Reasons for Decrease in Enforcement Actions against High-rise Littering in 2023

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what are the reasons for the decrease in the number of enforcement actions taken against high-rise littering in 2023 as compared to previous years given that feedback instances remain on the rise; and (b) whether the Ministry is considering more technology options to augment surveillance beyond basic cameras and public feedback.

My response to Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling, Dr Tan Wu Meng, Ms Foo Mee Har and Ms Yeo Wan Ling's Parliamentary Questions will also address the related Parliamentary Question on high-rise littering filed by Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui on 7 January 2025. [Please refer to "Deployment of Surveillance Cameras to Catch High-rise Littering and Trial of Other Technologies to Supplement Present Efforts", Official Report, 08 January 2025, Vol 95, Issue 149, Oral Answers to Questions section; and "Developing New Technical Solutions to Detect High-rise Littering", Official Report, 7 January 2025, Vol 95, Issue 148, Written Answers to Questions for Oral Answer not Answered by End of Question Time section.]

In addressing high-rise littering, the National Environment Agency (NEA) undertakes various measures to educate the public, detect instances of high-rise littering and enforce against offenders. In 2022 and 2023, NEA received an average of about 27,100 high-rise littering feedback per year. This was significantly lower than the annual average of about 33,500 feedback received in 2020 and 2021. When there is such feedback at a block of the Housing and Development Board flats, NEA will work with the Town Council (TC) to first issue advisories to residents in the block. Should the high-rise littering issue persist, NEA will investigate to determine the likely offending unit and deploy surveillance cameras with video analytics to capture acts of high-rise littering and support enforcement efforts.

Between 2021 and 2023, NEA deployed cameras in about 97.1% of 7,400 persistent high-rise littering cases. The remainder were assessed as unsuitable due to the design and layout of the blocks and the lack of appropriate vantage points. In instances where camera deployment is not feasible, NEA will step up educational outreach to households in the affected stack, conduct stakeouts and initiate further investigations if there are eyewitness accounts. Members of the public who are aware of their neighbours' littering behaviour may also submit video evidence of high-rise littering acts to NEA for investigation.

Depending on factors, such as the weather, duration of surveillance and visibility of the camera to would-be offenders, the detection rate of high-rise littering acts could vary and result in fluctuations in the yearly enforcement rate. From 2021 to 2023, such acts were detected in about 30% of surveillance cameras deployment resulting in over 3,300 enforcement actions. In the coming year, NEA will be introducing new operational measures to improve the detection rate. These include the use of cameras with higher resolution and longer deployment durations. Cameras will also be deployed in more covert locations to better detect high-rise littering activities.

To increase public awareness and deterrence against high-rise littering, NEA also collaborates with TCs to deploy standees indicating ongoing surveillance or localised statistics on offenders caught and display posters indicating the number of incidents of high-rise littering caught for the affected column.

My Ministry will continue to monitor and explore measures to enhance detection and enforcement capabilities for high-rise littering, including keeping pace with technological advancements in video analytics and artificial intelligence and monitoring the suitability and safety of technologies, such as drone flights, for high-rise littering surveillance. In addition, we will continue to strengthen partnerships with communities to develop localised solutions to address high-rise littering and urge residents to be considerate and not commit such acts, which is an anti-social behaviour that threatens public safety and hygiene.