LAUREN ONG Today Online 18 Jul 19;
SINGAPORE — No plastic straws, plastic water bottles or plastic boxes are being sold or used on the premises of Commonwealth Secondary School, thanks to a push by the school’s biology teacher, Mr Jacob Tan Guan Rui.
The drive to minimise the use of plastic was spurred by a conversation that Mr Tan had with his former student, who was aghast by the exorbitant amount of plastic waste he witnessed in schools, especially the polytechnic where he was.
Mr Tan, 33, said: “I wasn’t aware of the issue of plastic waste pollution until, in September 2017, the ex-student came back to look for me and told me (how this was bothering him).
Mr Tan agreed that more could be done in this area and said that he would read up more and see if he could “influence the school community” to support an initiative to cut down on plastic use.
Commonwealth Secondary School now has a campaign that bans plastic products from the canteen since the end of 2017.
On Thursday (July 18), Mr Tan won an award for his effort to carry out this pro-environment project, among other things.
The EcoFriend Awards, organised by the National Environment Agency, were given out to 10 recipients this year under five categories. They are from the private and public sectors, non-government organisations, grassroots volunteers, youth groups and educational institutions.
The awards were introduced in 2007 to recognise pro-active persons who have contributed significantly to environmental sustainability, to highlight that individuals can make a difference in this area.
The winners were also chosen for their roles in inspiring others to do their part for the environment.
Mr Tan, who began teaching in 2010 and won the Ecofriend Awards under the Educational Institution category, believes that people would naturally care for the environment if they appreciate and connect with the natural world.
He is in charge of the school’s Biodiversity e-newsletter that keeps students and staff members updated on the flora and fauna found in school.
He also worked on enhancing natural habitats on the school grounds to try to attract wildlife, and birds such as the Black Bittern and the Jambu Fruit Dove have been spotted there.
“As the eco-habitats are integrated into the environment of the school, students and staff benefit from daily exposure to nature and biodiversity, allowing them to develop a love and greater appreciation of nature,” he said.
Mr Jacob Tan led the Eco Club in Commonwealth Secondary School. It partnered the National University of Singapore and National Parks Board on a series of initiatives, contributing to a 15-month research work on marine litter in Singapore. Photo: Jacob Tan
Yasmin Sim Su Hui, 19, a third-year student at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Business and Accountancy school, was a winner in the Youth & Students category. She told TODAY that she has been enthusiastic about environmental issues ever since her days in Bukit View Secondary School, where she was exposed to such topics in the school curriculum.
Yasmin has been president of the polytechnic’s Business and Accountancy’s Green Club for three years now. She organises annual coastal clean-ups as well as visits to companies for students to learn about the businesses' best practices in environmental sustainability.
“The students that can sign up are business students. So the hope is that through these visits and events, they learn from these corporates and make a difference in the corporate world in the future,” she said.
An example of how lessons learnt in school are carried over in the working life of the individual is Ms Farah Sanwari.
The 29-year-old executive director of Sustainable Living Lab won the EcoFriend Award under the Private Sector category. She has spent the past six years working with the private organisation, which provides sustainable solutions to businesses.
Her contributions are centred around changing consumers’ mindsets to consume less, and organising workshops touching on the circular economy and sustainable development goals.
The alumnus of Singapore Management University said: “Back in university, I questioned how products (are made) and its sustainability.
“I joined Sustainable Living Lab to create sustainable products and to get product designers — who tend to design products with very short life spans — to change.
“I thought that something has to happen in the (manufacturing design) industry. Most electronic products such as phones are meant to last for about two years or even shorter. They call this planned obsolescence.”
Miss Sanwari emphasises that the ecosystem has many parts.
“People tend to think (of sustainability) as ‘an environment thing’. It also involves the communities that you work with. There is a lot of injustice that happens along the value chain —child labour and hazardous workspaces. Businesses need to be called out on these.”
10 lauded for doing their bit to save the planet
Timothy Goh Straits Times 18 Jul 19;
SINGAPORE - At first glance, it may seem like Ms Pek Hai Lin has a dream job working outside an office with no fixed office hours.
But the 31-year-old's workday is hectic and tiring. The manager of Zero Waste SG, which collaborates with ministries and corporations, organises workshops, roadshows and talks with a team of only two full-timers and a part-timer, all in the name of saving the planet.
The non-governmental organisation (NGO) was started in 2015 by founder Eugene Tay to drive change towards zero waste in Singapore and has no physical office.
For her efforts in protecting the environment, Ms Pek received the EcoFriend Award on Thursday (July 18) from Minister for the Environment and Water Resources Masagos Zulkifli. The annual awards were given out at a ceremony at Sheraton Towers.
Nine others from the private and public sectors, educational institutions and NGOs also received the award, which recognises those who have made significant contributions to help Singapore's environment.
Mr Masagos said the recipients met three criteria: demonstrating commitment in their beliefs and actions, helping others build their capacity to contribute to the environment, and collaborating with others on environmentally friendly efforts.
This year, 343 individuals were nominated for the award, over half of whom were new nominations - something Mr Masagos said was encouraging.
He highlighted the work of Ms Pek's organisation on the Bring Your Own movement in 2017, which encouraged people to use their own reusable bags, bottles or containers, as well as for collaborating with the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources on a food waste recycling pilot.
Ms Pek told The Straits Times she was grateful for the award, but noted that it was the help of many other people, such as Zero Waste SG's team and founder, various ministries, corporate partners, volunteers and green groups that had made the award possible.
She said: "There's still a really long way to go. We are hardly there in terms of getting people to take action. It's mostly the Government doing the job right now, and we can't just rely on it because it's the people that drive the way corporations react and change."
She said her organisation is constantly trying to give the public the knowledge and tools to take action through talks, workshops and roadshows.
And although the road is sometimes tough, her passion keeps her going with an air of "hopeful realism" - being realistic about the constraints and challenges organisations like hers face today, but hopeful that things can change if people push for them strategically.
She said: "Sometimes we may feel small, but we can do things strategically to amplify our voices, like rallying for change in our companies. Someone has to start saying something or at least modelling behaviour to start conversations."
