The root problem of persistent littering does not lie with the National Environment Agency (NEA), the deployment of cleaners or a shortage of workers ("Litter still a big problem" by Mr Shah Pakri; Forum Online, April 6).

The problem is our attitude towards littering. Just last year, the NEA issued more than 26,000 tickets to litterbugs.

Additionally, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called on Singaporeans to clean up after themselves. In a Facebook post, Mr Lee posted a photograph of a meadow at the Gardens by the Bay filled with litter after a music festival, urging people to pick up their litter ("PM reacts to meadow of trash that music fans left behind"; Jan 29, 2015).

Even if the NEA were to increase the number of cleaners, the workers would be hard-pressed to clean up all the litter in Singapore.

Instead of pushing for more cleaners, we should correct our over-reliance on cleaners and stop littering. Collectively, we should be working towards a clean Singapore, not a cleaned Singapore. Only then will we will truly become a clean city.

Chan Yu Cheng (Miss)