To tie in with the tradition of cleaning up before the Lunar New Year, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) today (December 28) commenced a year-end clean-up campaign across the territory, and appealed to members of the public for their active participation and efforts to maintain cleanliness in the household, the community and public places to welcome the Year of the Rabbit.
 
     An FEHD spokesman said, "The annual year-end clean-up campaign, kick-started from today, will last for 21 days, and will co-operate with the Cross-sectoral Territory-wide Anti-rodent Action this year to achieve a synergistic effect, with a view to continuously maintaining a clean and hygienic environment."
 
     During the campaign period, the FEHD will step up the cleaning of venues and facilities under its management, including public markets, cooked food centres, hawker bazaars, public toilets and refuse collection points. Cleaning of problematic sites of illegal refuse dumping and other public cleanliness offences will also be enhanced. FEHD staff will also step up inspection, cleaning and disinfection of communal areas and facilities in the markets, and remind stall tenants to clean their stalls thoroughly.
 
     In addition, the FEHD will conduct mosquito and rodent prevention and control operations targeting places such as old tenement buildings, streets, rear lanes, village houses and construction sites, according to each district's circumstances. Temporary junk collection points will also be set up for residents to discard large items of household waste. Moreover, cleaning as well as refuse and bulky waste collection services at the refuse collection points in all districts will also be enhanced.
 
     The spokesman added that to ensure the cleanliness of public places, the department will continue to strengthen enforcement action and issue fixed penalty notices to offenders in breach of the public cleanliness and obstruction regulations.
 
     Moreover, in order to raise the awareness of rodent control among the management staff of private properties and government venues and relevant stakeholders, the FEHD has published the Code of Practice for Rodent Management, and Checklists for Anti-rodent Work for different venues including government buildings, residential properties, shopping centres and markets etc. The FEHD has also provided the Code of Practice and checklists to relevant government departments for reference and adoption, and to private property management agents through property management organisations. Apart from effectively assisting the management staff of the government venues or private properties to conduct comprehensive and systematic daily rodent control works, the relevant information also enhances the overall effectiveness of rodent control in the community and strengthens the collaboration between government departments and private property management organisations. The Code of Practice and checklists may be viewed and downloaded from the relevant webpage of the FEHD (www.fehd.gov.hk/english/pestcontrol/Code_of_Practice_on_Rodent_Management.html).
 
     For more details about the efforts and work of the year-end clean-up campaign as well as information on environmental hygiene, please visit the FEHD website at www.fehd.gov.hk.
 
     The spokesman stressed that maintaining a clean and hygienic community hinges on the co-operation and participation of everyone. He called for the concerted efforts of every member of the public to maintain environmental hygiene and enjoy a clean environment in the coming Lunar New Year.

Ends/Wednesday, December 28, 2022
Issued at HKT 18:20

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