Dumped items posing a hazard in estates
One resident blames it on lack of civic consciousness while some complain about lax clearing
Straits Times 15 Dec 07;
A MASS of dismantled wooden furniture.
Mounds of dried-up rubbish next to trash cans.
A mountain of discarded items, including electrical appliances.
These are a common sight in Housing Board corridors, void decks and other common-use areas. Not only do they attract pests, they are also a fire hazard.
Since June this year, The Straits Times' interactive online portal Stomp has received many e-mail and MMSes from readers highlighting such hazardous dumps.
Their worst fears came true for the residents of a block of flats in Dover Road, where a blaze broke out last Sunday.
The fire, which is believed to have been ignited deliberately, was made worse by the discarded furniture on the third-floor lift landing.
The West Coast Town Council, in response to a Straits Times query, said that it had not been told about the discarded furniture, although residents had directly asked a worker to clear the debris.
Going by the photos received by Stomp, the dumping of rubbish seems common.
Manager Evelyn Seah told The Straits Times that she had to keep calling the authorities, asking them to clear the rubbish dumped behind some old shophouses in Yio Chu Kang.
Real estate agent Justine Heng, 38, who sent in photos of a mound of rubbish around a bin in the void deck, said she had 'given up hope' on irresponsible residents.
Although the piles of rubbish are cleared daily, inconsiderate neighbours continue to treat the area as their personal dumping ground.
'The town council did put up a notice at the waste bins informing residents that it is illegal to dump rubbish around the bin, but someone actually took that down and threw it away!' Ms Heng said.
Engineer Alex Kok blamed the situation on a lack of civic consciousness.
'You can't blame it on the cleaners. They have done a good job but there are only so many of them,' he said.
But other residents were concerned about the lack of action on overflowing recycling bins that have been left uncleared.
Ms Subashini Sivananthan from Jurong West said: 'The message (on the bins) says 'Make recycling our way of life'. Clearing up the bins frequently should be the authorities' way of life.'
