This sign at the Marina Barrage tells you to take a trash bag, if you need one, and then reminds you that trash bins are at the car park and bus stop. Obviously some people don’t care at all, and they treat this as a trash deposit point. The fact that there are no bins at the spot doesn’t do anything to remind them this is not the place to dispose of trash. They’ll just leave their trash on the floor.
I know I sometimes get quite annoyed that trash bins are not provided, or perhaps not conveniently located. But that’s not an excuse to just leave rubbish anywhere.
Sometimes I wonder how long it’ll take for us to learn to look after our environment. Old habits die hard. Then, habits also pass from generation to generation. Would we be able to get out of the cycle?
There are no trash bins readily available inside Marina Barrage, that’s probably by design. People are encouraged to take their trash with them. Trash bags are provided for convenience, but not trash bins to leave the trash in. I’ve seen how this is practised in some parks overseas. It’s a nice idea. Take everything but pictures, leave nothing but footprints.
Our government has recently been embarking on a programme to encourage patrons to clear their own table after their meals at hawker centre. They seem quite optimistic that their efforts are making headway.
I’m not so sure about that. I’d say, give 2 or 3 months, and see if there is truly any improvement. This is, after all, not the first time anyone has been trying to get this “clear your own table” behaviour inculcated into people here. But this hasn’t seemed to work in public hawker centres or food courts. In schools, perhaps. In army camps, perhaps. I’m not so sure it would work elsewhere, in Singapore.
Of course, we should not stop trying. We should not just give up.