We thank Ms Marie Antoinette McBride’s for her letter, “Surprised to see so much litter during recent visit” (Feb 25).

Her observations of litter in public spaces – and there may be many other visitors to Singapore who see this too – reinforce the sad reality that littering remains a problem in Singapore. This ought to make us ashamed.

Despite the efforts made by the National Environment Agency and the Public Hygiene Council (Multi-pronged approach to keep Singapore clean, March 3) to cultivate a litter-free culture in Singapore, there appears to be still many litterbugs out there.

The PHC agrees wholeheartedly with Ms McBride that Singaporeans must “not let litter scar this beautiful country”, but keep Singapore clean to maintain our image of a “City in a Garden”. 

No one but we ourselves are responsible for Singapore’s cleanliness.

Much work needs to be done before we can call ourselves a truly clean city. A good starting point is to take part in the next SG Clean Day to be held on May 13.

We strongly urge everyone to participate in clean-ups on this day, to better appreciate the work of cleaners and learn to take personal responsibility to keep our common spaces clean.

Edward D’Silva
Chairman
Public Hygiene Council