Forum: Community effort needed to keep S'pore clean

A cleaner wearing gloves and holding a disinfectant. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI

We thank Ms Annette Kho for her Forum letter (Dispose of used masks responsibly, Feb 19).

In view of the current outbreak of Covid-19, cleaning of public places with high human traffic has been stepped up by various stakeholders to minimise the risk of transmission of the coronavirus.

On Feb 16, the National Environment Agency (NEA) launched the SG Clean campaign to galvanise collective action to keep Singapore clean, including encouraging owners and operators of frequently accessed public premises to go for the SG Clean quality mark certification.

The campaign also calls on members of the public to adopt good personal hygiene habits and be socially responsible - by practising seven simple habits of good public hygiene every day - to keep Singapore clean.

We urge everyone to bin their litter responsibly, including holding on to it until they come across a bin.

Singapore has a strict anti-littering enforcement regime. Under the Environmental Public Health Act, a person who commits a littering act may be fined up to a maximum of $2,000 for a first court conviction, $4,000 for a second conviction, and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions.

The court may also impose a Corrective Work Order, requiring offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.

As NEA enforcement officers cannot be everywhere at all times, we also seek the support of the community to foster collective responsibility for our environment and cultivate positive social norms.

Members of the public who wish to provide feedback or evidence of littering offences may do so through the myENV mobile application or NEA hotline.

Tony Teo

Director, Environmental Public Health Operations

National Environment Agency

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 24, 2020, with the headline Forum: Community effort needed to keep S'pore clean. Subscribe