NEA says litter reduced thanks to outreach effort

Vimita Mohandas Channel NewsAsia 2 Nov 10;

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency (NEA) said community-led outreach effort, along with enforcement and enhancements to infrastructure, have helped reduce litter.

The agency said at the 20 litter hotspots it monitors, litter count has fallen to 11 pieces of litter for every five square metres of space in October, from 17 pieces of litter in June.

The number of tickets issued for littering has also dropped almost 40 per cent to 19,570 in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period last year.

NEA also said the Clean & Green Singapore (CGS) campaign has seen an increasing number of youths and community groups participating in environmental initiatives.

A recent survey it conducted showed a high proportion of youths being environmentally conscious.

80 per cent of respondents aged 15 to 29 years old said that individuals could make a difference in sustaining a quality environment for Singapore, particularly in the areas of waste minimisation, recycling and dengue prevention.

Youth participation in NEA's Youth Environment Envoy (YEE) programme over the past five years has also grown.

To date, some 400 youths have received training from NEA to strengthen their knowledge on environmental issues.

That's 10 times the number when the YEE programme was first introduced in 2005.

"There's another 500 Litter-Free Ambassadors from the youth. They helped us to convey the anti-littering message and as a result, situations in hotspots have improved," said Tan Wee Hock, director of 3P Network Division, NEA.

Several youth volunteers have also spearheaded their own environmental projects for the community.

Since June, some 480 youth Litter-Free Ambassadors have also gone to kindergartens to educate preschoolers on the impact of littering.

The five Community Development Councils (CDCs) will also be organising activities to encourage Singaporeans to care for and protect the environment.

And the theme for this year's Clean and Green Campaign is "A Lively and Liveable Singapore".

The campaign will be launched this Saturday and it aims to instil in the community a sense of pride and ownership of the environment.

-CNA/wk/ls

40% drop in litterbugs nabbed
Amresh Gunasingham Straits Times 3 Nov 10;

THE number of litterbugs caught in Singapore has fallen by almost 40 per cent, said the National Environment Agency (NEA) yesterday as it unveiled plans to install more bins.

About 19,500 people were nabbed in the first nine months of the year, down from 32,258 in the same period last year, after more uniformed NEA officers were put on the streets.

The agency revealed the figures as it announced that it would work with town councils, which look after housing estates, to add 34 new bins in its latest move to tackle the anti-social habit.

Already, the town councils at five estates in Tampines, Sembawang, Marine Parade and Jurong have installed new bins in a bid to stamp out littering. Another 10 town councils will do so by the middle of next year.

As well as the 34 new ones, several bins will be relocated to busy areas such as shopping centres and bus interchanges, where litter, including cigarette butts, plastic cups, tissue paper and food wrappers, is commonly found.

Mr Satish Appoo, director of the environmental health department at NEA, said the agency hopes the additional bins will persuade a group of people known as 'situational binners' to litter less.

Situational binners were referred to in a sociological study released in June, in which a third of the 4,500 people interviewed said they would seek a bin to dump their rubbish only when it was convenient.

'It is easier to tackle littering around ATMs and bus interchanges just by changing where the bins are located,' said Mr Appoo.

He added that the location of bins in housing estates was previously determined by cleaners employed by the town councils. This meant they may not have been put in the right places to deter litterbugs.

'Now, they (the agencies) will first observe the areas with high human traffic and place the bins there accordingly,' he said.

The drop in the number of litterbugs caught came after the NEA increased the number of uniformed officers on patrol. It also changed the way that Corrective Work Orders (CWOs) are carried out to make sure persistent offenders are publicly shamed.

Since July, when the changes were implemented, about 700 people have performed their CWOs in areas such as shopping centres, where they are in full view of the public.

The measures appear to have had an impact. A survey of 20 litter hot spots was carried out in June and October, in which the areas were surveyed 25 sq m at a time.

It found that the amount of litter, which could be cigarette butts or food wrappers, had fallen to 11 pieces for every 25 sq m last month. This was down from 17 pieces in June.

The Clean and Green Singapore 2011 campaign and carnival will be launched by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Saturday.