Beaches or the dumps?

By Yvonne Lim

BEACHES on Singapore island are being turned into dumping grounds, a recent two-week check by The Straits Times showed.

The culprits: Picnickers who litter indiscriminately, oil slicks and industrial drift.

The Straits Times visited 18 beaches on mainland Singapore and the offshore islands over a period of 14 days to rate them in terms of cleanliness, safety and facilities.

At one of the worst beaches, at Changi Coast Road behind the cargo complex, the place was literally carpeted with rubbish from drink packets to oil drums.

The best, litter-free beaches were mostly found on the off-shore islands. One reason could be that these places are hot as easily accessible.

While there are regular ferry services to the three main southern offshore islands, motor launches have to be specially hired to reach others like Pulau Rengit, the Sisters Islands, Pulau Seletar and Coney island.

This is what The Straits Times found at the 18 beaches it visited:

• STATE OF CLEANLI-

NESS: At the popular East Coast beach, litter bins have been conveniently placed all along the beach, but they failed to stop picnickers from littering the beach with foam cartoons and other plastic de bris.

Each day, about five tonnes of litter are removed from the East Coast alone.

Said undergraduate Miss Lim Zhilan, 19: “The beach is beautiful at night — when you can’t see the rubbish.”

Remarked Miss Christine Lin, 34, a sales executive: “Just take a look at the beach on a weekend. It’s an indictment of the thoughtlessness of those who visit the beach.”

Campers were identified as the main litter culprits at Changi Spit, Punggol and Coney Island (Pulau Serangoon).

Campers on Punggol and Coney island left behind trails of discarded cans, instant noodle packets and bottles.

Commented executive Jimmy Wong, 43: “Singaporeans are always complaining about the many rules and regulations we have. But looking at this mess, you can see that Singaporeans really need to be controlled.

“As long as the culprits are not slapped with a fine, they won’t learn anything.”

The situation was different at the southern offshore islands, where the beaches were markedly cleaner.

The odd drink packet or plastic wrapper spotted on the beach appeared to be the work of scavenging crows, which picked at unattended picnic spreads.

Commented Mr. Alan Roberts, 32, a storekeeper, who was picnicking on St John’s Island: “At low tide, you can walk across the whole stretch of the lagoon. There are no rocks underfoot. At other beaches, you can’t even see what’s under the water.”

At the 11 southern offshore pleasure islands maintained by the Sentosa Development Corporation, cleaners are contracted to clean the beaches daily on the three main islands, Sentosa, St John’s and Kusu.

On the mainland itself, while regular cleaning is also carried out, there have been efforts to increase public responsibility for the maintenance of beaches.

The Environment Ministry and the Parks and Recreation Department have organized special litter-picking exercises.

Schools and clubs have also adopted their own beach-cleaning programmes, for example, as part of this year’s Earth Day activities or as fund-raising drives.

• FLOTSAM AND JETSAM:

Litter left by beach-goers, however, was not the only rubbish found at the beaches. At Sembawang beach, for instance, children were spotted playing with large planks or logs floating near the shore. Mr Ramesh Nair, 34, speculated that the driftwood and the odd oil drum might have come from the nearby Sembawang shipyard.

He added: “Sometimes you also see oil patches discharged by ships anchored offshore.”

Said Mr Nair, a Yishun resident: “There are also iron rods sticking out at one end of the beach, which are covered at high tide. I cut myself on them once while swimming.”

Oil stains were also a problem at several other beaches, including those at East Coast, Changi and Pulau Seletar.

Only last week, an oil slick hit the East Coast near the sailing centre. On normal days, said several sailors there, one still came across oil patches on the beach.

In contrast, the beaches in the Southern Islands were free from industrial rubbish.

The only disconcerting sight there were natural flotsam like old corals and sea plants.

• SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: On the whole, Singapore beaches are not that safe for swimming either.

Some of the reasons:

• A STRONG undercurrent which traps unsuspecting swimmers;

• A DECEPTIVE man-made beach whose shallow slope dips sharply;

• LINES and hooks at favorite fishing spots which ensnare bathers;

• STRONG currents at the confluence of the river and sea; and

• A LACK of first-aid facilities nearby.

The beach at Kallang Riverside Park was identified as the most risky by the chief examiner of the Singapore Life-saving Society, Mr. Bob Lim, who said that some five cases of drowning have been recorded there alone.

Signboards warn against swimming in areas where there is a strong undertow caused by the confluence of the Kallang and Rochor rivers. The place is mainly used by water-skiers and boaters.

A number of drowning have also occurred at the East Coast beach. Being a man-made beach, Its gentle and shallow slope only extends a short way out, after which it dips sharply.

Mr. Lim said swimmers might be caught unprepared when they suddenly find themselves in deep waters.

Changi Spit has a gradual slope built up over time. But strong currents formed by the confluence of the river with the sea may be dangerous to swimmers who go too far out.

Last August, an experienced 27-year-old swimmer drowned 50 metres off the beach.

Another hazard: Swimmers getting entangled in fishing lines – and snared in the vicious hooks — at favourite angling spots like Changi and the East Coast.

Breakwaters at lagoons on the southern offshore islands shield swimmers from such dangers. But there are no lifeguards stationed on these islands except on Sentosa.

Also, breakwaters, ropebuoys and warning signboards are not keeping the more adventurous from venturing beyond the lagoons. At St John’s island, several swimmers were spotted crossing the boundaries.

Another drawback of the islands was that there were no readily-visible first-aid facilities and, in some cases, no ready contact with the mainland In case of an emergency.

Visitors complained that the beaches at Pulau Rengit and Coney island, for example, are devoid of facilities.

The worst and the best

CHANGI COAST ROAD 

• HITTING ROCK BOTTOM: Situated behind the airport cargo complex, the beach is strictly for those who like to savour the sea air —but only from a parked car.

It is liberally carpeted with cans, plastic bottles, broken glass, slippers, oil cans, oil patches, driftwood, tarpaulin, rope and all imaginable types of rubbish.

In stark contrast was the water, one of the clearest at any beach.

Said Mr. Jimmy Wong, a 43-year-old executive, who was with a friend in his car parked at the top of the beach: “It used to be absolutely pristine when I first came here eight years ago.

“You could actually transplant people from Hawaii to here, and they’d believe they were still on the beaches there.”

But, he said, things changed drastically after a television feature was made on the beach some years ago.

“It opened the floodgates and the crowds started coming,” he said.

SILOSO BEACH

• :RIDING THE CREST: Spotless, white sands proved that litter is not always synonymous with large crowds.

Completed in March this year, the beach is a hit with the holiday crowd.

Facilities here are unmatched. Large beach umbrellas and deck chairs dot the 30m-wide beach, along with llfebuoys and caution signs.

Areas in the water are roped off for pedal boats and swimmers, and open-air showers, washrooms, a canteen and a Red Cross room line the tsp of the beach.

A special cart-like beach-cleaning machine, which removes rubbish and flotsam from the sand, keeps the beach clean.

Said Miss Kelly Ang, 26, on an outing with office colleagues: “Perhaps it looks too beautiful to spoil, that’s why the litterbugs have not struck.”

Silos. beach will be joined with Tanjong beach and the central beach, the former lagoons. This 3-km stretch of sand will be completed by the end of this year.

Source : The Straits Times, July 8 1991