SINGAPORE - The last of the glittering fireworks over Marina Bay had disappeared just after midnight, but the dust was far from settled.

As party-goers dispersed, some 300 cleaners sprung into action to clear the mess of empty drink bottles, paper, cigarette butts and other litter strewn across the ground.

By 1am, they were out in full force with tongs and trash bags.

"There's so much rubbish, more than last year. Many people don't use the bins," said Mr Gavaskar, a cleaning supervisor from Chye Thiam Maintenance. "After this, we will start washing the floor, because sometimes there's vomit."

While some 350 bins were placed in the area, they were inaccessible at times due to the crowd control barricades, he explained. With the large crowds, this meant that some party-goers who could not spot a bin within their reach were just too impatient to wait.

"They say: 'No choice'. So they will just throw it on the floor," he added.

However, student David Kwok, 23, were among those seen cleaning up after themselves. "It's only right to pick up your own trash. It isn't a lot of effort if we all do it, and it will definitely help the cleaners."

It took a total of seven hours to clean up the entire area, with about 30,000 kg of rubbish collected, according to a Marina Bay Singapore Countdown spokesman.

Despite a 300,000-strong crowd turning up for the event, they were seen dispersing from the various locations surrounding the bay in an orderly fashion. By 1.30am, the crowd at the Jubilee Bridge and Esplanade had tapered off.

Many also experienced a smooth transit by foot to nearby MRT stations, with the help of police officers and crowd marshalls.

Now into its 11th edition, the event was jointly organised by Esplanade - Theatres by the Bay and the Urban Redevelopment Authority.