NEA fights illegal dumping with private investigators

Private eyes have helped reduce such offences by 80% from 1999 to 2009
Goh Chin Lian, Straits Times 18 Apr 10;

Don't think you can treat the country as a dumping ground.

To stop such dirty business, private eyes have been hired by the National Environment Agency (NEA) to track down individuals and syndicates that dump waste illegally on state land.

These investigators have proven effective, reducing the number of offences by 80 per cent over a decade, the NEA told The Sunday Times.

It first hired private eyes in April 2000 to combat a surge in such activity.

Alarm bells rang when the amount of improperly disposed waste rose seven-fold from 3,835 tonnes in 1998 to 24,612 tonnes in 1999.

Such activities were also becoming more organised, with syndicates involved, the NEA said. Construction waste and debris were dumped in remote areas of Lim Chu Kang, Jalan Buroh, Mandai and Neo Tiew Road.

The private investigators joined NEA's enforcement officers to conduct ground surveillance.

They also gathered evidence to enable NEA to prosecute the culprits in court - on 310 charges of illegal dumping offences so far. The offenders have been fined a total of $850,000.

One case that made the headlines eight years ago involved a sub-contractor who was fined $102,000 for allowing illegal dumping near the Kranji water catchment area. His job was to build an embankment around a plot of state land to prevent illegal dumping. But he let lorries dump waste earth and construction debris there for a fee.

The NEA said the illegal dumping situation is now under control, with the number of cases falling from 190 in 1999 to 39 last year. It will continue to hire private eyes and expects to award a new contract in June.