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  Today Online 2 Jun 06
No rubbish: Men litter more
Cheow Xin Yi xinyic@newstoday.com.sg

The Straits Times 1 Jun 06
New anti-littering campaign to focus on public place

NEA News Release 1 Jun 06
Hawker Centres kick off NEA's newly enhanced anti-littering campaign

Channel NewsAsia 1 Jun 06
NEA launches new anti-littering campaign focused on public places
By Joanne Leow, Channel NewsAsia

SINGAPORE: The National Environment Agency is hoping to stamp out the litterbug in Singaporeans with a new campaign focusing on litter prone public spaces like hawker centres, coffeeshops, parks and bus interchanges.

The NEA hopes to find out why people are still leaving litter everywhere when there are bins nearby through a littering behaviour study.

They hope to get a comprehensive profile on litterbugs, assess littering patterns to find out how to get people to stop.

Close to 4,000 people were caught littering last year, nearly 80 percent of whom were male and a majority aged between 21 and 30.

Some 125 hawker centres are being surveyed for cleanliness, and results so far show dining areas and pathways are the most littered - with items like cigarette butts, tissue papers and empty receptacles.

The NEA is working to tighten cleansing regimes and improve disposal facilities, while encouraging Singaporeans to do their part.

"Frankly at the end of the day, to keep Singapore clean, it cannot be done by the officials, it has to be done by Singaporeans from all walks of life. At last year's dengue outbreak, the biggest culprit was discarded receptacles, plastic bottles and cups. So we want to send the message home to people who patronise public places that they have a role to play not only in terms of immediate cleanliness, but long term issues such as public health," said Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Environment and Water Resources Minister.

It will start by focusing public education efforts on particular areas. NEA hopes that by doing this, it will encourage the public and relevant parties to come together to tackle littering.

"Targeting specific areas is really good because it allows us to measure and manage the problems in this area. It also helps the stakeholders to really identify with the problem and take ownership," said Dr Amy Khor, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Water Resources.

The new Senior Parliamentary Secretary hopes to use her experience as Southwest CDC Mayor to promote more partnerships between the public and private sectors. To track the campaign's effectiveness, a follow-up survey will be conducted every three months, with the first follow-up in August.

Today Online 2 Jun 06
No rubbish: Men litter more
Cheow Xin Yi xinyic@newstoday.com.sg

NEA figures show 80 per cent of litterbugs caught are men; new study to profile typical litterbug

EITHER men litter significantly more than women--or they do so more brazenly. Figures released by the National Environment Agency (NEA) show that men accounted for almost 80 per cent of the litterbugs caught since 2000.

The NEA is now trying to put together the profile of a typical litterbug through a six-month study.

But more immediately, it has decided to get down and dirty on the most litter-prone areas in Singapore and see how they can be cleaned up. Specific premises such as hawker centres, coffee shops and bus interchanges will be under the microscope--with a view to sprucing them up.

The NEA has started a survey of all 125 hawker centres in Singapore. Some 61 of those have already been surveyed--with NEA determining which ones have the most litter, what gets thrown out (cigarette butts and disposable cups), where it gets thrown and the period during which the centres are at their dirtiest.

Dr Amy Khor, the new Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources said littering is still a problem at some hawker centres. "So targeting specific areas is really good, because it allows us to measure and manage the problem in this area and help stakeholders identify with the problem and take ownership," she said.

"Then we can access what are the difficulties involved in trying to make them inculcate this habit of not littering. Is it because there are not enough bins? Or where the bins are placed? Or is it because of the way the whole hawker centre is laid out?"

Apart from identifying the problem areas, NEA is also trying to gain a better understanding of the source of the problem: The litterbug.

The study will profile your typical litterbug--using age, gender and background to assess their littering pattern. It aims to achieve a better understanding of why people litter and what could motivate them to stop doing so.

The NEA wants to know the average person's opinion of how clean public areas are. It also wants to gauge how effective its anti-littering messages have been.

Dr Khor said that while the current anti-littering campaign had achieved some success, it had also hit a wall of sorts. In that sense, she felt that targeting specific areas was a practical and sensible approach.

The Straits Times 1 Jun 06
New anti-littering campaign to focus on public places

The National Environment Agency (NEA) has started a new anti-littering campaign, focusing on places that are prone to litter such as hawker centres, coffeeshops, parks and bus interchanges.

Launching the campaign on Thursday, Minster of Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim noted there had been an increase in littering. More than 3,800 litterbugs were caught last year, up from the average of about 3,000 a year.

The drive also involves an islandwide cleanliness survey on all 125 hawker centres here. Almost half, or 61 centres, have been inspected since the survey began three weeks ago.

An 80-litre transparent column containing litter collected in respective centres will make its way round hawker centres. It is part of the NEA's latest effort to drive home its anti-littering message: the need to keep our public places clean and litter-free.

Results of the survey so far show litter to be concentrated in dining areas and pathways surrounding the centre. Cigarette butts, tissue papers, and disposable drink cans/packets topped the litter pile. The NEA expects to complete the survey by the end of this month.

Next, at least 1,000 people will be surveyed between July and October to determine why people litter.

The NEA is taking a multi-pronged approach to tackle the littering problem by involving more commitment from stakeholders, tightened cleansing regimes and improving disposal facilities.

NEA News Release 1 Jun 06
Hawker Centres kick off NEA's newly enhanced anti-littering campaign

Litterbugs beware! The National Environment Agency (NEA) today sent a strong message on the need to keep our public places clean and free of litter. A new programme focusing on premises prone to litter was announced by Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Yaccob Ibrahim. First on the list is Hawker Centres, followed by coffeeshops, parks and bus interchanges.

2 To kick-off this programme, NEA has started a cleanliness survey on all 125 hawker centres. Interim results from nearly half of the centres show litter to be concentrated in dining areas and pathways surrounding the centre. Cigarette butts, tissue papers, disposable cups and drink cans/packets, were the top litter. Most of the litter was found in the morning before the centres were cleaned and during peak periods.

3 To tackle the problem, NEA is executing a multi-pronged approach involving more commitment from stakeholders, tightened cleansing regimes and improving disposal facilities. For instance, patrons of a hawker center will be advised to bin their tissues, cigarette butts and disposable cups. Stallholders, on the other hand, need to dispose of their bagged refuse properly, alert cleaners to clean up litter found in common areas and inform the authorities on lapses observed.

4 NEA and other managing agents like town councils will complement these efforts through regular inspections and feedback sessions with hawkers to review cleansing and hygiene standards. Cleaning contractors will also be roped in to ensure sufficient provision of bins and cleaners. NEA and the town councils will monitor service standards closely and work closely with the service provider to improve standards should there be lapses. Enforcement action will be taken when necessary.

5 To strengthen this campaign, NEA will be emphasizing a lot on public education. Campaign posters reminding people not to litter will be put up at all hawker centres. Hanging mobiles and table-top stickers will also be used. A transparent column capturing the amount of litter collected in respective centres will also make its way round hawker centres. This will serve as a visible reminder to the community that they need to do more to keep hawker centres clean.

6 To track the effectiveness of the campaign and assess what more can be done, a comparison survey will be done two months later in August. Following this, surveys will be done on a quarterly basis to monitor cleanliness standards.

7 NEA also announced its intentions today to conduct a littering behaviour study from July to October to understand why people litter, and the motivating factors that will stop them from littering. The study will create a comprehensive profile on litterbugs in Singapore and assess littering patterns. NEA will also get the community to feedback on the state of cleanliness of different public areas. The study will be useful in deciding how the campaign should be carried out over the next few years.
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