The National Environment Agency (NEA) is reviewing penalties and fines for those caught littering, Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan said today.
Responding to a motion tabled by Nee Soon GRC MP Lee Bee Wah on the standard of cleanliness in Singapore, Dr Balakrishnan added that senior members of non-government organisations and grassroots organisations - armed with a warrant card and given proper training - could also be roped in to enforce against littering in the community.
Last year, the NEA received 5,232 complaints about litterbugs, up from 4,449 in 2010.
Ms Lee had earlier shared with the House her experience of how bags of rubbish were collected in her Nee Soon South ward last Friday, after she told Town Council cleaners not to do any cleaning from 5pm onwards.
“I’m sure this is not unique to Nee Soon South and it happens in a lot of places in Singapore. And perhaps we have indeed become complacent,” said Ms Lee. “Perhaps, a new generation has not learnt the lesson of what impact filth and grime can have on environmental health.”
Ms Lee said she used to “take delight” in hearing tourists and foreign friends expressed admiration over sparkling pavements here. Such a picture, however, is fading, she noted.
Citing a successful scheme implemented in Seoul, Ms Lee suggested that the authorities here could start a campaign, named “Shame on you litterbug”, where citizens could post the culprit’s “bizarre acts” online.
While Singapore has transformed itself through meticulous cleaning, public campaigns and strict enforcement in just over four decades, being known as a clean city internationally is not unique today, noted Dr Balakrishnan.
He, however, stressed that being a clean city is “a source of competitive advantage” and “a badge of honour”, which is something Singapore “cannot afford to backslide on”.
Merely increasing fines or having more anti-littering public education messages broadcast on television will not be sufficient, said Dr Balakrishnan. Rather, the authorities also need to work with MPs, community leaders and residents community leaders to “create peer pressure” in maintaining a clean environment, he added.
