Charlene Chen joins Tampines clean-up, 21kg of litter collected in 2 hours

A community clean-up in Tampines collected 21kg of litter in two hours on Saturday (Sept 26), MP Charlene Chen said.

The event saw the launch of a new CleanPod — small shed containing tongs, buckets and carts that can be used for litter-picking — at Block 209 Tampines Street 21.

The activity brought together young families, Care Kakis and students from Chongzheng Primary School's environmental science club, Chua said in a Facebook post on Monday.

Participants found chicken bones scattered on a hill near a coffeeshop, candy wrappers buried in grass and cigarette butts tucked into planters, grooves and corners.

The activity helped students learn about the "litter profile" of their estate, the MP said.

Cleaners cannot be expected to remove every piece of litter on top of their daily work, she said, adding: "A clean neighbourhood starts with all of us — residents, merchants and everyone who uses our shared spaces".

Chen said she hoped the new CleanPod would support more litter pick-ups and encourage a greater sense of shared responsibility for the environment.

The clean-up effort was led by Tampines East Green Action for Communities and organised by Tampines East Zone 1 Residents' Network, with environmental organisation Stridy providing guidance.

Separately, Dr Hamid Razak, an MP for West Coast-Jurong West GRC, shared that the first Pick It Up @ Jurong Spring-Gek Poh brought residents together to pick up litter.

In a Facebook post on Monday, he said the ground-up initiative saw both young and old residents walking around the neighbourhood and cleaning up shared spaces.

Beyond the clean-up, Dr Hamid said the session gave residents an opportunity to meet, build new connections and influence others through their actions.

"This is only the beginning. My hope is that, over time, our individual Residents' Networks and residents will take the lead, organise their own sessions and grow this into a culture of caring for the places we call home," he wrote.

helmy.saat@asiaone.com

国会议员陈嘉琳表示，周六（9月26日），淡滨尼社区清洁活动在两小时内收集了21公斤垃圾。

活动期间，在淡滨尼 21 街 209 座组屋推出了一种新的 CleanPod——一个小型棚屋，里面装有钳子、水桶和手推车，可用于捡拾垃圾。

蔡先生周一在脸书上发帖称，此次活动将年轻家庭、关爱志愿者和崇正小学环境科学俱乐部的学生聚集在一起。

参与者在咖啡店附近的山坡上发现了散落的鸡骨头，在草丛中发现了埋藏的糖果包装纸，在花盆、凹槽和角落里发现了烟头。

这位议员表示，这项活动帮助学生们了解了他们所在社区的“垃圾概况”。

她表示，不能指望清洁工在日常工作之外还要清理每一件垃圾，并补充道：“一个干净的社区要从我们每个人做起——居民、商家以及所有使用我们公共空间的人。”

陈女士表示，她希望新的清洁舱能够支持更多人捡拾垃圾，并鼓励人们增强对环境的共同责任感。

此次清理活动由淡滨尼东社区绿色行动牵头，淡滨尼东区1区居民网络组织，环保组织Stridy提供指导。

另外，西海岸-裕廊西集选区议员哈米德·拉扎克博士表示，第一次在裕廊春-玉宝举行的“捡垃圾”活动让居民们聚集在一起捡拾垃圾。

他在周一发布的一条 Facebook 帖子中表示，这项自下而上的倡议让社区里的年轻人和老年人都参与进来，在社区里走动，清理公共空间。

哈米德博士表示，除了清理工作之外，这次活动还让居民们有机会见面、建立新的联系，并通过他们的行动影响他人。

“这仅仅是个开始。我希望随着时间的推移，我们各个居民网络和居民能够发挥领导作用，组织他们自己的活动，并将此发展成为一种关爱我们称之为家的地方的文化，”他写道。

helmy.saat@asiaone.com