SINGAPORE: A woman took to social media after seeing a pile of rubbish beside an already-full garbage bin at the departure area of Terminal 3 of Changi Airport.
“Is Singapore a Garden City?” Ms Jean Teo asked on Saturday (Jul 29) on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page.
She posted a picture of a fairly large silver garbage bin. On top of the bin appeared to be several white plastic bags and an open plastic container with food inside placed on those bags. The container’s cover was beside it.
More shockingly, on the floor next to the bin were even more plastic bags and plastic food containers, a number of which were open, with their covers having come undone or not placed properly.
There were also plastic water bottles, some of which still had liquid inside, a plastic takeaway fork and what appeared to be receipts.
It was all an unsightly mess, and no wonder Ms Teo was shocked.
Ms Teo’s post has since been shared over a hundred times, and many netizens have commented on the photo.
Some people blamed “visitors” and “tourists” for the mess.
Others, however, said tourists are not to blame.
“At least the trash is accumulated in one area and not strewn about the whole airport. Dustbin full, what u want people to do?” argued one netizen.
“Looks more like not sufficient bin space but those we who needed to throw still tried to keep it at the area,” chimed in another.
One netizen, however, said she empathized with the cleaners.
And others commented that bigger trash bins are needed.
The Independent Singapore has reached out to Changi Airport, as well as to Ms Teo, for further comment and updates. /TISG
UPDATE: Aug 1, 2023
Changi Airport responded to our request for comment, telling The Independent Singapore via email, “Following up on your query, the housekeepers cleaned up the mess shortly after.”