Corrective Work Order sessions for Singapore litterbugs held in city areas for the first time

SINGAPORE — Corrective Work Order (CWO) sessions for litterbugs are held in the city area for the first time, as the National Environment Agency seeks to drive home the impact of littering to offenders.

The agency said in a media release on Friday (18 November) that two such city CWO sessions were held in the Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar areas on Tuesday and Thursday.

It said it will continue to put up standees around the locations of the CWO sessions, to highlight an ongoing session and raise public awareness.

NEA said from 2017 to 2021, it issued an average of 27,200 tickets for littering and high-rise littering. Over the same period, the number of CWOs issued to offenders was about 10,200.

Littering commonly occurs in neighbourhood centres, areas around hawker centres, MRT stations, and shopping malls. The majority of littering offenders are male and fall within the age group of 18 to 35 years old. Ground surveys show that cigarette butts consistently top the list of littered items.

NEA’s anti-littering enforcement regime takes enforcement action against those who litter, with fines comprising a composition sum of $300 for the first offence, while high-rise littering offenders are sent to court.

Offenders prosecuted in court may be issued a fine and sentenced to perform CWO. Introduced in 1992, the CWO requires recalcitrant offenders to clean public areas for a minimum of three hours, up to a maximum of 12 hours.

Under the Environmental Public Health Act 1987, the maximum fine for a littering offence is $2,000 for the first court conviction, $4,000 for the second conviction, and $10,000 for the third and subsequent convictions.

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