Sunday, June 7, 2009

Disgusting littering at West Coast Park shows failure of our education system

Disgusting littering at West Coast Park shows failure of our education system
This is the state of West Coast Park this morning (Jun 7), reports STOMPer Nicholas. The STOMPer is disappointed that S'poreans lack civic-mindedness.

In the STOMPer's email:

"West Coast Park Sunday morning. The entire park is littered.

"It is disgusting.

"The cleaning crew tells me it is like this every morning. There is 5-7 of them daily and they can't work fast enough to clear the litter.

"This is a park for children. What does it say about us as a people?

"We are first world in infrastructure, but clearly third world in mentality.

"I am not a sociologist, but there is clearly something very wrong with our society when our people clearly lack any fabric of civic-mindedness.

"Without people to clean up after Singaporeans, Singapore would be a sty.

"It is also testimony that our education system has failed."

Similar stories:

Lack of rubbish bins ruins scenery at Marina Barrage
These the kind of S'pore Idols you want? Smoke, cut queue and litter

Related articles: NEA getting tougher on litterbugs (29th May 2009) (Mirror)
Laws a must to curb littering: Expert (29th May 2009) (Mirror)

Related posts: What's left after Friday night fun at East Coast (6th June 2009)
Marine life destroyed by massive pollution at Kranji Reservoir (30th May 2009)
Look at the neglected state of Yew Tee Park (25th May 2009)
Litter at sightseeing spot near Singapore Flyer spoils Singapore's clean image (9th May 2009)
Inconsiderate park users litter Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and vandalise fence (17th March 2009)
Jurong Park damaged and litter-ridden (11th March 2009)
"Rubbish left on Mount Faber trail is such an eyesore" (4th March 2009)

I won't go so far as to proclaim that such littering is a sign of the failure of our education system. But I have to admit that littering really annoys me.

I am sure that every child raised in Singapore knows all too well that littering is wrong. Yet why do so many people do it? Is it because they're too lazy and couldn't be bothered about the consequences of their actions? Is it because they're incapable of seeing the selfishness of their behaviour, and how poorly it reflects on their upbringing?

But what seriously makes me angry is the fact that some people visit our nature areas and beaches and then deliberately leave their trash lying around. I mean, just how stupid is that?

P1190141
Litter on Chek Jawa, 29th March 2009

Nobody likes to see a beach full of rubbish, or to visit a park and see litter strewn about everywhere. Yet time and time again, I see instances of people who seem to be afflicted with cognitive dissonance; they bother to make the journey to appreciate the beauty of these places, yet spoil the very same beauty by leaving their rubbish lying around. Or is it a case of not caring what happens to the place once you leave?

I strongly believe that litterbugs should be publicly named and shamed, for being too lazy or maybe too dumb to use the dustbin. It's not like there's a chronic shortage of bins in most parts of Singapore.