FENG ZENGKUN Straits Times 10 Feb 15;
An in-depth study to figure out the cause of littering, getting young students to try being cleaners for a day and heavier penalties are among the suggestions made to stop Singapore from becoming a "garbage city".
Academics, civil society members and Singapore residents whom The Straits Times spoke to also have their own take on why the problem persists and what needs to be done to solve it.
Aside from the often-cited reasons such as complacency fostered by an army of cleaners, a "don't care" attitude and growing up pampered, some suggest that different cultural attitudes among some of Singapore's new citizens and foreign workers, and a reluctance to truly shame culprits, could also be behind the country's litter woes.
Last year, the National Environment Agency (NEA) issued about 19,000 tickets for littering -almost double the number in 2013. Thirty-one per cent of these tickets were issued to non-residents.
There were also 688 instances of Corrective Work Orders imposed by the courts, more than double the figure of 261 in 2013, the NEA said in a letter to The Straits Times Forum Page yesterday.
It said it takes a "strict line against all littering offenders, regardless of nationality".
In 2006, The Sunday Times highlighted the problem with a news report headlined, "WARNING - We are becoming a GARBAGE CITY".
About a decade later, the country's trashy ways are back in the spotlight, following Facebook posts from three politicians, including Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. They had commented on the appalling amount of rubbish left behind by about 13,000 concertgoers at the Laneway Festival at Gardens by the Bay.
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong wrote that Singapore is likely to become a "garbage city", if not for the foreign workers who pick up after its people.
"Cleanliness is a character thing. It shows who you really are," he wrote.
On his Facebook, Mr Lee urged people to do the right thing, and said "we need to progress from being a cleaned city to a truly clean city".
Even though stepped-up enforcement efforts could be a contributing factor to last year's 19,000 littering tickets, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan expressed disappointment at the numbers.
"If we do not mess up our own homes, then surely our streets, our clubs, our gardens must not be messed up," he said at a community event.
Despite what seems to be a perennial and unsolvable problem, many experts believe Singapore can still reclaim its sterling reputation as a clean city.
What will be key to getting this done is for all Singapore residents to do their part, they said.
As the NEA said in its letter: "While enforcement is important, to tackle the littering problem effectively, a new social norm is needed where society frowns upon littering as a socially unacceptable act, and where members of the public proactively remind litterbugs to dispose of their litter properly."
Current measures against littering in Singapore
CAROLYN KHEW Straits Times 10 Feb 15
From slapping higher fines on litterbugs to mobilising volunteers to help deter them, Singapore has a range of measures in place in its efforts to keep the country clean.
Penalties
The National Environment Agency (NEA) issued about 19,000 tickets for littering last year, which is almost double the number in 2013. Thirty-one per cent of these tickets were issued to non-residents.
On April 1 last year, the Environmental Public Health Act was amended to deter those who continue to act irresponsibly.
Under the revised Act, the maximum fine for littering offenders has been doubled to $2,000 for a first conviction. Those who persist can be fined $4,000 for their second conviction, and $10,000 for their third and subsequent convictions.
The courts may also impose Corrective Work Orders (CWOs) requiring offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.
Last year, the courts issued 688 Corrective Work Orders (CWOs), more than double the 261 in 2013.
CWO was introduced in November 1992 to shame litterbugs. The first 10 litterbugs to carry out CWOs were made to clean up part of the East Coast beach on Feb 21, 1993, in front of the media.
It worked, with the authorities then saying the number of littering offences had dipped.
Earlier this month, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the NEA is committed to stepping up enforcement of littering rules.
People power
Since the community volunteer scheme was launched in 2013, 259 volunteers from civic groups such as the Singapore Environment Council and the Cat Welfare Society have joined the volunteer corps.
The volunteers successfully engaged 830 litterbugs, persuading them to bin their trash.
Ten cases of enforcement action were taken.
These volunteers can take down the particulars of litterbugs and give the details to the authorities if they refuse to pick up and bin their trash even after being asked to do so.
The Government is considering giving these community volunteers the power to fine litterbugs.
No Cleaners Day
In Nee Soon South, for example, cleaners are given a day off on Labour Day every May 1 - also its annual No Cleaners Day - while residents step in to clean up their estate.
Last year, 500 people, including students and representatives of the area's merchant associations, combed 164 blocks of flats and picked up 500kg of litter.
