WE THANK Mr Eric J. Brooks for his feedback ("Crack down harder on littering"; Forum Online, last Thursday).
A survey conducted by the National Environment Agency (NEA) in 2010 found that more than a third of respondents may litter if they believe they would not be caught. NEA has stepped up enforcement efforts against littering to increase the likelihood of catching litterbugs.
About 19,000 tickets for littering were issued last year, almost double that in 2013. Last year, there were also 688 instances of corrective work orders (CWOs) imposed by the courts, more than double the total CWO figure of 261 in 2013.
To enhance deterrence, NEA has also imposed stiffer penalties on recalcitrant offenders. The Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) has been amended to deter those who continue to act irresponsibly.
Under the revised EPHA, the maximum court fines for littering offenders have been doubled since April 1 last year to $2,000 for a first conviction, $4,000 for a second conviction and $10,000 for third and subsequent convictions. The courts may also impose CWOs, requiring offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.
NEA has observed an increasing trend of uncooperative offenders during enforcement operations. To deter such behaviours from offenders towards our officers, and also to protect our officers against allegations of unfair or unprofessional enforcement actions, we will be leveraging the use of body-worn cameras.
NEA has started to equip our enforcement officers with these cameras since the start of the year. NEA will ensure the confidentiality of all video footage captured.
While enforcement is important, to tackle the littering problem effectively, a new social norm is needed where society frowns upon littering as a socially unacceptable act, and where members of the public proactively remind litterbugs to dispose their litter properly.
Towards this end, NEA will continue to work with stakeholders to establish and foster in our community the right values of keeping our environment clean, and to encourage a ground-up movement that translates these values into action.
We will consider and consult our stakeholders on the various suggestions raised.
Tony Teo
Director
Environmental Public Health Operations
National Environment Agency
A survey conducted by the National Environment Agency (NEA) in 2010 found that more than a third of respondents may litter if they believe they would not be caught. NEA has stepped up enforcement efforts against littering to increase the likelihood of catching litterbugs.
About 19,000 tickets for littering were issued last year, almost double that in 2013. Last year, there were also 688 instances of corrective work orders (CWOs) imposed by the courts, more than double the total CWO figure of 261 in 2013.
To enhance deterrence, NEA has also imposed stiffer penalties on recalcitrant offenders. The Environmental Public Health Act (EPHA) has been amended to deter those who continue to act irresponsibly.
Under the revised EPHA, the maximum court fines for littering offenders have been doubled since April 1 last year to $2,000 for a first conviction, $4,000 for a second conviction and $10,000 for third and subsequent convictions. The courts may also impose CWOs, requiring offenders to clean public areas for up to 12 hours.
NEA has observed an increasing trend of uncooperative offenders during enforcement operations. To deter such behaviours from offenders towards our officers, and also to protect our officers against allegations of unfair or unprofessional enforcement actions, we will be leveraging the use of body-worn cameras.
NEA has started to equip our enforcement officers with these cameras since the start of the year. NEA will ensure the confidentiality of all video footage captured.
While enforcement is important, to tackle the littering problem effectively, a new social norm is needed where society frowns upon littering as a socially unacceptable act, and where members of the public proactively remind litterbugs to dispose their litter properly.
Towards this end, NEA will continue to work with stakeholders to establish and foster in our community the right values of keeping our environment clean, and to encourage a ground-up movement that translates these values into action.
We will consider and consult our stakeholders on the various suggestions raised.
Tony Teo
Director
Environmental Public Health Operations
National Environment Agency
