Town councils wage war on littering

Raids, surveillance cameras and 24-hour task force among weapons employed

SURVEILLANCE cameras, surprise raids, and a 24-hour task force.

These are the weapons town councils use in their offensive against a persistent social nuisance: littering.

Despite the millions spent cleaning housing estates, and strict anti-littering laws, unsightly litter still mars many neighbourhoods.

Prime Minister Goh Chok i’ong lamented this social habit of Singaporeans on Saturday, and urged residents to ~‘upgrade" their behaviour and not ruin a good living environment with litter.

At Brickworks town council, its general manager Chan Yow Seng cited some litter that residents throw out of their windows: papers, foodstuffs such as rice and curry, and even sanitary pads.

Like the other councils, Brickworks identifies dirty blocks in its estate and steps up educational efforts, putting up posters or distributing circulars there to remind residents not to litter.

Several town councils offer Incentives to keep estates clean. They hold annual campaigns to identify the cleanest blocks, giving residents there rebates in service and conservancy charges.

They also cart away bulky refuse such as unwanted furniture for free, to prevent them from cluttering common corridors, and come up with ways to combat junk mail.

When educational methods fail, town councils turn to the Environment Ministry, which stations its inspectors at blocks known for its litterbugs, and books those caught in the act.

Hong Kah town council’s general manager Vincent Soh described these as "anti-littering raids", which take place about once in two months.

 The ministry also sends litterbugs who have been served with Corrective Work Orders to sweep blocks identified as dirty by town councils.

As Eunos council general tanager Lee Kian Hwa said: Hopefully, the sight will deter residents there from littering."

Toa Payoh town council is even more pro-active, setting up surveillance cameras at blocks which have serious littering problems.

One camera is now at Block 27, Toa Payoh East.

The town council’s general manager Kuek Chiew Peng said that the camera acted as a deterrent, rather than actual enforcement tool, as it was difficult to catch litterbugs in action in practice.

Over at Tampines, a team of seven or eight workers is on call 24 hours a day, and responds to emergency complaints about public areas. This task force also does routine maintenance work.

Said acting general manager Tan Dek Liong: "It could b& a dead animal, vomit or human waste.

"We can’t wait till the following morning for the cleaners to clean it up. We have to act immediately."

He estimated that the council received one urgent complaint about cleanliness a day.

Council staff added that persistent littering was a problem that plagued only a small proportion of blocks in their estates.

Most residents kept their estates reasonably clean.

Eunos GRC MP Chew Heng Ching noted that blocks of five-room and bigger flats tended to be cleaner, and was optimistic more residents would adopt better social habits when they became better-off and better-educated.

In fact, Marine Parade council deputy general manager Cheok Klan Fatt noted an improvement in the behaviour of residents at some blocks after the town council re-tiled the void decks and upgraded the lift lobbies.

"It seems to have made the residents change their habits. Perhaps when the living environment is improved, residents will be motivated to keep it clean."

A day in the life of a cleaner

• 6.30 AM: Rather early for work to begin, you might say.

But cleaner Teo Bock Chon, 48, is already hard at work, as he has been for the past seven years, clearing up other people’s litter.

Armed with a broom as tall as himself, the slightly-built Mr Teo sweeps up the rubbish with deft strokes.

Inspect the rubbish and you will see everything from discarded papers to styrofoam containers and empty durian shells.

And his job, which pays him $700 a month, does not end after the morning cleaning.

He must return after lunch to scout for litter and rubbish to ensure that the blocks are kept clean throughout the day.

Bulky items in common areas are removed every other day, and void decks and corridors washed twice a week.

Mr Tee is one of ab ut 400 cleaners who keep Bricksvorks spick and span.

The town council, which covers 43,000 residential units, wends about $300,000 a month on estate cleaning.

NOT ENOUGH CLEANERS? OR JUST RESIDENTS' BAD HABITS?

— Serangoon resident Coh Kay Thong, 47, a teacher.

I always tell residents they cannot expect cleaners to work 24 hours a day. Most of the cleaning is done early in the mornings, around 6 am or 7 am, or after lunch, so residents may not see them around.

"When residents come home in the evenings, others have littered the place, so it looks dirtied."

— Eunos GRC MP Chew Heng Ching, on some residents’ perception that there are not enough cleaners around.

"But In our case, we are able to pay more to get enough workers to meet the requirements, and we have a core pool of about 1,200 workers. "We also use mechanical methods to cut down on the numbers of workers, such as battery-operated carts to remove rubbish, high-pressure jets to wash floors and others."

— Mr Desmond Wong, general manager of cleaning contractor Clean Tech, on how companies cope with the shortage of workers.

— Businessman Tan Ah Lurk, 49, a Marine Parade resident.

Source : The Straits Times  10th Feb 1995

Back to Archive Page

Recycling Point Dot Com

(C) 2000 All Rights Reserved