Woman who grew up in Marine Parade ‘heartbroken’ by litter along East Coast Park shoreline
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East Coast Park has been part of Stomper Lavina’s life for more than 50 years.
So, seeing rubbish strewn along its shoreline has left the longtime Marine Parade resident “heartbroken”.
Lavina, who has lived in Marine Parade since 1975, shared videos with Stomp showing debris and litter washed up along the beach and floating in the water.
She said the videos were taken near the Siglap Canal Lookout Deck on Aug 20 at about 5pm.
“East Coast Park wasn’t just a park to me,” she said. “It was part of my childhood, my memories and my life as a Singaporean.
“The sea, the sand, the trees, the breeze... the feeling of freedom when you stood by the water.
“That is why seeing the condition of parts of our coastline today makes me genuinely heartbroken.”
‘What are we leaving behind?’
Lavina, who still lives in Marine Parade, said she visits the beach about four times a week with her family and dog.
She has three children, aged 30, 27 and 18, and hopes future generations will be able to enjoy the coastline as she has.
“I grew up with this sea,” she said.
“I want my children, grandchildren and future generations of Singaporeans to grow up knowing it too.”
Beyond the appearance of the beach, Lavina said she was concerned about the possible impact of rubbish on marine life and the wider coastal ecosystem.
“When we look at a beach, we see sand,” she said.
“But underneath and around that sand is an entire living world.”
She pointed to the various marine organisms that depend on coastal habitats and questioned what happens to them when rubbish accumulates along the shore.
“They cannot speak for themselves,” she said. “They cannot tell us when rubbish is hurting them.
“So who speaks for them?”
Concern for coastline amid plans to protect it
Lavina’s concerns also come as Singapore plans major measures to protect its south-eastern coastline from rising sea levels, including the proposed ‘Long Island’ project.
She stressed that she supports efforts to protect Singapore from climate change, but hopes preserving marine biodiversity will remain part of the conversation.
“I am not against protecting Singapore,” she said.
“But I believe we have to ask ourselves whether protecting our coastline can also mean protecting the living ecosystem that exists along it.”
She added: “East Coast Park is not empty land.
“It is an ecosystem. It is a community. It is our heritage. It is someone’s childhood. And it is home to countless living creatures.”
Hopes more can be done about littering
For Lavina, however, protecting the coastline also starts with taking care of the beach as it exists today.
“It looks terrible and so sad not being able to walk on the sand,” she said.
Lavina said she hopes more can be done to keep the beach clean and suggested greater enforcement against people caught littering.
“I just hope there are ways,” she added.
“I want Singapore to continue progressing. I want Singapore to be protected from climate change.
“But I also want us to be able to say that, in protecting our future, we did not destroy the natural beauty and living heritage that made this place special in the first place.”
Why does East Coast Park get so much rubbish?
Lavina hopes more can be done to keep the beach clean, including greater enforcement against littering.
“I just hope there are ways,” she said.
“It looks terrible and so sad not being able to walk on the sand.”
However, much of the rubbish washing up at East Coast Park may originate from elsewhere.
According to a June 28 report by The Straits Times, East Coast Park accumulates more flotsam than any other beach in Singapore, based on government marine debris data from 2019 to 2025.
The amount tends to increase during the south-west monsoon from June to September, when prevailing winds over Singapore and the surrounding region can contribute to more flotsam being washed onto beaches along the southern coast.
July recorded the highest amount of marine rubbish on average between 2019 and 2025, with East Coast Park accounting for about 155.9 tonnes — nearly three times the amount collected there in January.
A 2021 study commissioned by the National Environment Agency (NEA) also found that 97 per cent of plastic waste on Singapore’s recreational beaches came from sea-based sources such as ships or was transported across boundaries by marine currents.
During the monsoon months, NEA increases beach cleaning operations from four times a week to twice daily.
However, the agency said it is impossible to completely eliminate flotsam from local beaches as each high tide can bring a fresh wave of debris from the open sea onto Singapore’s shores.
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