Forum: Shift in mindset towards cleanliness needed to create community stewardship culture
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
We thank Etienne Neo for his thoughtful letter “ Keeping Singapore clean is a collective responsibility
The Public Hygiene Council (PHC) agrees that lasting behavioural change requires comprehensive education and cultivating shared ownership. As Etienne noted, public cleanliness should be a responsibility embraced by all, not merely a service provided. This shift in mindset is essential for creating the culture of community stewardship that Singapore needs.
In our milestone SG60 year, PHC has introduced an enhanced CleanHood programme to drive community ownership, expanding partnerships with schools and local businesses.
Students lead clean-up activities as part of their schools’ Values-in-Action programme, nurturing early civic habits that develop into lasting behaviours.
Our PHC Corporate Action Network has grown significantly, with partners driving regular clean-ups and reducing packaging waste. Our SG Clean Day initiative brings residents, businesses, communities and town councils together, to take collective ownership of our shared spaces.
By combining action with education, PHC aims to build a culture where maintaining high public cleanliness standards becomes second nature – supporting our hardworking cleaners, rather than adding to their burden.
We encourage everyone to join our shared mission: building good habits and genuine community stewardship for a cleaner Singapore, for our current and future generations.
Andrew Khng
Chairman
Public Hygiene Council
