SINGAPORE — A recent rise in littering cases here has prompted the authorities to take a more "targeted" approach to the issue — including possibly putting up images of culprits at littering hot spots.

Speaking in Parliament on Monday (March 4), Mr Baey Yam Keng, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Sustainability and the Environment, said that while Singapore generally enjoys high standards of cleanliness, legislation and enforcement are "critical" in tackling a "small number of residents" who are not as socially responsible. 

Presenting his ministry's budget, Mr Baey noted that the feedback received on ground littering from 2022 to 2023 has increased about 15 per cent compared to the two years before the Covid-19 pandemic, and that in tackling littering hot spots, a "more targeted" approach will be adopted. 

To tackle this, National Environment Agency (NEA) plans to conduct five times as many patrols at littering hot spots with patrols by uniformed and non-uniformed officers, he said. 

In the past year, 21 such patrols were carried out and NEA aims to increase this to more than 100 this year.

The deployment of closed-circuit television cameras at littering hot spots, which include HDB estates, will also be quadrupled to around 1,000. 

If the person caught on camera cannot be identified, NEA will consider putting up images of culprits at the places where they had littered to "seek the wider community’s assistance in identifying them", Mr Baey said.

In Parliament, Ms Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, also designated 2024 as the "Year of Public Hygiene" and emphasised the collective responsibility involved in maintaining high standards of cleanliness across Singapore. 

NEA will spearhead this goal by focusing on key areas that include: 

• Stepped-up enforcement at hot spots such as hawker centres and public toilets
• Enhancing the cleaning industry’s capabilities, for example, by harnessing technology to improve efficiency and cleanliness performance

Mr Baey added that technology will be leveraged to improve the efficiency in keeping public spaces clean. 

First, there will be a trial to set up thermal imaging cameras for rat surveillance in outdoor back-lane areas.

"NEA will share relevant footage and data with premises operators so that they can conduct targeted interventions to eliminate potential rat nesting grounds," he added.

In response to queries from TODAY, NEA said that as part of the surveillance, it will also be reviewing related activities that may contribute to rat activities such as poor housekeeping, littering and improper waste management.

Before the thermal cameras are set up, a site survey will be done to determine the optimum site to deploy the thermal surveillance system.

“To support our surveillance and audits, NEA currently leverages various technological tools such as video scopes, Wi-Fi cameras attached to boom poles, infrared cameras and smart traps to detect the presence of rats especially in areas that are difficult to access,” the agency said.

“We hope that this will invoke collective community ownership to keep the common spaces clean, and also deter potential litterbugs,” he added.