If you’ve ever visited a city and have been dismayed by how unclean it is, you may be wondering where in the world you can visit to have a delightfully trash-free experience. Well, get ready to pack your bags for Singapore. As reported in Travel + Leisure, the Lion City was named the cleanest city in the world by a company that knows its fair share about trash, Eagle Dumpster Rental. To anyone who has visited Singapore, this should come as no surprise, as the streets are sparkling clean and free of garbage.
But how did they come to this conclusion? To make the ranking, the firm took top tourist spots from around the world and analyzed several factors, including waste generation per capita, waste management practices, and how the public perceived city cleanliness. Pulling figures from several databases that focus on quality of life and waste management, as well as local resources, each city was given a cleanliness score.
In the end, Singapore came out on top, followed closely by two European capitals — Copenhagen and Prague. While many people might be familiar with Singapore’s strict fines for littering, what you may not know is that cleanliness has been a founding principle of the city. The Keep Singapore Clean Campaign, which also introduced fines, was started in 1968, just three years after the country gained its independence. While the fines may seem excessive to some, the pursuit of cleanliness has a lot to do with health and issues that can arise due to Singapore’s hot, humid climate.
Read more: 25 Gorgeous Islands For Vacationing That Won’t Break The Bank
While Singapore is pristine, Rome’s streets could use some cleaning
Trash by the Colosseum in Rome – Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock
According to data collected by Eagle Dumpster Rental, Singaporeans produce quite a low amount of waste per capita compared to other cities. Furthermore, as reported by Channel News Asia, the island nation is producing less waste every year, continuing the downward trend it has seen over the past decade. “If you have littering like you see in other countries, it can breed rodents, flies, cockroaches. They are all carriers of bacteria and germs,” Edward D’Silva, chairman of the Public Hygiene Council, told the BBC in 2018. Trash collection efforts, coupled with public campaigns against littering, have helped make the squeaky-clean streets of Singapore a matter of national pride. And at the same time, it’s made the city a place tourists want to return to.
And on the flip side, according to Eagle Dumpster Rental, one of the world’s most visited cities is actually one of the dirtiest. Rome may be the world’s most walkable city, but it’s also the one with the most trash. Waste management issues have long plagued the Italian capital, and it’s not unusual to see litter spilling from unemptied waste receptacles. Part of the city’s struggles is linked to high rates of employees who work for AMA, the city’s waste management organization, not showing up for work regularly. The other issue is Rome’s unique and ancient urban fabric. “The city’s ancient infrastructure wasn’t designed for modern waste volumes, creating challenges for both residents and tourists,” shares Eagle Dumpster Rental’s recycling expert, Brian McDaid (via Travel + Leisure). So while Rome may be filled with monuments that can be seen in one day, if a clean city is what you are after, stick to Singapore, where you can also indulge in world-class street food culture.
Ready to discover more hidden gems and expert travel tips? Subscribe to our free newsletter and add us as a preferred search source for access to the world’s best-kept travel secrets.
Read the original article on Islands.