Hawker saves 6,500 litres with simple measures

Hawker Xue Yuhua, in his 50s, saved a whopping 6,500 litres of water in a month just by reusing water used to wash vegetables to clean the floor, and washing dishes in a filled sink rather than by leaving the tap running.

The Haig Road Market and Food Centre vegetarian stall owner's water savings - which would have filled more than 4,300 1.5-litre mineral water bottles - won him a hamper from national water agency PUB on Wednesday.

He was taking part in a contest organised for the food centre's 151 hawker stalls as part of the PUB's drive to get Singaporeans to save water.

Starting last September, the hawkers competed to see who could slash their water bill the most from one month to the next. The contest ended on Wednesday.

The water Mr Xue saved cut more than $11 from the winning monthly water bill.

"If I can save this much water, imagine if all the other stall owners did the same," said Mr Xue in Mandarin, admitting that he had not expected his actions to make such a big difference.

MP for Marine Parade GRC Fatimah Lateef handed out water-saving tips and leaflets to stall owners on Wednesday morning.

She said: "They're trying very hard (to save water during this dry spell). I think what inspired them was this competition."

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