Our beaches at the southern and northern coasts tend to experience more flotsam during the Southwest and Northeast monsoon periods respectively. Typically, during the Southwest monsoon months, beaches along the southern cost will experience more flotsam and during the Northeast monsoon months, those along the northern coast will experience an increase in flotsam. The prevailing winds over Singapore and the surrounding region could possibly contribute to the increase in flotsam on our shores.    

To ensure that our beaches are kept clean during these periods, NEA increases the frequency of our cleaning operations, from four times a week to twice daily. However, despite these intensified cleaning efforts, it is not possible to eliminate the presence of flotsam at our beaches, as during each high tide, new waves of flotsam from the open sea will be washed onto our shores. In 2019, NEA collected over 1,000 tonnes of flotsam from the East Coast Beach, and this was almost a 90% increase in the amount of flotsam collected from the East Coast Beach during this period.

To prevent litter from land-based sources from being washed into the ocean, most of our rivers and canals have been dammed up and there are measures such as drain slabs, litter traps, vertical gratings and float booms to trap debris and litter. We can also do our part by binning our litter and reminding others not to litter or even go the extra mile and organise clean-up activities at www.publichygienecouncil.sg/beachcleanup .