Give volunteers power to book litterbugs?

NEA to study idea of conferring such enforcement authority on those from NGOs
Lim Yan Liang Straits Times 16 Sep 12;

One day, someone handing out a summons to a litterbug may not be a government official, but a volunteer from a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

The idea of giving such powers to some quarters of the community has been floated by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan to the National Environment Agency (NEA), which will "study whether we can actually confer enforcement authority on these members of the public".

Such a shift would be in keeping with the relaunched Keep Singapore Clean Movement, which is being repositioned as a long-term, community-led initiative.

Speaking on the sidelines of an exhibition at the Toa Payoh HDB Hub for the NEA's 10th anniversary, Dr Balakrishnan said: "I know this will be controversial, so we will definitely consult the public before giving (out) warrant cards.

"We believe that, in fact, we need to reclaim community ownership and community action (over the environment), and that includes enforcement as well."

Shifting away from its government roots towards a community-driven effort, the campaign will be led by the Public Hygiene Council (PHC), Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM), the Keep Singapore Beautiful Movement (KSBM) and the NEA.

"We need to get to the very heart of behaviour change by promoting the right social values, including 'zero tolerance' towards litter, coupled with instilling pride in our environment," said NEA chief executive Andrew Tan. "Such behaviour must start in our homes, schools and offices and be upheld by the larger community."

The chosen organisations are no strangers to efforts to keep Singapore clean. For example, the youth-led KSBM has launched a competition seeking creative and practical ideas to make returning trays at hawker centres and food courts fun, while the SKM will work with the NEA to pilot tray-return programmes at selected hawker centres in the coming months.

The original month-long Keep Singapore Clean campaign was launched by then Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew on Oct 1, 1968. A national campaign committee, headed by then Health Minister Chua Sian Chin, was formed to run it.

PHC chairman Liak Teng Lit said he intends for the new movement to make a significant social impact within the next two years.

"This effort that we are talking about is not a one-off publicity," said Mr Liak, who is also group chief executive of Alexandra Health. "It has to become a movement, a coordinated group action where people do things together with concerted effort. The silent majority must act."

It was reported last month that the NEA had received an increasing number of complaints about litterbugs in recent years: 5,232 last year, up from 4,449 in 2010. But the agency has successfully prosecuted only 42 litterbugs in the past 10 years, despite devoting more than 30,000 man hours last year to enforcement stakeouts and community outreach programmes.

Volunteer groups said Dr Balakrishnan's idea was bold, but not unexpected. "Enforcement as back-up will definitely help us do our job better," said Mr Eugene Heng, 63, founder of the Waterways Watch Society, a 15-year-old local voluntary group.

Mr Heng said some 30 members of his 250-strong organisation already hold volunteer cards issued by the National Parks Board, which has made it easier for them to engage with the more intractable members of the public.

They will be receiving cards from national water agency PUB by the year's end, he added.

He said if the minister's idea came to fruition, it would go only to the most "dedicated and trusted members that have proven they are interested in going the extra mile".

He added that the Government should choose NGOs with proven track records.

Ms Lee Bee Wah, chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for National Development and Environment, agreed, and said that comprehensive training by the NEA to deal with difficult scenarios would be crucial should the new powers be granted.

Turning Singapore into a clean city, not a cleaned city: Balakrishnan
Claire Huang Channel NewsAsia 15 Sep 12;

SINGAPORE: Is Singapore a clean city or a cleaned city?

Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan posed this question to Singaporeans.

Speaking at the National Environment Agency's (NEA) 10th anniversary exhibition, Dr Balakrishnan said public cleanliness remains a persistent issue here, despite the many campaigns, heavy fines, stepped-up enforcement and employment of an army of cleaners.

While progress has been made over the years, he urged Singaporeans to initiate a ground-up movement to keep the country litter-free.

The government is hoping to establish a new social norm through the launch of an invigorated "Keep Singapore Clean Movement": cleaning up after oneself instead of relying on others.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan said Singapore needs to reclaim community ownership and community action to keep the country clean.

"You'll notice that this year, the leadership of the campaign is actually the people sector, so it's with the Public Hygiene Council," he said.

"We're working with many of the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to run the education programmes, to run the activities on the ground."

"A key reason of course, is the wrong attitude that cleaners are there to pick up after us, and the misplaced notion that this is appropriate behaviour because cleaners are paid to do so," he continued.

"One alarming statistic from NEA's recent surveys is that 36 per cent of Singaporeans would only bin their litter if it is convenient to do so. The solution, my friends, cannot be to employ more and more cleaners."

The Public Hygiene Council and the Singapore Council have come to together to take the lead in changing the mindset of the community.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan also suggested that it is perhaps timely for the public to discuss how to keep Singapore clean, as part of the responses to Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's call to Singaporeans to discuss the nation's future.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan floated the idea of allowing community partners like NGOs to issue littering summonses.

"Should enforcement be confined to uniformed officers of the NEA, or in fact, (the) community partners out there who've demonstrated commitment over many, many years, going around tirelessly, at nights, weekends, picking up litter, trying to spread the message?" he asked.

"Some of these community partners are people whom I think we can rely on and that's why I've asked NEA to study whether we can confer enforcement authority to these members of the public."

He added this move would mean there will be many more eyes and hands available to deter littering.

However, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan admitted that it could bring controversy, so NEA will work on the plan one step at a time.

In response to the minister's suggestion, Chairman of Waterways Watch Society, Eugene Heng welcomed the idea.

While he said the idea gives recognition to committed and passionate members of the public, Mr Heng pointed out that this "is a step into uncharted waters".

"There are 250 volunteers in Waterways Watch Society but not everyone should be given the enforcement authority," said Mr Heng. "I think only the core group of 20 to 30 volunteers should do so."

Mr Heng said it is also important for those given the authority to be trained in engaging with the public so as not to create a whiplash.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan also said NEA has worked with mobile applications developer BuUuk to develop a new app named "Clean Lah".

The app's function is to crowd-source for feedback on cleanliness.

"Wherever you are, if you spot a cleaning problem, you can take a picture of it and submit it with an accompanying message via the app, and it will go to NEA for follow-up," he explained.

"As the feedback is geo-tagged, NEA will know if others have already reported from the same location and this would also help to signal the urgency or magnitude of the problem," he continued.

"Those who have submitted feedback will even be able to get a status update on the issue once it is resolved."

- CNA/xq