obstruction so caused.
Ends/Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Issued at HKT 12:20
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