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  Channel NewsAsia 1 Jan 06
Revellers leave behind 6,000kg of trash after Orchard Rd party
 By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE : Orchard Road was also party central as Singaporeans and visitors alike ushered in the New Year. But the revellers also left behind a trail of trash - 6,000 kilogrammes of it!

Party people came out in full force. And so did the street cleaners. About 30 of them were deployed to pick up after the crowd left. This is twice the cleaning manpower used on a normal day.

And despite the additional 20 bins placed along Orchard Road, rubbish overflowed and onto the streets.

Jeffrey Tang, Supervisor of FME Onyx, said: "Everybody is having fun. They forgot that there are bins around. So when they are having fun, they just start throwing all over the place, it's part and parcel of the enjoyment. "As we go along, the cleansing, we still face people having fun and also throwing out the tin cans again. And we would still have to go back again and have another another set of cleansing." - CNA/de

Straits Times Forum Online 5 Jan 06
Revellers make a mess of Orchard Road with litter. What a shame!
Letter from Ong Puey Yee (Miss)

On December 31, the amount of rubbish Singaporeans generated in Orchard Road alone weighed six kilotonnes. This is understandable as it was New Year's Eve and the turnout at Orchard Road for the countdown to 2006 was far more than the usual traffic.

However, what I am appalled at was the reluctance of the New Year revellers to throw their rubbish in the bins. Their rubbish were simply thrown to the ground even with the many rubbish bins around town.

Images of a heavily-littered Orchard Road were flashed during the 10pm news on Channel 8 the next day and I was filled with disgust, embarrassment and disappointment at Singaporeans.

Were they tarnishing Singapore's reputation as a clean and green city built by the government and our forefathers with enormous efforts over the years? Certainly!

Orchard Road is a popular tourist spot, especially during festive season, when tourists want to experience the Singapore way of celebration. Imagine what their impression of Singapore would be when they see heaps of litter all around Orchard Road!

A week ago, I went to town after Christmas. I was abhorred by the sight of the usually immaculate Orchard Road filled with rubbish left by the Christmas revellers. A cleaner assigned to clear the mess was sighing and shaking his head as he did his job.

I shudder at the thought of Singapore without cleaners, who are mostly foreign workers. Will we still be the clean and green city we claim to be? Perhaps the real reason behind Singapore's clean and green city is the hard work of the foreign workers. This is ironic.

I wish to remind Singaporeans that before they throw litter to the ground, spare a thought for the cleaners. After all, what is the use of a rubbish bin?

Ong Puey Yee (Miss)
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