The Big Read in Short: Rubbish thrown from height a sticky, yucky problem

Each week, TODAY’s long-running Big Read series delves into the trends and issues that matter. This week, we look at why high-rise littering remains a problem in Singapore and how the social scourge can be tackled. This is a shortened version of the full feature,​ which can be found here.

SINGAPORE – More than 30 years after “killer litter” first entered the lexicon of Singapore’s heartlanders — following cases of people being injured by objects thrown from HDB flats — the issue of high-rise littering is back in the spotlight. 

The problem was raised in Parliament recently, after the death of an elderly man who was hit by a bottle thrown from a condominium unit.

WHY IS HIGH-RISE LITTERING A PROBLEM?

Apart from being unsightly, high-rise littering poses a sanitation issue.

Not only does it attract pests, such as cockroaches and rats, it could also lead to a growing pigeon population when people throw food out of the window to feed the birds.

Dr Koh Poh Koon, an MP for Ang Mo Kio GRC, told TODAY that this was the problem that residents living in Blocks 601 and 602 at Ang Mo Kio Avenue 5 had to deal with.

To tackle the problem, a pilot project was conducted from May to October last year which saw a set of educational materials jointly developed by grassroots leaders, the Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC) and government agencies.

Dr Koh and his grassroots leaders went door-to-door armed with posters and flyers to inform residents about the dangers of high-rise littering, as well as the potential diseases that could be spread through pigeon droppings.

High-rise littering can also pose safety concerns. Mr Edward D’Silva, the chairman of the Public Hygiene Council, stressed that it could be a potential cause of death if the object thrown is of sufficient mass, such as the most recent case in August where deliveryman Nasiari Sunee, 73, died after being struck on the head by a wine bottle.

WHY CAN’T WE STOP IT?

Over-reliance on cleaners

Mr Ravindran Nair, the head of the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Western Regional Office said that Singapore is a “cleaned society, rather than clean”.

“We have to give credit to the cleaners and the town councils for doing their part,” added Mr D’Silva. He noted that the reliance on cleaners is now “entrenched” in Singaporeans’ mentality. “This is the crux of the problem,” he said, adding that too many people “just don’t see the consequences”. 

Anti-social behaviour

Singapore Management University sociologist Paulin Straughan said there is a need to “dissect” the profiles of high-rise litterbugs to allow for targeted intervention.

She broke them down to three groups:

• Those suffering from mental health issue. These people are not in control of their behaviour, and the best course of action is to “get them to treatment”, she said.

• Those who are impulsive and may throw things out of the window out of anger, for example. A possible solution could be to relook at the way homes are designed to prevent this from happening easily, Prof Straughan suggested.

• Those who litter “simply because they can, and they can get away with it”. To go after these people, stronger enforcement is needed to “reduce the probability that they will be able to get away with their offences”, she said.

While surveillance cameras could also be a good deterrent, Mr Louis Ng, Member of Parliament for Nee Soon Group Representation Constituency, said these are currently too large and noticeable by potential litterbugs. 

WHAT ELSE CAN WE DO?

Provide the NEA with detailed feedback: Mr Nair said the NEA often has to work with very minimal information to go after litterbugs.

Residents who witness high-rise littering should provide as much details as possible, such as which unit or column of the block did the litter come from. He said this would help the NEA pinpoint the offender and address the problem quickly.

Reconsider the way awareness campaigns are conducted: Mr D’Silva said he felt that advocacy through mainstream and social media would not be effective, “as long as the individual (resident) is not affected personally”. He suggested getting down to the grassroots level to “highlight the dire negative consequences of littering” such as the resultant health issues.

Mr D’Silva said that his council might consider a new approach to raising awareness next year.  “I would like to (organise) a getai-equivalent event and have all these senior citizens and heartlanders shown the consequences of (high-rise littering) through the emcees.”

Creating new social norms: “This whole idea of keeping Singapore clean doesn't just involve each of us binning our trash,” said Prof Straughan.

• Be “busybodies”. Singaporeans need to have the courage to tell someone who has just littered that what the person did is wrong, she said.

• Pick up the litter, even if it was thrown by someone else, and dispose of it properly. If the culprit ignores your calls to pick up their litter, it does not mean that it should be left lying there. 

“You have to move towards these two acts if you want a super clean nation,” Prof Straughan said.

Fostering a community spirit and empathy for cleaners. Prof Straughan suggested creating opportunities for residents to get to know the cleaners in their housing estates. Residents can also work alongside cleaners to keep their estates clean.

Over at Nee Soon South, about 200 residents will come together each month and pick up litter at various parts of the constituency. This has been in place since 2012, said the area’s MP Lee Bee Wah. 

And since 2013, the residents will clean up the entire constituency themselves once a year, with cleaning in public areas halted for 24-hours before the exercise. 

The weight of rubbish collected has gone down from over 1,000kg in 2013 to around 200kg in this year’s exercise, said Dr Lee. “This shows fewer people are littering. I also see residents picking up litter on their own accord. We just need to spread the mindset further,” she said. 

DID YOU KNOW?

• The first Keep Singapore Clean campaign was launched by Singapore’s founding prime minister, the late Lee Kuan Yew on October 1, 1968.

• Singapore currently has an army of 58,000 workers who clean up our housing estates, roads, public walkways and waterways every day.

• About 60 per cent of Singapore’s cleaners are 60 years old or older.

• Anyone caught feeding pigeons or throwing litter from their windows could be fined up to S$500 and S$2,000 respectively. In more extreme cases, a culprit can be charged for committing a rash act if the litter thrown from a high-rise building results in death. The penalty is a jail term of up to five years and a fine.

• More than 7,700 cases of high-rise littering were reported between 2016 and last year to the NEA. 

• On average, the number of cases ranged between 2,300 and 2,800 each year. This worked out to an average of six to eight cases a day.

• The NEA deployed more than 6,900 surveillance cameras from August 2012 to 2018. There were subsequently more than 6,200 enforcement actions, such as fines, that were taken against offenders.

• The top three items that are thrown out the window are: Cigarette butts, used tissues and food waste. Less common are bags of urine, faeces and sanitary pads.