Why turn beautiful city into garbage dump?

Why turn beautiful city into garbage dump?

I was deeply dismayed to learn of the terrible mess left behind by concertgoers at the Laneway music festival last weekend ("PM reacts to meadow of trash that music fans left behind"; Thursday).

I hope this is not another "festival culture" we practise in Singapore.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's comments are a resounding reminder that our "clean and green" moniker is largely misplaced self- flattery.

For a nation celebrating its golden jubilee, it is an embarrassment that our people continue to display a marked lack of maturity in a behaviour that one would think should be easily shaped by common sense and decency.

In our homes, I reckon that few, if any, of us would consider leaving trash and leftovers strewn across the floor.

Are we turning our beautiful city into a garbage dump with impunity?

To allow our nation to become so unsightly is evidence of our lack of care and concern for our environment. Even worse, it reflects a total contempt for this nation that we call home.

Perhaps it is the simple concept of ownership and responsibility that we are failing to grasp.

If we feel responsible for a piece of rubbish, it is naturally our duty to see that it is disposed of properly. Many of our Asian neighbours do this, so why can't we?

Some of us continue to perpetuate an irresponsible reliance on cleaners - an often besieged lot (usually elderly or foreign), who already have enough to do without having to pick up every soiled tissue or half- eaten food packet left behind by people who could not care less about them or our shared environment.

Eugene Heng

Waterways Watch Society

Singapore


This article was first published on January 31, 2015.
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