Bright Spots
First launched in 2012 by the Keep Singapore Clean Movement, which is led by the Public Hygiene Council, the ground-up initiative encourages people and companies to adopt a community area to help keep it clean and litter-free.
At Punggol View Primary, pupils start off cleaning their classrooms, the school's garden and toilets before they are tasked to clean up the public park and beach area in Punggol.
There are more than 300 of such areas and the council hopes to have 500 "Bright Spots" by the end of this year.
Public education for non-residents
The NEA works with various groups to foster the right values in keeping the environment clean, as well as to encourage a ground-up movement that translates these values into action.
For the non-resident population, the NEA conducts regular roadshows at foreign workers' dormitories to raise greater awareness of social norms, such as not littering.
The agency also engages foreign workers through educational materials in their native languages. The litter-free messages are reinforced through briefings conducted by the workers' supervisors.
What more can be done to keep littering at bay?
AUDREY TAN Straits Times 10 Feb 15;
Hefty fines, Corrective Work Orders (CWOs) to shame litterbugs, as well as many years of educational campaigns... yet, Singapore is still plagued by rubbish woes.
What more can be done to banish the problem to the bins?
Make litterbugs pay more...
Retired executive vice-president of marketing Lawrence Loh suggested in a letter to The Straits Times Forum Page last Wednesday
that the National Environment Agency embark on a study to identify the sources of littering, followed by a public education campaign.
When contacted, Mr Loh, 65, said that although the fines have been made stiffer, many may not be aware of them.
"Perhaps it is a question of enforcement, as not enough are being caught... More publicity of those prosecuted for littering may deter others from doing so," he said.
Bank analyst Jason Ng, 24, said the litterbugs need to be shamed more. "They should be made to do Corrective Work Orders in the Central Business District, or at crowded places during the weekends," he said.
...or rope them in
Mr Tham Tuck Meng, 42, a teacher, suggested in his letter to The Straits Times that the authorities beef up anti-littering enforcement at big events.
He later told this newspaper that CWOs may not work as ingrained habits are hard to change. The offenders may also feel unfairly penalised and may litter even more.
Instead, litterbugs could be tasked to lead anti-littering outreach campaigns.
"That will bring them over to the side of the enforcement authorities," he said.
Setting the standard
Mr Eugene Heng, founder and chairman of green group Waterways Watch Society which conducts clean-up and environmental activities, suggested a school syllabus on anti-littering that sets the standards for a green city.
He said: "We should have a... designated class every week that teaches students what is littering, much like how we teach kids how to brush their teeth.
"You and I can both think we are clean but have different standards, and they might not be right."
Students could also watch an educational video that features a day in the life of a cleaner, said research coordinator Jeremy Heng, 26.
He added: "The video could feature an elderly cleaner or a foreign worker, and they can see how thankless but significant their roles are."
Groceries for cleanliness
Ms Tan Lin Neo, 57, a sales associate, said town councils could consider issuing grocery vouchers to households located in the cleanest housing estates.
Reducing packaging waste
Mr Lee Yong Se, 32, who works in the social sector, said reducing waste, such as plastic bags and receipts, is one way to curb the littering habit.
"Many people take plastic bags to line their bins at home, but how much trash is actually produced, so much so that it is necessary to keep a stockpile of plastic bags at home?"
Why is littering still a problem?
Samantha Boh, Carolyn Khew and Audrey Tan The Straits Times AsiaOne 12 Feb 15;
COMPLACENCY is the likely reason for Singapore's litter woes.
Experts say that when people know there will be an army of cleaners to pick up after them, they become too lazy to do the right thing.
Coddled by cleaners
With cleaners out every day to sweep up trash, many people have developed the mindset that there is always someone, somewhere, to pick up after them.
Mr Lee Yong Se, 32, who works in the social sector, said that in countries like Japan, citizens are forced to clean up after themselves owing to a lack of cleaning staff. "Here, the expectations are different.
People expect to find other people to clean up after them."
As of last September, there were 52,000 cleaners here, of which 38,000 - or about two in three - were Singaporeans or permanent residents, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).
Different cultural attitudes
New citizens and foreign workers may come from countries where keeping public spaces clean is not the norm.
About 19,000 tickets for littering were issued by the NEA last year, of which 31 per cent were given to non-residents.
"Some may not be attuned to our spirit of not littering, so you need to educate (them)," said Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah, whose constituency holds a No Cleaners Day to get residents to pick up trash.
