Elderly couple says cockroaches have been crawling out of HDB chute for 6 months, contractor still hesitant to fix it

SINGAPORE: An elderly couple in Tampines has been battling cockroaches in their HDB flat for six months after their kitchen garbage chute door stopped closing properly. The couple says they are willing to pay for a replacement, but the contractor they approached is hesitant to start the work.

A 69-year-old retiree living in a four-room unit on the eighth floor of a residential building on Tampines Street discovered that last April, their kitchen garbage chute door could not be closed. The resident, according to Shin Min Daily News, admitted that they have been living in the unit for 30 years now, and the garbage chute door had never had any problems until then. 

“But one day the door suddenly wouldn’t close, which allowed cockroaches and geckos to crawl out into the kitchen,” the resident declared. 

His 68-year-old partner then contacted the authorities about this matter, but it was suggested that they should find a contractor themselves. The resident added: “We are willing to pay for it, but the contractor we found dared not start the work…They said that removing the garbage bin might cause the adjacent tiles to fall off, and they couldn’t determine if any other work would be needed, so construction has been delayed.” 

When interviewed, the renovation contractors admitted that replacing the garbage chute may cause some tiles to crack or fall off. 

The contractor claimed: “It’s been many years, so the door is probably warped and can’t close properly. In this case, all you need to do is replace the trash can…It can be done in a day, and the price is about a few hundred dollars. However, if you want to replace the tiles for aesthetic reasons, it may cost more.” 

Furthermore, it is advised that after replacing the garbage chute door, it is important to ensure that there is no leakage of water in the unit. 

“The authorities regularly flush the garbage bins from the rooftop, so it’s important to make sure that the garbage doesn’t seep into your home.”

This causes worry to the couple since the garbage chute door emits a foul odour, and she could only spray air freshener in the kitchen. Moreover, what worries them most is that sometimes, the cockroaches would crawl into their clothes. 

“Sometimes when I hang clothes to dry in the kitchen, cockroaches even crawl onto them. My husband and I are both in poor health, and we are worried that cockroaches will cause more hygiene problems and affect our health.” 

With this, they are hoping to find a contractor who can help them resolve this concern. 

Other related news 

In similar HDB concerns, a fire incident took place wherein approximately 20 people were evacuated, and two were reported to be hospitalised for smoke inhalation. 

A witness posted online that there was thick smoke billowing from the burning HDB unit, and there were vehicles from the Singapore Civil Defence Force and the police could be seen at the scene. 

Read more about the news story here.