A 62-year-old Singaporean man was fined $10,000 today for illegally dumping waste at a bin centre at Block 744 Bedok Reservoir Road.
In a press release, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said that the offender, who was self-employed, collected waste from businesses operating at Tampines Industrial Park for a fee between June and October 2017.
The man then bribed a cleaner who was manning the bin centre to allow him to dump the waste there, in order to avoid paying for waste disposal at an authorised site.
NEA stressed that general waste collected from industrial estates must be disposed of at the incineration plants, licensed recycling facilities, or if the waste is non-incinerable, the landfill. The dumping of such waste at bin centres serving residential estates is illegal.
“NEA will not hesitate to take strict enforcement action against those who illegally dump waste,” it stated.
According to the authority, the offender was charged under section 20(1)(a) of the Environmental Public Health Act, Cap 95.
The maximum fine for the offence is $50,000, or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both. Repeat offenders are liable to a maximum fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for a term of not less than one month but not more than 12 months.
NEA noted that the public can help by calling NEA’s hotline at 6225-5632 if they witness any illegal dumping activity or fill Online Feedback Form.
When reporting, it would be helpful to furnish the date, time and location of the incident, the registration number of the vehicle used to carry the waste, as well as supporting photos and video clips.
