Keep Singapore Clean 2024 Launch Event - Dr Amy Khor

Speech by Dr Amy Khor, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment, at the Keep Singapore Clean 2024 Launch Event on 28 April 2024

Excellencies,

Parliamentary Colleagues,

Mr Andrew Khng, Chairman, Public Hygiene Council,

Advisers,

Distinguished Guests,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Introduction

1 Good morning, everyone. I am delighted to join all of you today at the launch of “Keep Singapore Clean” 2024, organised by the Public Hygiene Council, or PHC for short. This annual month-long community campaign encourages all of us to take greater personal responsibility for the cleanliness of our shared public spaces.

Public Hygiene: The Foundation of a Clean Singapore

2 Last month, Minister Grace Fu announced that the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) has designated 2024 as the Year of Public Hygiene. This is aimed at galvanising a whole-of-nation effort in upkeeping good public hygiene practices for the betterment of our society. This will usher in in renewed and intensified efforts towards a cleaner, healthier, more resilient future for everyone in Singapore.

3 Designating 2024 as the Year of Public Hygiene does not mean that Singapore’s standard of public cleanliness is low. On the contrary, according to findings from the Singapore Management University’s Public Cleanliness Satisfaction Survey released just two days ago, Singaporeans’ perception of cleanliness in our shared spaces remains high. For example, 97% of Singaporeans polled were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with the cleanliness at leisure spaces, which includes parks and playgrounds. Similarly, over 90% of Singaporeans were satisfied with the cleanliness of footpaths and neighbourhoods.

4 In general, satisfaction with the levels of cleanliness is good, but SMU’s survey also revealed some areas for improvement. The findings showed that public toilets, particularly at coffeeshops and hawker centres, ranked the lowest in terms of satisfaction levels. Although the survey shows that there have been improvements – for coffeeshops, 53% in 2022 to 60% in 2023, and hawker centres from 63% in 2022 to 70% in 2023, they ranked the lowest satisfaction amongst all the other areas surveyed. We need to collectively do more in these areas. It is therefore timely that SPS Baey Yam Keng and PHC Chairman Andrew Khng will be co-chairing the Public Toilets Taskforce, to work alongside our partners from the people and private sectors to collectively look into this issue and make recommendations to improve the cleanliness of our public toilets, particularly at hawker centres and coffeeshops.

5 Sustaining high levels of public hygiene and cleanliness requires active participation from the government, corporates, communities, and individuals. Working together to contribute to a clean environment, safe food, clean air, and clean water is in line with the spirit of our Forward SG exercise, where participants acknowledged the importance of collective responsibility in shaping our shared future.

Keep Singapore Clean

6 Singapore’s journey towards public hygiene excellence embodies a collective commitment. Building on the vision of a clean and green Singapore set forth by our founding Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, who launched the very first Keep Singapore Clean campaign in 1968, we must continue to journey on this path together. Through unwavering commitment, the government, our people, and businesses have all played a crucial role. Meticulous cleaning regimes, public education campaigns promoting a sense of shared ownership, and steadfast enforcement have all been instrumental in our nation’s transformation from a polluted backwater into a world-renowned clean and green city. It is important that we do not take this for granted. We need to continue with our effort to keep Singapore clean.

7 Today, we stand at the crossroads of social and environmental changes. It is important for us to reexamine our values and aspirations for our shared future. This includes a clean and liveable environment. In support of the Year of Public Hygiene, the Keep Singapore Clean 2024 campaign embodies this ethos of building a shared clean future by fostering a collective commitment to promoting positive behavioural change. The campaign nudges and encourages individuals and communities towards positive actions through the reinforcement of three key civic responsibilities; properly disposing trash, leaving a clean table for the next diner, and maintaining cleanliness in public toilets.

PHC’s Impact on National Cleanliness and Behavioural Changes

8 I would like to extend my heartfelt appreciation to PHC for spearheading initiatives which have contributed to our national cleanliness and inspired positive behavioural changes among Singaporeans through the years. The Keep Singapore Clean campaign and other initiatives such as the quarterly SG Clean Day, Neighbourhood Toilets Community Group (NTCG) and CleanPods, were all designed to encourage positive behavioural habits and effectively mobilise the community to take ownership of the cleanliness of shared common spaces.

Keep Singapore Clean Movement 2024

9 Keeping Singapore clean is more than just aesthetics – it is about safeguarding our physical and mental well-being and building a healthy future for all. It requires a conscious effort from each one of us. A small change in our daily habits and a little more thoughtfulness, can make a big difference. Disposing waste responsibly, keeping public toilets clean such as by flushing after use and returning our trays after meals – these may be small, simple actions, but collectively will make a huge positive difference. We can and will achieve higher standards of cleanliness if we individually and collectively take responsibility to keep our public areas clean.

Bi-Monthly SG Clean Day from 2025

10 One of PHC’s major initiatives is the SG Clean Day where, for a day every quarter, participating premises will cease sweeping at selected areas to spotlight the problem of littering when we go without cleaners. This initiative by PHC and its partners aims to encourage residents to be personally responsible in keeping public spaces clean.

11 SG Clean Day began in 2021, with all 17 Town Councils ceasing sweeping at housing estates for one day. It has progressed well and steadily expanded to include public parks, dormitories, reservoirs, attractions, shopping malls and transport nodes. Over time, PHC has observed the heightened involvement of stakeholders including communities, business owners, retailers, and corporations, who go out and clean up the shared spaces and conduct litter-picking activities during SG Clean Day. I am heartened by the enthusiasm of our stakeholders and their increased community action to take ownership of the cleanliness of these shared spaces.

12 On this note, I am pleased to announce that starting from 2025, the quarterly SG Clean Day will be held on a bi-monthly basis. We will have more opportunities for more people to participate and raise awareness, as well as put into practice what we preach – keep it clean! Even while we need cleaners and value their contributions, our hope is that over time, each of us will take greater responsibility so that we are clearly a clean and not a cleaned city.

Rallying Corporate Support

13 In addition, our communities, businesses and corporations can be the catalysts for positive changes. I am delighted to note from PHC Chairman’s speech earlier that PHC will be forming the Corporate Action Network, or the C.A.N, for businesses to lead the change and champion the cause of keeping Singapore clean. I encourage more businesses to join in this movement to protect and preserve our high standards of public hygiene in Singapore. Our hope is that this network can continue to grow and expand in numbers and impact.

Conclusion

14 Let me conclude. Today’s event is but the first of many events and activities in support of the Year of Public Hygiene. For example, this June and July, you can look forward to Go Green SG. This month-long nationwide movement will feature initiatives by our People, Private and Public partners, including exclusive behind-the-scenes tours and learning journeys, so stay tuned when registration opens! You may also have noticed our Year of Public Hygiene logo in the stage backdrop behind me and across our Keep Singapore Clean materials. It is a visual reminder and a call to action to keep Singapore clean. We want to rally everyone to treat our streets, parks, and other public areas as extensions of our homes, making a conscious effort to maintain cleanliness in our surroundings. Maintaining good public hygiene is important - for ourselves, for our children and family and for our community, for today and tomorrow. This is the Singapore we are building, and the Singapore we must leave behind for generations to come. Let’s all keep Singapore clean together!

15 Thank you.