- Joined
- Sep 15, 2011
- Messages
- 9,185
- Points
- 83
Saturday, Nov 03, 2012
SINGAPORE - Speaking at the launch of Clean and Green Singapore 2013, Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said Singapore is particularly confronted by a persistent problem of littering, and that it's the duty of every Singaporean to keep the country clean and tidy.
"This is part and parcel of our Singapore conversation to create a better Singapore, a "Home with Hope and Heart". We can only succeed when every citizen feels for the common purpose of a clean and green Singapore, " he said.
He said that it's not practical or economically sustainable to hire more cleaners, beef up penalties and enforcement efforts or have every area in Singapore patrolled to combat the littering problem.
He added that these steps also do not reflect the type of values Singapore wishes to inculcate in their children and society.
Hence, the theme for this year's Clean and Green Singapore is "Every Action Counts" - to reflect the message that no action, whether positive or negative, is too small or too insignificant to cause an impact to the environment.
Commenting on the recent announcement of the resuscitation of the tray-return programme in hawker centres, he said it's important for the Government to make this succeed and find ways to make it convenient for patrons.
"Succeeding in this everyday way will inculcate graciousness and consideration among our people, and set a good example for our children," he said.
He also noted that the "Keep Singapore Clean" movement has also been revived to rally Singaporeans to take charge of the cleanliness of communal areas.
One of its key initiatives is to turn "hot spots" into "bright spots". This means that the Public Hygiene Council (PHC) will identify problem areas and initiate multi-stakeholder partnerships to clean up the area and make them into model examples.
He also applauded the many ground-up efforts to keep Singapore clean. For example, PUB's outreach programme allows groups of people to adopt a waterway and care for it for a three-year period.
There are currently 194 adopters under this programme and they conduct activities such as waterway clean-ups, checks and patrols, recreational activities, as well as learning trails.
He said that other than volunteering, everyday actions go a long way in helping to save the environment. These can be as simple as asking for one less plastic bag or separating plastic bottles for the waste collector.
