Dump that apathy towards littering

Straits Time April 2, 2007

Fed-up with being known as litterbugs, youth say its time to clean up their act


THE National Environment Agency (NEA) recently published its findings of a six-month survey on littering behaviour in Singapore.

The report noted that older Singaporeans are more likely to refrain from littering because they believe it is harmful to the environment.

Those between 20 and 39 years old, however, do not see littering as socially unacceptable. Here is what some youth had to say about it:

Litter, a little problem?

WE LIVE in a country where more often than not, foreigners clean up after us. This statement applies to the home, where we employ maids to clean up, and outdoors, where foreign workers don yellow vests and sweep our trash away.

But I reject the notion that younger Singaporeans are not environmentally conscious. After all, we are inundated almost daily with news about the sad state of Mother Nature.

From the issue of excessive carbon emissions, to the haze and global warming, there is no shortage of reminders that our world is bleeding and we need to do something.

Youth are quick to rally for causes that promote awareness of such issues, and what we as a nation can do about it.

However, this fixation on such macro issues has caused us to overlook the fact that littering is a harmful activity on any scale.

Until the issue of littering is given the same status as other dangerous harmful issues such as global warming, littering will remain an aesthetic issue, something a foreign worker can sweep away.

Yusuf Abdol Hamid, 21, is doing national service and graduated from Ngee Ann Polytechnic in 2005 with a diploma in mass communication.




Just plain rude

A CLEANER toils through picking up stray food wrappers - not enough to rend the heart? What about a pregnant pedestrian who slips on a plastic bag?

Numerous accessible avenues for waste disposal aside, the inconvenience, danger and all-round unpleasantness posed by the careless discarding of refuse make it intolerable.

Unfortunately, it seems litterbugs may feel compelled to kick the habit only if their thoughtless behaviour is shown to have as immediate an effect on them as it does on others who have to suffer them.

Perhaps advertising campaigns can provide that kind of perspective.
Either make them feel the pinch, or underscore the fact that littering damages the very environment they share with others who have managed to do their part in keeping it clean.

Soh Weijie, 20, is waiting to study English at university.




Start younger

I WAS surprised to read this article deftly dismissing young people as perceiving littering as acceptable. As a member of this demographic group and fervent nature lover, I am rather appalled at the results.

However, I do accept the sentiments that young people may be a big problem when it comes to littering. I have a few ideas why this is so.

First, upbringing plays a large part, and education on resource waste, public hygiene and the impact of solid waste on the environment must be taught in the young.

Certainly, a problem with Singapore youth also lies in the peculiar adolescent need to act out.
In schools, for instance, leaving trash lying around without a care may come across as 'cool' to sworn rebels.

Besides, our urban environment is never very unclean because of the army of cleaners under the NEA's employ.

Singaporeans are brought up knowing that if they leave an empty can on the pavement, a paid cleaner will come along sooner or later to clean up.

Liana Tang, 22, is a fourth-year undergraduate at the National University of Singapore studying biology.



Time for wake-up call

THIS generation takes it for granted that mobile vacuum cleaners will always clean up after them.

Growing apathy towards picking up one's own litter stems from upbringing, where the younger generation is pampered.

Impressionable children learn quickly. Anyone conveniently littering, hoping their rubbish will 'blow away', will spur them to follow suit.

While we can claim our littering to be inevitable because of the lack of dustbins, it is certainly not so hard to just hang on to our own waste.

If constant reminders from parents, teachers and friends are the only way to get the message across - that litter won't clean up itself - then perhaps it is the wake-up call we need. By not paying attention to who is clearing up our trash, the cycle of littering and cleaning will never end.
Eunice Quek, 20, is a second-year student at Nanyang Technological University studying English.





Get your hands dirty

EDUCATING youth about environmental ownership must go beyond the mundane classroom setting of geography and science subjects. It must be done in a fun, engaging and proactive way that encourages student participation.

Currently, the NEA organises the annual Clean and Green Week Schools Carnival, which includes exhibitions, seminars and design competitions using recycled materials.

More of these can be conducted for students, incorporating the theme of anti-littering.
Students stand to learn more from the hands-on experience of planning, organising and executing these activities.

For young offenders, counselling is a good solution, but it must be coupled with a deterrent - deserving punishment in the form of corrective work - to be effective.
Perhaps young offenders should be given a 'lighter sentence'. They should be made to carry out corrective work only in their school compound, unlike their adult counterparts who have to do it in public places.

Chew Zhi Wen, 20, is currently doing national service. He will study law and economics at NUS.