These bins along the Henderson Waves bridge are too small to handle the volume of rubbish picnickers leave behind them on weekends, says STOMPer May.
Here's what she wrote in an email today:
"I took these pictures today (Nov 1) at 7:50am.
"I hope NParks will look into this matter. There are only four small bins along the entire length of the bridge, and the bins are of a relatively small capacity.
"Over the weekends there are many people picnicking on the bridge and their leftover food is not placed into the bins as they were already full."
Note the pair of long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis) foraging among the trash in the first photo.
It certainly does pose a problem when there are insufficient rubbish disposal facilities in our parks and nature areas. If left uncleared, the garbage will attract scavenging animals, and might also end up polluting the environment. However, these photos also indicate a problem with the mindsets of many people who use our parks and nature areas. Instead of complaining about a lack of bins along this stretch, why don't people just hold on to their garbage until they find another one that isn't full?
Here in Singapore, we have become used to the idea of having a dustbin conveniently situated every few metres, even in the middle of our nature reserves. However, this is not the case elsewhere; in most other countries, when out hiking or camping, it is basic decency to take all trash with you when you leave. Perhaps it would be a good idea to introduce and reinforce the idea of a hiker's basic code of conduct here in Singapore; it does seem that basic hiking etiquette is sorely lacking in many people who use our parks and nature areas.
