Public cleanliness to get a good dusting

Focus will be on litter, food hygiene in hawker centres, dengue control
Feng Zengkun Straits Times 13 Oct 11;

FOR 30 consecutive nights last month, Mr Eric Brooks, 45, took pictures of litter in his Toa Payoh estate and sent them to the town council.

The rubbish, which included take-out boxes and black trash bags, attracted rats and made the neighbourhood look dirty, he told The Straits Times yesterday.

But the culprits continued to litter despite repeated warnings by the town council, said Mr Brooks, a magazine editor.

Such public hygiene issues will get a greater airing in the next five years, the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources promised yesterday.

In its addendum to President Tony Tan Keng Yam's address on Monday, it highlighted public cleanliness here as a key plank in its plan for the new parliamentary term.

'Clean and liveable spaces have become part of life in Singapore, and we must not take this for granted,' it said. 'We can and should elevate standards of public cleanliness and hygiene.'

It said this could be done in four ways:

'Strengthened' public cleaning procedures.

Better coordination across relevant government agencies.

Support for smaller community groups that help clean neighbourhoods.

More ways for the public to provide feedback on specific locations.

Responding to queries about these plans, the ministry said it would provide more details at a later date.

People The Straits Times spoke to said the moves could help restore Singapore's reputation for cleanliness, which has taken a hit in recent months.

Last month, National Environment Agency chief Andrew Tan acknowledged a perception here that Singapore had become dirtier, citing readers' letters in newspapers here.

He said it could be due to trash accumulating in high-traffic areas such as bus interchanges and public parks.

The ministry added in its addendum that it would also focus on food hygiene in hawker centres and dengue breeding hot spots, two other public cleanliness issues that became prominent recently.

About 3,700 people became infected with dengue fever in July and August; a third were hospitalised, and three people died.

The ministry said it would improve and increase public outreach programmes to target mosquito breeding sites in homes, where most people are infected.

It will also target other creature outbreaks, for example, the rat infestations in Pasir Ris in June.

It added that it will also improve cleanliness and hygiene standards at hawker centres, and review (its) management approach to them.

Mr James Soh, chairman of the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement, lauded the ministry's goals, but suggested that it move away from the 'top-down' approach of the past and support grassroots efforts instead.

He added that future campaigns should reach out to young people in particular.

'We don't have a culture of taking care of our public places, especially among young people.

'But if you put some passionate teenagers together and get them to lead a campaign, I think their peers will become much more receptive about keeping the country clean,' he said.