A record 20,000kg of trash was cleared off beaches and mangroves during an annual one-day clean-up by International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) last September.
This was double the amount collected in 2008, and more than triple that of a decade ago.
Not all the trash, however, is locally generated, ICCS lead coordinator N. Sivasothi told The Sunday Times.
Some is carried by sea currents from Malaysia and washes up on our shores, he added.
The National Environment Agency (NEA), which oversees the cleanliness of beaches in Singapore, confirmed last week that flotsam on coastlines here is brought in by wind and tides from the region, or passing vessels.
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