Visitors to Telok Blangah in the past week may have noticed some new members of the community clustered outside the MRT station, receiving trash.

In an effort to encourage residents to keep the neighbourhood clean, the Telok Blangah Youth Executive Committee (YEC) has designed seven brightly painted waste bins. They are the first of more decorative bins that will brighten up the estate in coming weeks.

As part of a YEC initiative called Paint-A-Bin, more than 50 participants, including young people from other estates, gathered at Telok Blangah Community Club yesterday to showcase their creativity. They designed and painted more than 20 bins.

Some feature crowd favourites like Minions, the popular animated characters, while others sport familiar icons like Singa the Lion.

The bins will be displayed in front of Block 45 for a week, before being put to use around the area.

"Within the neighbourhood, it's quite quiet. We're trying to get more young people out," said Ms Stacy Huang, 22, organising chairman of the event. Mr Tan Ying Quan, chairman of the YEC, aims to foster a stronger sense of belonging among residents. "We want to be able to, through the youth, bring out the kampung spirit again," added the 24-year-old National University of Singapore business student.

Residents hope to see more of such events. "We don't see such artistic displays often," said Mr Gavin Kong, a participant who has lived in Telok Blangah all his life. The 37-year-old executive officer at a trading company added: "When you see a more colourful bin, you'll feel more cheerful as well."