Discarding a cigarette butt on a public surface in Singapore risks a 200 Euro fine

(Patria) - Singapore is often called the cleanest city in the world, which is not surprising to anyone who has visited this Asian city with a very efficient waste management system, regular cleaning of public surfaces, but also strict laws on maintaining cleanliness and high fines for their violation.

If you discard smaller waste, such as a cigarette butt, on a public surface, you will be fined 300 Singapore dollars, or about 200 euros. And that is the price for the first offense only. If you are caught again for the same offense, the fines can go up to several thousand euros, reports Punkufer.

For the first more serious offense of discarding a larger piece of garbage, you can receive a fine of up to 1,000 Singapore dollars or 663 euros. The same fine awaits you if you are caught spitting in public or feeding birds.

For repeat offenders, the tactic of public shaming is also used, where they are forced to clean public areas of garbage in brightly colored vests and in popular tourist destinations.

The government also uses modern technology to maintain the city's cleanliness, public order, and peace. For example, devices for detecting urine are installed in elevators. In case someone decides to relieve themselves in an elevator, the doors automatically close, and the device reports to the police that someone is behaving inappropriately.

That Singapore is the cleanest city in the world was also confirmed by this year's study by the American company "Eagle Dumpster Rental," which deals with renting waste containers, waste removal, and transportation for residential, commercial, and construction projects.

They analyzed the most popular tourist destinations around the world and their waste management practices, the perception of cleanliness of public places, and the amount of waste generated per capita. In the analysis, they used data from the Numbeo quality of life database, the Atlas D-Waste waste management database, as well as local resources specific to each city.

It turned out that Singapore is indeed the cleanest city in the world and produces only 321 kilograms of garbage per capita. For comparison, Rome, the capital of Italy, was declared the dirtiest city in the world in the same study, producing about 654 kilograms of garbage per capita.