Train and bus users will have reminders to keep Singapore clean in Public Hygiene Council campaign

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SINGAPORE – Public transport users will be reminded to help keep Singapore clean as part of the Public Hygiene Council’s (PHC) 2026 campaign.

A Keep Singapore Clean-themed train on the North East Line will be launched in September. Decals covering the entire cabin of all train cars will carry messages encouraging everyone to play their role to keep the country clean.

Public transport was chosen as the location for the new campaign due to the high footfall it receives daily, said PHC’s executive director Christina Liew, who made the announcement on Aug 23.

Later in 2026, the messages will also be carried on 10 public buses plying different routes across Singapore.

“So, every day, whether it’s the young or old, or anybody in between, it will reach everyone who takes public transport,” Liew said.

She was speaking at the second ASEAN U.N.I.T.E (yoU aNd I Together Everytime) held at Punggol Coast Digital Village.

ASEAN U.N.I.T.E is PHC’s initiative that brings together diverse communities residing in Singapore, while promoting environmental stewardship through clean and sustainable practices.

The event on Aug 23 saw over 400 participants from Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste, who took part in a community clean-up and cultural performances.

Ambassadors from those countries at the event were also present as environmental advocates to amplify the cleanliness message within their respective communities.

The Keep Singapore Clean 2026 campaign was launched in April, with a 30-second video screened across malls reminding shoppers to bin takeaway cups and dispose of food packaging.

To mark PHC’s 15th anniversary, it organised a roving exhibition with interactive stations tracing its history, and also launched the Cleanliness Champions Relay, where 20 schools and companies take turns to organise clean-up activities around Singapore.

The first leg of the relay was held at Kent Ridge Park on April 19, with subsequent activities planned in areas including Newton, Chua Chu Kang, Sengkang, West Coast Park and East Coast Park.

In May, PHC launched a community wall mural at Little India MRT station, made up of photos of PHC’s partners from town councils and grassroots organisations, as part of the Keep Singapore Clean campaign.

Addressing the attendees at the Aug 23 event, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment Goh Hanyan said good public hygiene and cleanliness is key to building a cleaner, healthier and more liveable environment.

An example of this was how members of the public returned their food trays and properly disposed of rubbish during the Covid-19 pandemic.

First-time PHC volunteer Iveca Cale Villalon Ignacio echoed similar views.

The 35-year-old, who has been working as a nurse in Singapore for the past decade, said she became a volunteer with PHC as public hygiene is an important issue to her.

Ignacio, who also performed two songs at the event, said she was open to participating in more clean-up activities in the future: “As a healthcare worker, I’m very interested in infection control and public hygiene. If there’s no public hygiene, we will have more patients in the hospital.”