I have seen countless taxi drivers
littering especially while queuing at the airport, please take
note.
source
SINGAPORE: The government is stepping up enforcement and
surveillance in public areas, in a bid to deter the recalcitrant
minority from littering, and will also raise standards of the
cleaning and food industry.
Second Minister for Environment and Water Resources, Grace Fu said
this in her Ministry's Committee of Supply debate speech on
Tuesday.
Littering incidents around neighbourhoods could decrease as the
National Environment Agency (NEA) conducts an enforcement blitz
against litterbugs.
This includes deploying officers in littering hotspots and working
with the police to tap on their surveillance cameras.
All these mean an increase of enforcement man-hours by 50 per cent
- from 23,600 to 34,600.
Ms Fu said her ministry is targeting repeat offenders.
In addition to the composition fines, recalcitrant offenders can be
sent to court where they can be fined up to S$1,000 for the first
conviction and/or get a Corrective Work Order requiring them to
clean public areas for up to 12 hours.
She said: "We are considering increasing
the maximum court fine for recalcitrant offenders to
S$2,000 for the first court conviction,
S$4,000 for the second conviction and
S$10,000
for the third and subsequent convictions. In short, we will
not tolerate littering and cannot rely solely on cleaners to keep
Singapore clean. We need everyone to help us make the transition
from being a 'cleaned' city to a 'clean' one."
NEA also introduced the Enhanced Clean Mark Accreditation Scheme in
November last year, in a bid to encourage some 900 cleaning
companies to raise standards and employment conditions.
From April, the government will only engage the services of
accredited companies for new tenders. Ms Fu said since it was
introduced, 55 companies have submitted applications, and 10 have
been accredited.
The ministry will also propose that cleaning companies will have to
apply for licences in order to operate from next year, and to do
so, they will need to incorporate mandatory training courses, and
progressive wage models for their cleaners.
She said: "My ministry is ready to table a Bill later this year to
introduce the mandatory licensing of all cleaning companies in
2014. By improving the productivity and standards of the industry,
we hope to uplift the jobs of 50,000 resident cleaners that we
have. With better training and employment conditions, our cleaners
can look forward to better lives."
Ms Fu noted that the food catering industry has also been
identified as having a high risk of food-poisoning incidents.
She said: "In 2012, food caterers had the highest food poisoning
incidence rate among all types of food outlets. In addition, the
average number of people affected per food poisoning incident was
the highest for food caterers."
So from June 2014, food catering move out cleaning brisbane
companies will have to submit a Food Safety Management System plan
upon being issued a licence.
littering
Existing caterers renewing their licence will need to submit the
plan three months before their renewal dates.
Ms Fu said this will include ensuring food end
of lease cleaning brisbane handlers observe good food and
personal hygiene and that they do not report to work when
ill.
Very nice and effective decision. There has to be some strict
laws to keep our surroundings neat and clean.