"The majority of us don't litter... it's just that we have these new social dynamics, so we need to keep pushing hard."
Mr Lawrence Loh, 65, a retired executive vice-president of marketing, agreed.
"Some of them are from countries where there is no clampdown on littering, and they have the use-and-throw mentality," he said.
Because they can
In an NEA study done from 2009 to 2010, four out of 10 people in Singapore said they would litter out of convenience or if they knew they could get away with it.
"People litter because they don't care, and they don't care because they don't get caught," said bank analyst Jason Ng, 24.
National University of Singapore sociologist Paulin Straughan said there are those who litter to test their boundaries.
"These are the ones who would likely not break the rules if there were law enforcement officers right in front of them," she said.
Associate Professor Straughan, who led the NEA study, added that a very small minority is made up of people who are anti-establishment, very much like those of deviant sub-cultures.
"They find they cannot identify with the main group, the norms, and so they set their own rules," she said.
'That's not littering'
Everyone knows flicking a cigarette butt onto the floor or hurling a used nappy out of the window is littering.
But some Singaporeans have found their own way to justify their anti-social actions.
"If the litter bin is full and if you put trash around it, it is littering, but people will say no, (it is not)," said Prof Straughan.
The NEA study also found that about two in 10 people did not think they were littering if their serviettes blew away in the wind. Three out of 10 thought leaving rubbish on a park table after a barbecue was also not littering.
Too lenient now
"We have become reluctant to do the bad thing," said Mr Liak Teng Lit, chairman of the Public Hygiene Council, referring to enforcement, including fines and Corrective Work Orders (CWOs), and speaking up when one sees others littering.
Enforcement was more thorough in the 1970s to early 1990s, said Mr Liak, when photos of people queueing up to pay their littering fines were published.
When CWOs were introduced in 1992, offenders made to clean public areas did so under the glare of the media. Photos of them carrying out CWOs were splashed in the newspapers.
"Over the years, we have become more forgiving, with more emphasis now placed on education," said Mr Liak.
Current measures
FROM slapping higher fines on litterbugs to mobilising volunteers to help deter them, Singapore has a range of measures in place in its efforts to keep the country clean.
Penalties
The National Environment Agency (NEA) issued about 19,000 tickets for littering last year, which is almost double the number in 2013.
Thirty-one per cent of these tickets were issued to non-residents.
On April 1 last year, the Environmental Public Health Act was amended to deter those who continue to act irresponsibly.
Under the revised Act, the maximum fine for littering offenders has been doubled to $2,000 for a first conviction.
Those who persist can be fined $4,000 for their second conviction, and $10,000 for their third and subsequent convictions.
The courts may also impose Corrective Work Orders (CWOs) requiring offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.
Last year, the courts issued 688 Corrective Work Orders (CWOs), more than double the 261 in 2013.
CWO was introduced in November 1992 to shame litterbugs.
The first 10 litterbugs to carry out CWOs were made to clean up part of the East Coast beach on Feb 21, 1993, in front of the media.
It worked, with the authorities then saying the number of littering offences had dipped.
Earlier this month, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said the NEA is committed to stepping up enforcement of littering rules.
People power
Since the community volunteer scheme was launched in 2013, 259 volunteers from civic groups such as the Singapore Environment Council and the Cat Welfare Society have joined the volunteer corps.
The volunteers successfully engaged 830 litterbugs, persuading them to bin their trash.
Ten cases of enforcement action were taken.
These volunteers can take down the particulars of litterbugs and give the details to the authorities if theyrefuse to pick up and bin their trash even after being asked to do so.
The Government is considering giving these community volunteers the power to fine litterbugs.
No Cleaners Day
In Nee Soon South, for example, cleaners are given a day off on Labour Day every May 1 - also its annual No Cleaners Day - while residents step in to clean up their estate.
Last year, 500 people, including students and representatives of the area's merchant associations, combed 164 blocks of flats and picked up 500kg of litter.
Bright Spots
First launched in 2012 by the Keep Singapore Clean Movement, which is led by the Public Hygiene Council, the ground-up initiative encourages people and companies to adopt a community area to help keep it clean and litter-free.
At Punggol View Primary, pupils start off cleaning their classrooms, the school's garden and toilets before they are tasked to clean up the public park and beach area in Punggol.
There are more than 300 of such areas and the council hopes to have 500 "Bright Spots" by the end of this year.
