‘There’s no bin, no wonder they litter,’ Singaporean complains about littering by foreign workers

SINGAPORE: In a Facebook post, a Singaporean complained about littering by foreign workers along North Coast Ave. He shared in his post: “Workers usually gather in the night for their meals but left litter behind. Evident in mornings.” 

He then added that he already reported the incident to the National Environment Agency (NEA), but there has been no action yet. 

“More education and awareness can be done. There are no bins too. No wonder they litter!!” the man concluded his post. 

Netizens expressed their opinions regarding the littering incident. 

One Facebook user said it was sad to see that the country is experiencing littering problems.

“..when I see litter I pick up and give litterers dirty looks haha,” the commenter stated. 

Public cleanliness 

Singapore is known for its cleanliness. “This is achieved in three key ways: the cleaning of public areas, public education, and enforcement,” says the National Environment Agency (NEA).

The Division of Public Cleanliness aims to improve the cleaning service quality in Singapore’s public areas by incorporating higher performance standards and service delivery for public places. Furthermore, NEA works with its 3P partners (people, public, and private sectors) to encourage the community to be responsible for keeping their surroundings clean. 

NEA also takes strict enforcement actions against litterbugs. 

Littering Offences in Singapore 

According to Singapore Legal Advice, people with littering offense under the EPHA (section 17 of the Environmental Public Health Act of Singapore) can be arrested without a warrant by any police or authorised officer. They can be taken before the courts or issued a notice to attend court at a given time. 

Littering and dropping or spilling of substances like liquid, sand, sawdust, and falling fragments of any article or thing may result in a penalty of S$2,000 up to S$10,000. 

The dumping and disposal of refuse/waste from a vehicle can result in a penalty of S$50,000 to S$100,000, and imprisonment for up to 12 months. 

“You may also have to pay for the costs and expenses incurred to clean or restore the public place. If you do not pay the required amount within 14 days after demand, that can be reported to the Magistrate’s court and the amount be recovered by the court,” Singapore Legal Advice added.