Do Your Part To Keep Singapore Clean

A 'Total Defence' concept applied to the Clean and Green movement is what Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong encourages Singapore citizens to adopt, so as to cultivate a sense of social responsibility and community ownership. At the launch of Clean and Green Singapore 2011 on 6 November 2010 at Sengkang, PM Lee highlighted the need for every citizen and corporation in Singapore to exercise one's responsibilities in saving and maintaining the environment. He also presented the theme for this year: Promoting Environmental Ownership. While PM Lee acknowledged that our younger generation is becoming more environmentally conscious, he underscored the need for individuals to further adopt simple practices such as monitoring the use of water and electricity and maintaining a dengue-free environment. Adding weight to PM Lee's call for the community to play its part, Mayor Teo Ser Luck announced the initiation of an annual $85,000 Green fund for the North East CDC. This fund will assist individuals and organizations that wish to launch programmes promoting green causes and support the collaboration of local grassroots organizations with NEA to carry out their own green movements. During the launch, there was also a bazaar selling eco-friendly products, such as wooden toys and handbags and jewellery made from recycled materials. It was noted that some Singaporeans have taken up the mantle of keeping Singapore clean and green - a Singaporean lady recently donated S$700,000 for the creation of a plant library. Members of the Aljunied-Hougang Youth Committee have also devised portable and environment-friendly ashtrays, which cigarette smokers can use to discard their cigarette butts responsibly. NEA Initative to Drive Environmental Ownership 1. Engaging the 3Ps The National Environment Agency has been engaging the 3P (People, Private and Public) sectors to promote environmental ownership. To date, all Community Development Councils (CDCs) have partnered NEA to organise upcoming CGS-related activities to encourage Singaporeans to protect the environment. 2. Litter Free Ambassadors Other initiatives also include employing Litter Free Ambassadors, who are trained by NEA to spearhead litter-free initiatives in their community and communicate to the public on the importance of keeping the environment clean and binning their waste properly. To date, NEA has engaged over 2000 Litter Free Ambassadors. 3. Energy Efficiency Improving energy efficiency is a key strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. NEA aims to raise awareness amongst residents in Singapore on energy conservation, through public education such as the 10% Energy Challenge Campaign, to help households cut their consumption by 10% by 2013. 4. Litter Munchers Programme NEA also launched the Litter Munchers programme, a nationwide campaign to curb littering. In conjunction with this, a Design-A-Bin contest was organised to encourage the public to express their creativity by designing their own litterbins. Out of a whopping 2,531 entries, National University of Singapore student Tess Moh emerged as the winner.