Grace Fu, Environment

Budget 2013: Littering enforcement to be stepped up

More National Environment Agency (NEA) officers will be sent out on enforcement efforts over a longer period of time. More surveillance cameras willl also be installed to combat littering, said Second Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Grace Fu.

Responding to MPs' queries on littering and public cleanliness in Parliament. Ms Fu said that NEA will increase its enforcement hours by 50 per cent, from 24,000 man-hours to 35,000 man-hours a month. It will also increase officers' rounds specifically at hotspots.

Increasing penalties for littering are also being considered, said Ms Fu. "We are considering increasing the maximum court fine for recalcitrant offenders," Ms Fu added, up from $1,000 or a Corrective Work Order for their first conviction in court, to $2,000 for the first court conviction, $4,000 for the second and $10,000 for the third and subsequent ones.

But she added: "We need everyone to help us make the transition from being a 'cleaned' city to a 'clean' one. This can be done by fostering stronger anti-littering social norms, starting community efforts like those in Bishan, Nee Soon South and Bedok, and training volunteers to reach out to those they see littering.

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