A Small Upset Turned Into Action
Film director and editor Ted Charles (@ted__charles) posted a video on 29 November showing him clearing the rubbish gathering at traffic lights near his home.
“Okay, story time,” he begins in his Instagram video — explaining how he had been “getting a little ragey” at how people kept throwing trash out of cars and leaving it for someone else to pick up.
Then came the shift:
“I realised, I don’t have to wait for someone else to pick it up. I could just pick it up myself.”
So he grabbed a $5 ‘kiap-kiap’ tool, a grabber, and got to work.
What He Found in Just One Hour
Ted planned to do 30 minutes. He ended up spending more than an hour.
Among the things he picked up:
- A brand-new mask still in its wrapper
- Plastic bags — “just lots of plastic bags”
- A cluster of cigarette butts sitting right under a “no-smoking” sign
- Fast food chilli packets, straws and yet more bags
- A random beer can by the roadside — “I don’t want to know”
- Entire piles of cigarettes beside a bin “that had a million” of them
Along the way, he met a “super friendly cyclist bro” and discovered that the Singapore sun “really cannot” once it climbs past 9am.
His sign-off was simple:
“Please pick up your trash, don’t throw it out the window, and thanks for coming to my TED talk.”
Comments: Kiap-Kiap, Citizenship, and Calls for a Movement
The comment section quickly filled with a blend of humour, praise and banter.
Many viewers leaned into the “kiap kiap” moment — calling it “so Singaporean” and joking about catching litterbugs with the same $5 tool.
Some said they now “got to buy that $5 kiap kiap,” while others offered to join him as a “kiap-kiap buddy.”
One echoed Ted’s own line that “Singapore sun not very fun indeed,” agreeing that early mornings are the only safe window for any outdoor cleanup.
Others shared how they face the “same sad scene” in their own neighbourhoods, especially when litter piles up even with bins nearby — prompting Ted’s gentle reminder about “personal responsibility plz.”
There were also the familiar tongue-in-cheek comments asking authorities to “give this man his citizenship,” matched by Ted’s reply that what he really needs is “another bag so I can fill it up again.”
Some encouraged him to organise a wider “kiap-kiap session,” while others mentioned they already do similar cleanups at beaches, parks and rivers around Singapore.
And somewhere in the mix, one user pointed out that @stridyapp has been doing this for years, opening up a larger conversation about community clean-up culture and the people who’ve quietly been doing this long before the video went viral.
What Is Stridy
Stridy is an app — and a wider community — created to encourage people to pick up litter during daily walks, hikes, runs or commutes. The idea is to make clean-ups trackable, social, and visible, while building a global network of volunteers (“Striders”) who care about cleaner shared spaces.
Why It Matters
Stridy stresses that most litter comes from everyday spaces — void decks, walkways, roadside verges, bus stops.
By making clean-ups visible and measurable, the app builds personal responsibility, encourages shared ownership, and aims to foster communities that take care of their own environment without needing someone else to fix it.
And crucially, anyone can use it — it works globally.
A Simple Reminder: It Starts With One Person
Ted didn’t set out to start a movement; he just picked up what was already around him. But his video — and the comments it sparked — highlight something many Singaporeans feel, but sometimes don’t act on:
There are “so many bins,” yet rubbish piles up anyway.
Based on the caption of his post, he found the clean-up allowed him to have nice conversations, calling it ‘cheaper than therapy,’ and saying he ‘10/10 would recommend.’
One hour, a $5 kiap-kiap tool, and a bit of heat later, Ted leaves viewers with a message that’s hard to ignore:
‘You don’t have to wait for someone else.’
Watch the video here:
More from Wake Up Singapore:-
“This Hotel Has a $13 Buffet You Can Take Away” — Video Features Singapore’s Surplus Food Solution
“Just Found the Coolest Place”: MoNo SG Turns Food Waste into Wallet-Friendly Groceries
“Cutest Thing Ever”: Singaporean Sets Up a Cozy Bed for Community Cat, Melts Hearts
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