'Mountain of rubbish' dumped at car park is a hazard, say residents of new Punggol BTO estate

[UPDATE: June 19, 8.20am]

A spokesperson for HDB told AsiaOne that they have received feedback about indiscriminate dumping at Punggol Point Cove, a new BTO project which is being progressively completed.

Following this, HDB's contractor has deployed workers to remove the bulky waste and renovation debris dumped at the basement car park. As of Monday afternoon (June 17), all waste and debris have been cleared from the car park.

The spokesperson added that keys to residential blocks in Phase 1 of the BTO project have been progressively handed over to flat buyers since mid-February 2024. The common areas, such as the lift lobbies, have also been handed over to the town council for maintenance.

Meanwhile, works at the basement car park as well as the landscaping within the precinct are still ongoing. These areas are currently still being maintained by HDB's building contractor.

"Our contractor is also supporting the town council in clearing the accumulated refuse in the common areas that have been handed over to them, including bringing in additional skip tanks for waste disposal," said the spokesperson.

"HDB will strengthen enforcement at the car park to resolve the issue of indiscriminate littering. We seek residents' co-operation to dispose of their renovation and packaging waste responsibly, and to remind their renovation contractors to do the same."

Besides blocking the way, the rubbish left piled up at a Build-To-Order (BTO) estate in Punggol has sparked safety concerns among the residents.

Photos sent to CNA by Punggol Point Cove resident Andy Ke show large cardboard boxes, nylon bags and other items dumped in the basement car park of Block 448B.

The 41-year-old, who moved into his flat in February, likened the stacks of rubbish to a "mountain" and voiced concerns about the estate's cleanliness, adding that the rubbish pile is a fire hazard.

"I can't take it any more. I feel that something must be done," he told CNA.

In an interview with Shin Min Daily News, Ke estimated that 30 per cent of the flats in the new estate are occupied.

As renovation works in Punggol Point Cove progressed, the resident noted that an increasing amount of rubbish started to pile up along the walkway of the basement car park.

"I've caught some people red-handed but there was nothing I could do," Ke added.

Although the authorities had put up notices informing the public not to discard items illegally, they did not to help alleviate the problem.

"I think it is the contractor's responsibility. The renovation cost includes clean-up, how can they casually dump the rubbish? I'm also in this business and what they're doing is so selfish," Ke said.

An elderly man also nearly fell after tripping on the pile of rubbish, he added.

Despite cleaners repeatedly clearing the rubbish, the pile would keep growing at the same spot, another resident surnamed Wu told Shin Min.

The 48-year-old also saw other residents throwing their trash into the pile.

"It's laborious for the workers. They clean it up but people continue to dispose of the rubbish improperly," said Wu.

A Shin Min reporter who recently visited the estate saw four cleaners clearing a large amount of refuse that had piled up along the walkway.

One cleaner told the Chinese daily that they would start clearing the rubbish at 6am and work for at least 14 hours a day.

However, it is difficult for them to clean up all the trash in the entire estate within a day.

According to CNA, a notice by the Pasir-Ris Punggol Town Council directed residents to dispose of bulky items at green refuse bins temporarily placed near the block's entrance.

But the bin was not there on Wednesday (June 12) and the area was blocked by poles.

Other residents also said they were uncertain if the rubbish pile-ups were caused by renovation contractors or their neighbours. 

Responding to CNA's queries, a Pasir-Ris Punggol Town Council spokesperson said the basement car park has "yet to be handed over" from the Housing and Development Board (HDB).

The spokesperson added that the town council was working closely with HDB to address the situation.

It has deployed workers to help clear the "large volume of dumped items, but the debris accumulates rapidly".

ALSO READ: 'Mountain of rubbish': Resident complains about indiscriminate dumping of garbage at new Woodleigh block

lim.kewei@asiaone.com