Haze halts burning of big joss sticks

Haze halts burning of big joss sticks

SINGAPORE (AFP): Singapore is to curb the burning of huge incense sticks during Chinese festivals to avoid adding to the haze from Indonesian forest fires already polluting the island.

Environment and Health Minister Yeo Chow Tong was quoted by the Straits Times as saying yesterday that Taoist groups in Singapore had agreed to regulations on the burning of huge "joss" sticks, that can be as high as three stories.

These are kept lit in front of housing estates for more than 24 hours, aggravating pollution and sometimes damaging property. About 86 percent of Singapore's three million people live in these housing units.

"I think the religious organizations have agreed that the huge sizes are really not necessary, so we should be able to reduce the sizes to something that will have much lesser impact on the environment, but which still allows them to have a symbolic display," Yeo said Wednesday.