Mainland immigrants have been blamed for Hong Kong's filthy state.
The newcomers 'were partly the reason why we need to continue with our Keep Hong Kong Clean campaign', outspoken Provisional Urban Councillor Joseph Chan Yuek-sut said.
When asked yesterday if newcomers were responsible for the higher prosecution rate for littering, he said: 'It's one of the reasons and these factors are beyond our control.
'We have a high volume of human traffic of all nationalities going through Hong Kong who may not be aware of the duty to keep the city clean.' Mr Chan is no stranger to controversy. Last week he had to apologise for his comments about Urban Services Director Elaine Chung Lai-kwok.
That 'woman brings trouble', he said, eliciting condemnation by the Equal Opportunities Commission.
Last year he put his foot in it with comments he made about the handling of the bird flu crisis.
'Why are so many of the SAR's senior officials female? The Government's lack of ability to deal with the crisis has completely exposed this,' he said.