With strengthened publicity and enforcement against littering, only 2.5 tonnes of litter was collected at the Cultural Centre and seven litterbugs were issued with fixed penalty tickets on the New Year's Eve.

Two tonnes of trash was collected from rubbish bins and half a tonne was picked up from the ground between 7pm on New Year's Eve and 6am today.

The Leisure & Cultural Services Department said it collected six tonnes of rubbish over the same period last year.

Forty-one verbal warnings were issued for illegal hawking, and one for spray painting. No trees, sculptures or walls were found spray-painted.

The department had 100 staff patrolling the venue. About 100 staff from the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department also formed special enforcement teams to tackle the problems of littering and illegal hawking in Tsim Sha Tsui. Police, too, took necessary action against spray painting and vandalism.

Public urged to keep places clean

More than 140 large and standard refuse bins were arranged to collect rubbish while 50 cleaning staff worked overnight to clean up the venue.

As part of the community support, more than 100 volunteers helped spread the message of care for our environment.

They urged the public to be civic-minded and help keep places clean during festive celebrations.