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The authorities are done playing nice.
First-time offenders who do not return their used trays and crockery at hawker centres, coffeeshops and food courts will be issued a written warning instead of an advisory, while repeat offenders will be slapped with fines or charged in court.
Stricter enforcement against table littering in hawker centres and food courts will start from Jun. 1, 2023, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said in a press release on Apr. 18.
Current situation
Currently, patrons who flout the rules will first be advised by enforcement officers to clear up after themselves.
Only those who refuse to heed the officers' advice may be issued written warnings.
Enforcement officers are from NEA or Singapore Food Agency (SFA).
Since the NEA and SFA began enforcement in hawker centres from Sep. 1, 2021, and at coffeeshops and food courts from Jan. 1, 2022, no one has yet been fined or charged in court.
As of Mar. 31, 2023, however, two written warnings have been issued to recalcitrant diners.
Majority of diners playing their part
NEA explained that since enforcement began, the large majority of diners have been playing their part.
As such, the heightened enforcement efforts are to reinforce good habits and deter the minority of diners who repeatedly fail to return their used trays and crockery.
"The stepped-up enforcement aims to ensure that the good efforts of the majority (over 90 per cent) of diners who return their used trays and crockery are not marred by the inconsiderate behaviour of the minority," NEA said.
NEA added that enforcement action will not be taken against the less-abled, frail elderly and children, who are clearly unable to clear their tables.
Stricter enforcement for ground littering
Apart from cracking down on table littering, NEA will also be deploying remote surveillance cameras at littering hotspots from April 2023.
This is part of NEA's efforts to step up enforcement against ground littering and high-rise littering, as an average of 18,700 tickets were issued for such offences from 2020 to 2022.
First-time littering offenders are fined a composition sum of S$300.
Offenders prosecuted in court may be fined and be sentenced to carry out Corrective Work Order (CWO).
NEA said: "Everyone has a part to play in keeping Singapore clean. NEA and SFA will continue to reach out to members of the public to do so, and will take enforcement action against offenders."
Top image courtesy of Jane Zhang via Mothership / via NEA website.