Why is littering still a problem?

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.

Singapore residents and Members of Parliament offer reasons why people do not clean up after themselves:

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?"

samboh@sph.com.sg

kcarolyn@sph.com.sg

audreyt@sph.com.sg

This article was first published on Feb 10, 2015.
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