Ong Dai Lin Today Online 5 Mar 11;
SINGAPORE - The National Environment Agency's (NEA) anti-littering campaign has roped in preschoolers as litter-free ambassadors.
"Litter monitors" will also be appointed in preschools to remind their classmates to keep the school clean and conduct simple checks on the premises, said Dr Amy Khor, Minister of State for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, on Friday.
She said the move is aimed at teaching children "how they can contribute to a clean environment and develop a good habit of always throwing litter in the bins from an early age".
The litter-free ambassadors programme was introduced in NEA's new anti-littering campaign, launched last June.
Since then, NEA has seen a nearly 50 per cent drop in the number of litterbugs caught in the following six months, as compared with the same period in 2009.
The number of corrective work orders has also fallen by 13 per cent, said Dr Khor, adding that "more work still needs to be done to shape our anti-littering attitude and behaviour".
She said that NEA cleans roads and private estates at least two to three times a week. Its contractors are required to perform additional cleaning for areas with higher human traffic or are litter-prone areas.
Although much of the cleaning is outsourced, NEA officers conduct daily audits on the contractors' performance and penalise errant contractors if lapses are found, said Dr Khor.
MP Seah Kian Peng asked in the Committee of Supply debate if it should be made mandatory for major national events to be carbon neutral.
He suggested that, for instance, the number of goodie bags given out during the National Day Parade should be minimised.
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Environment and Water Resources, said NEA has been engaging the organisers and stakeholders of major events to make their events environmentally-friendly.
He said: "Given their high visibility, major national events provide a good opportunity for us to promote environmental protection and ownership."
He said measures taken at major events to reduce carbon footprint include cutting down on packaging and litter, providing adequate recycling bins, using energy efficient lighting and encouraging participants to use public transport. ONG DAI LIN
