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TEENAGE boys and men aged from 17 to 29 are the biggest culprits
when it comes to littering in parks - they make up 44 per cent of
those fined last year for thoughtless disposal of rubbish.
Men aged 30 to 40 are the next most guilty group, accounting for
28 per cent of offenders. On the whole, men exceeded women by far
in summonses for littering: Of the $2 million dished out in fines
last year, 85 per cent was levied on men.
Altogether, 8,300 fines were meted out last year, nearly twice
the 4,500 in the previous year. National Parks Board (NParks)
director Nigel Goh said the jump came from a step-up in
enforcement, not a worsening of the littering problem.
The statistics from NParks, the custodian of the more than 50
parks and four nature reserves here, are the result of a study that
for the first time examined littering culprits by gender and
age.
Dr Goh said: 'It's not older people who are less educated who
are littering; it's actually the young people. We are not sure why
they are littering more.'
Mr Howard Shaw, director of the Singapore Environment Council,
said: 'Cigarettes are a large part of litter and that's probably
why the statistics point to young men... A cigarette butt is not
something you put in your pocket, and its small size makes it
likely that people would drop it on the ground instead of carrying
it to a bin.'
