NEA launches anti-littering programme aimed at youths

Lian Cheong Channel NewsAsia 10 Nov 10;

SINGAPORE : There has been an increase in the number of youths caught littering over the last few years.

In 2006, 1,835 persons below the age of 21 were caught littering compared to 4,278 last year.

A survey by the National Environment Agency (NEA) two years ago also showed that over 40 per cent of the nearly 1,800 Primary 4 to Junior College students interviewed said they would leave rubbish behind in cinemas, parks and beaches.

To counter this, the NEA has launched a new "anti-littering campaign" aimed at students.

The Students Embrace Litter-Free (SELF) programme was launched by Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources, Amy Khor, on Wednesday at the Anchor Green Primary School.

35 schools will be participating in the programme, which will get students to conduct clean-up activities in and around their schools.

SELF also plans to use role play to help students understand the consequences of littering.

Dr Khor said: "We are starting this at the school level because we believe we need to inculcate such habits from young so that they will internalise it and become second nature."

- CNA/al

Little ones to clean up after litterbugs
Straits Times 11 Nov 10;

A NEW anti-littering campaign targeted at schoolchildren aims to make them take greater responsibility for their surroundings.

The Students Embrace Litter-Free (Self) programme, launched yesterday by Minister of State for the Environment and Water Resources Amy Khor, will also encourage primary schools to adopt public spaces like parks, stadiums and beaches, where pupils will conduct clean-up activities at least twice a year.

Previously, such initiatives were confined to school compounds or done elsewhere on an ad hoc basis, said a National Environment Agency (NEA) spokesman.

For a start, 26 primary schools have indicated an interest in the Self programme, which is not compulsory for now.

Earlier this year, a pilot programme involving nine primary schools had pupils cleaning up parks and bus stops around their respective schools.

NEA data shows an increase in the number of young litterbugs caught. Last year, 4,278 people under the age of 21 were caught, up from 1,835 in 2006.

An NEA survey of 1,800 schoolchildren from Primary 4 to junior college two years ago showed more than 40 per cent saying they would leave rubbish behind in cinemas, parks and beaches.

Speaking at the launch, Dr Khor said environmental ownership has to go beyond 'checking our homes for mosquito breeding, or recycling our own waste'.

The NEA spokesman said: 'It is hoped that with such programmes, students will think twice when they next have a piece of rubbish in their hands, to remember not to litter.'