Formerly dull, grey cement manholes in Ho Chi Minh City have been given a new look by local art students to raise awareness about littering.

The campaign is meant to discourage people from littering near the beautiful new manholes, according to Vo Thanh Nha, who works at District 5’s Youth Union.

Six manhole covers on Tan Da Street in District 5 have been repainted by students from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts, who jumped on the idea as soon as it was suggested, Nha said.

“We think it’s a brilliant idea,” said Lai Van Trung, head of the group of art students. “It’s also what we’re good at so it didn’t take long for us to come up with the designs and put them into practice.”

The usually dull, grey cement covers have been turned into 3D paintings of fish, lotus flowers, and evergreen forests, attracting the curiosity of passers-by.

“Locals have helped by cleaning the paintings once a week so that they remain new and fresh,” Nha said. “This activity will soon be duplicated district-wide, and we are looking to receive approval from the city’s administration to have manhole covers in other districts re-painted as well.”

“My team and I are always ready to do more paintings,” Trung said. “It’s a meaningful activity that gets across the message of protecting the environment.”