When a UK travel vlogger captured a railway staff member sweeping trash out of a moving Indian train and onto the tracks, he probably didn’t expect to spark an international conversation. But that’s exactly what happened on November 12, 2025, when Backpacker Ben’s video went viral, igniting debates about cleanliness, waste management, and civic responsibility—both in India and beyond.
The now-famous clip, shared by Backpacker Ben on social media, shows an On-Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) staffer methodically sweeping a pile of refuse—plastic bottles, wrappers, paper, and more—down the aisle before pushing it straight out of the carriage door. As the train sped along the tracks, the waste tumbled onto the rails below. Ben, narrating in real time, could barely hide his shock. "Guess where he pushed it. On the tracks. Unreal, mate. All of it just shoved onto the tracks," he says, his disbelief palpable. His traveling companion, equally surprised, adds, "He probably thinks he did nothing wrong." And, as Ben notes, the staffer seemed unfazed by being filmed, continuing the task as if it were perfectly normal. The post’s caption? "How they clean trains in India."
It didn’t take long for the internet to catch fire. Social media users from around the world weighed in, with reactions ranging from outrage to resignation. Comments like "Hygiene is illegal in India" and "I hope this video reaches the authorities and pushes for stricter waste management rules" flooded the post, as did more biting takes such as "Stereotypes confirmed" and "I got sick just watching this video." According to NDTV, the incident reignited old debates about India’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the ambitious national campaign to clean up streets, roads, and infrastructure across the country. While the program has made notable strides, the viral video underscored just how tough it is to maintain cleanliness across one of the world’s largest and busiest railway networks.
Calls for change were swift and pointed. Many users demanded stricter regulations and better training for onboard housekeeping staff. Others suggested that the problem was systemic, pointing to a lack of effective waste disposal systems on trains. As one commenter put it, "If municipalities worked well in India, it would eventually happen. It is 80:20 efforts. Cities need cleanliness infrastructure which needs planning and investment, and that’s 80% of the work. 20% remains in the hands of citizens who have to responsibly trash the waste."
Across the globe, a very different story was unfolding on the same day. In Switzerland, an Indian woman named Sneh Gaur posted a video that offered a striking contrast to the Indian railway scene. Her footage, shared on Instagram and reported by News18, revealed the meticulous recycling habits woven into the fabric of Swiss daily life. In her video, Sneh expresses amazement at the bustling traffic—not at a shopping mall or airport, but at the local recycling center. Here, residents arrive in luxury cars like Audis and Mercedes, each holding a personal card that mandates their participation in the town’s recycling program.
The recycling area itself is something to behold. There are designated bins and spaces for everything: wood, iron, leaves, mattresses, electronics, even broken plates and cups. Sneh points out that leaves, instead of being burned as is common in India (a practice that contributes to air pollution), are carefully collected in large bags and deposited in the appropriate bin. "Yaha patte bhi recycle hote hain," she exclaims—"Here, even leaves are recycled." The attention to detail extends beyond just trash: there’s a separate area for donating items that are still usable but no longer needed. "Jo aapke liye waste hai wo dusre ke liye useful hai. People don’t hold on to things, they just let them go. It’s like decluttering your life too," she observes, marveling at the Swiss ethos of renewal and sharing.
What’s even more remarkable is the attitude that underpins the Swiss system. Sneh notes that if anyone drops trash on the road, it’s expected that they pick it up themselves. "Cleanliness in Switzerland is not a policy but a mindset of people," she concludes. Social media users were quick to echo her sentiments, praising the Swiss approach and emphasizing that true cleanliness is a shared responsibility. "It’s almost the same in all of Europe. Here in the Netherlands, too, we have 2-3 recycling centres in every city," wrote one commenter. Another added, "That’s the reason why they have a clean and better environment."
The juxtaposition of these two viral videos—one showing a staffer tossing garbage onto train tracks in India, the other highlighting Switzerland’s almost ritualistic devotion to recycling—struck a nerve. The side-by-side comparison laid bare not just the differences in infrastructure, but also the cultural attitudes toward waste and cleanliness. In India, as Sneh herself points out, there’s certainly recycling: plastic, iron, and newspapers are often sold to scrap collectors. But smaller items, like chip packets, are frequently discarded haphazardly, ending up in landfills or, as Ben’s video showed, along the railway lines.
This isn’t to say that India lacks awareness or the desire for change. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan has brought cleanliness into the national conversation, and many citizens are eager to see improvements. However, the challenges are formidable. With over 23 million passengers traveling daily by rail, and thousands of trains traversing the subcontinent, the scale of the problem is immense. Waste disposal infrastructure is often inadequate, and old habits die hard. The viral video, as reported by NDTV, has prompted renewed calls for accountability—both for railway staff and for passengers themselves.
Meanwhile, the Swiss example demonstrates what’s possible when infrastructure, policy, and public mindset align. Every citizen is required to use the recycling center, and participation is enforced through personal cards. The process is orderly, efficient, and, perhaps most importantly, embraced by the community as a matter of pride and responsibility. As one Swiss resident commented online, "We have to segregate our waste. But this recycling is only used when you want to put some big items else you can drop things at supermarkets, where they have bins to take all these items." The system isn’t just about rules—it’s about a collective commitment to keeping the environment clean.
So, what’s the takeaway from these two viral moments? The answer is both simple and complex. Clean cities and trains don’t just happen; they require planning, investment, and, above all, a shift in mindset. As the Swiss example shows, when citizens take ownership of cleanliness and the system supports them, remarkable things can happen. For India, the challenge is to bridge the gap between aspiration and reality—by improving infrastructure, enforcing rules, and nurturing a culture where tossing trash onto the tracks is as unthinkable as leaving it on a Swiss street.
As the world continues to watch and comment, one thing is clear: the journey toward cleaner, greener cities is far from over. But with every viral video, every heated debate, and every small act of responsibility, the destination comes a little bit closer.