Singaporeans will have to clean up after themselves for one whole day next year.
Residents will be on their own when cleaners take off April 26, aka National CleanSG Day, the Public Hygiene Council announced yesterday, in a bid to encourage people to take responsibility for the cleanliness of their neighborhoods.
“On National CleanSG Day, there will be no cleaning at public housing estate grounds. We will encourage residents to keep their shared spaces clean by not littering and by conducting cleanups where possible,” it announced. Shared spaces include void decks and lift landings.
“Our objective is to promote greater awareness on the amount of litter thrown indiscriminately and encourage everyone not to litter,” it added.
This council’s first initiative is in conjunction with its annual month-long “Keep Clean, Singapore!” campaign in May during which cleanup activities will take place around Singapore.
The council said it will announce more details about National CleanSG Day at a later time.
“As there may come a day when we will not have enough cleaners to clear up after us, we hope to see everyone play their part in keeping Singapore clean and reduce our dependency on cleaners,” the council wrote.
While no statistics were published, anecdotal evidence suggests the workforce of such cleaners is greying, with many elderly and immigrant workers in the job.
Singaporeans mostly depend on cleaners to keep the city-state spick and span. According to a 2015 interview with The Straits Times, the council’s chairman Liak Teng Lit said there are 70,000 cleaners.
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