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OneService Community
Cleanliness

Clean Fernvale

30 June 2024

A resident-led initiative in Fernvale combined targeted signage, new bin placements, and monthly clean-ups to reduce litter by 50% at hotspots while building a sustained network of 190 community volunteers to foster neighbourhood ownership and cleanliness.

📌 About the project

  • Fernvale Ward, Ang Mo Kio GRC (2024).

  • Led by Ms Pamela Low, a Fernvale resident, in partnership with Stridy, the People’s Association (PA), National Environment Agency (NEA), SembCorp, Ang Mo Kio Town Council (AMKTC), and the National Parks Board (NParks), with support from the MSO’s Love Our ‘Hood Fund.

  • Regular community clean-ups were conducted to encourage residents to keep their neighbourhood clean.

  • Signage and banners were also put up at key littering hotspots in Fernvale, such as around Fernvale Community Centre and transport nodes (e.g. LRT stations), to nudge considerate behaviours, encourage residents to bin trash responsibly, and reduce littering.

Community volunteers holding litter bags at Fernvale clean-up event.

Fernvale residents took part in the community clean-ups.

Residents posing indoors with collected trash bag after clean-up.

Ms Pamela Low (extreme right), with her fellow residents.

🏘️ The issue

  • Ms Pamela Low observed littering issues at high-footfall hotspots around her neighbourhood, such as footpaths near Seletar Mall and Fernvale LRT. She sought to foster an active, community-oriented “kampong spirit” among residents to instil a sense of ownership over the neighbourhood cleanliness.

💡 What we did

  • The project team worked closely with local stakeholders, namely AMKTC, SembCorp and NEA, to install new rubbish bins at key littering hotspots, enabling residents to dispose litter properly.

  • Signages were designed and installed at high-footfall hotspots over a 2-month period from April to June 2024 to remind residents to dispose of trash responsibly and raise awareness of the consequences of littering, such as potential fines.

  • 11 monthly clean-ups were organised with Fernvale residents from August 2023 to June 2024 to create a culture of care for the environment and the community.

“In Fernvale, we bin our trash!” sign beside cyclists at crossing.
Outdoor standees displayed around the Fernvale ward.

🔍 What we learnt

  • Messaging and design of signage could be adapted to suit the profiles of different neighbourhoods and communities.

  • Identifying and engaging passionate community leaders among Fernvale residents helped to sustain the monthly clean-up activities to keep the neighbourhood clean.

  • A community chat with volunteers was maintained through social messaging platforms, such as WhatsApp, to share tips on reducing and managing their litter, and coordinate participation for monthly clean-up activities.

⚙️ Key considerations

  • By conducting site recces and on-ground observations to identify high-traffic areas with littering issues, as well as familiarising themselves with waste collection schedules, the team was able to optimise the placement of new bins and the signages, as well as the timing of clean-up activities and events.

📈 Impact

  • The team visually observed a 50% reduction in litter at targeted hotspots, measured one month before and after project implementation.

  • 190 Fernvale residents participated in the monthly clean-up activities from August 2023 to June 2024, helping to forge a strong network of community volunteers who continue to sustain efforts to keep the neighbourhood clean. 

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