One in four Singaporeans know it is an offence to litter but will do so out of convenience, while one in a hundred will litter regardless of the consequences.
These are some of the findings a sociological study commissioned by the National Environment Agency (NEA) has found, and are due to be released next month.
To tackle the scourge of littering, as well as other public hygiene challenges such as dirty toilets, a newly formed Public Hygiene Council will work with the NEA and other Government agencies to get Singaporeans to be more civic conscious.
The 21-member council comprise stakeholders from the private sector - such as food court operator Koufu, the Singapore Hotel Association and Purechem Veolia Environmental Services - as well as representatives from Government bodies.
And it has set the bar very high. “We need to reach the standard of Japan or Northern Europe or Korea, and we must not settle for less,” said Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Vivian Balakrishnan who was present at the launch of the council at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital yesterday.
“It’s not enough to be clean in some areas, and have a mess in certain areas. So the difference this time round, we’re going to do an all out blitz on all areas and involving all stakeholders.”
Over the next few months, the council will garner feedback from the public and work with stakeholders to “promote best practices” and outreach efforts, said NEA’s chief executive Andrew Tan, who added that the council’s promotional efforts will complement the agency’s regulatory role.
Mr Tan noted that there is “no single formula” to tackle cleanliness and littering problems, but rather by a combination of enforcement, education, provision of rubbish bins and a cleaning regime.
“It’s a community of best practices that we can promote around the island by the different stakeholders who can achieve a certain tipping point and establish a new social form that we can then all follow,” he said.
Lamenting that Singapore has a “first world infrastructure” but a “third world behaviour”, the council’s chairman Liak Teng Lit urged Singaporeans to keep the country clean just as they would their “homes and bedroom”.
“Every single Singaporean really needs to take ownership,” Mr Liak said.
“Do the right thing, and advocate for it, stand up for it.
“When people do not do the right thing, they really ought to be able to stand forward and say, that’s not right.”