Public education for non-residents
The NEA works with various groups to foster the right values in keeping the environment clean, as well as to encourage a ground-up movement that translates these values into action.
For the non-resident population, the NEA conducts regular roadshows at foreign workers' dormitories to raise greater awareness of social norms, such as not littering.
The agency also engages foreign workers through educational materials in their native languages.
The litter-free messages are reinforced through briefings conducted by the workers' supervisors.
What more can be done?
HEFTY fines, Corrective Work Orders (CWOs) to shame litterbugs, as well as many years of educational campaigns... yet, Singapore is still plagued by rubbish woes.
What more can be done to banish the problem to the bins?
Make litterbugs pay more...
Retired executive vice-president of marketing Lawrence Loh suggested in a letter to The Straits Times Forum Page last Wednesday that the National Environment Agency embark on a study to identify the sources of littering, followed by a public education campaign.
When contacted, Mr Loh, 65, said that although the fines have been made stiffer, many may not be aware of them.
"Perhaps it is a question of enforcement, as not enough are being caught... More publicity of those prosecuted for littering may deter others from doing so," he said.
Bank analyst Jason Ng, 24, said the litterbugs need to be shamed more.
"They should be made to do Corrective Work Orders in the Central Business District, or at crowded places during the weekends," he said.
...or rope them in
He later told this newspaper that CWOs may not work as ingrained habits are hard to change.
The offenders may also feel unfairly penalised and may litter even more.
Instead, litterbugs could be tasked to lead anti-littering outreach campaigns.
"That will bring them over to the side of the enforcement authorities," he said.
Setting the standard
that sets the standards for a green city.
He said: "We should have a... designated class every week that teaches students what is littering, much like how we teach kids how to brush their teeth.
"You and I can both think we are clean but have different standards, and they might not be right."
Students could also watch an educational video that features a day in the life of a cleaner, said research coordinator Jeremy Heng, 26.
He added: "The video could feature an elderly cleaner or a foreign worker, and they can see how thankless but significant their roles are."
Groceries for cleanliness
Ms Tan Lin Neo, 57, a sales associate, said town councils could consider issuing grocery vouchers to households located in the cleanest housing estates.
Reducing packaging waste
Mr Lee Yong Se, 32, who works in the social sector, said reducing waste, such as plastic bags and receipts, is one way to curb the littering habit.
"Many people take plastic bags to line their bins at home, but how much trash is actually produced, so much so that it is necessary to keep a stockpile of plastic bags at home?"
1 night, 1 bridge, 50 bags of trash
Chin Yong Chang The New Paper AsiaOne 12 Feb 15;
In one night, it is not uncommon for Mr Keria Peli to collect 50 trash bags of litter from Read Bridge and its vicinity.
On a bad day, he collects 30 bags from just one round of cleaning the bridge.
This is despite the fact that at least five dustbins are placed around the bridge.
The trash is mostly left behind by irresponsible outdoor partygoers.
It is clear from the photos on these pages, taken last Friday night and Saturday morning, that not much has changed after the mess at Laneway Festival Singapore 2015 made the news.
Then, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong commented on Facebook, saying that Singaporeans should pick up their own litter so that we can progress from being a "cleaned city to a truly clean city".
Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong and the Public Hygiene Council chairman Liak Teng Lit also weighed in on the issue.
But it seems that their words may have fallen on deaf ears.
We watched Mr Keria, 49, at work at Robertson Quay and Clarke Quay last Friday at 10pm.
The Malaysian has been working for Veolia Environmental Services for the past 13 years and travels six days a week from his home in Johor to report for his 12-hour shift at 6.30pm. The cleaner earns about $1,200 a month.
At about 11pm, we followed Mr Keria to the vicinity of Read Bridge. There were droves of people drinking, leaving empty bottles, cans and plastic bags when they left.
Many partygoers thought nothing of littering, assuming that someone else would pick up after them.
'FORGET'
Mr Nicholas Tan, 21, who frequents Clarke Quay and Robertson Quay, said: "I try to throw away my rubbish after I am done. But sometimes when you're tipsy, you might forget to clean up."
Mr Keria told TNP in Malay that the scene can get really bad.
"About a year ago, fights were a daily occurrence here," he said.
"Because there were a lot of broken bottles, it was hard to sweep up the glass pieces."
Sometimes, people get drunk and throw up on the bridge.
The stench would overwhelm him, but he said that as a cleaner, he has no choice but to clean it.
