Singapore — A member of the public has spoken up on Facebook to advocate implementing the law for diners to clear their own trays and litter.
After watching some birds eating leftovers left on a table, the member of the public filmed the birds and shared the video to a Facebook group named “Complaint Singapore“.
In the video, two pigeons and a mynah perched atop the table, presumably at a hawker centre. The birds were pecking away at a plate of leftover rice and messing up the table as grains fell out of the plate. A drink had been left on the table as well.
After witnessing this, the netizen expressed that the fines for failing to clean one’s table should be imposed.
It is probable that the netizen shared the video and captioned it that way to prevent more birds from consuming leftovers, and risk spreading diseases and viruses to other members of the public.
Currently, no enforcement action is being taken against diners who do not deposit their dirty trays at return stations. Enforcement will only begin on Sept 1 at hawker centres. While first-time offenders will have their particulars recorded down and receive a written warning, second-time offenders will face fines of S$300 while repeat offenders may face court fines.
However, many netizens said that even if the law regarding clearing on one’s table were to be brought forward, the situation would continue to occur as the birds would be likely to flock to tray return stations as well.
Previously, other netizens were worried about how the tray-clearing initiative could attract birds to return stations and subsequently cause serious hygiene issues to crop up. Birds such as pigeons leave droppings and excrement that dirty the environment and leftover food can attract other pests such as rats which host diseases and can endanger public health.
You Zi Xuan is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG