On the 3rd of September, 34 Earthlinkers volunteered to join the International Coastal Cleanup Singapore (ICCS) – an annual worldwide event organized by Nature Society (Singapore) where participants play a part in cleaning up coastal areas. About 80% of the waste found in the sea are generated by human beings while the rest are contributed by the off-shore facilities. This means that trash disposed inland significantly endanger the safety of marine animals. Marine animals can get entangled, trapped, or even killed by the trash that we recklessly throw away. Thus, Earthlink participates in ICCS every year, hoping to mitigate this problem.
As the sun rose, Earthlinkers gathered at the pavilion next to Tan Chin Tuan lecture theatre to get ready for the event. A briefing was held prior to our departure by bus to Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve – the first wetland reserve to be gazetted in Singapore.
Although it was still early, the sunlight that shined on Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve was intense and bright. There were mosquitoes so we were told to wear long-sleeved shirts and long trousers, and to apply insect repellent. But the sunlight and mosquitoes did not diminish the nature-loving spirit of NTU Earthlinkers.
We were briefed on important matters and procedures before being divided into groups of three and everyone was given a pair of gloves, trash bags to put the collected trash, and tongs to pick up the trash. We then proceeded to clean the coastline. On the first sight, there was multitudes of garbage all along the shore. Some were entangling the roots of the mangrove trees, but most of the trash was just laying around. Styrofoam, plastic bags, straws, pieces of glass, wrappers and packaging, bottles both plastic and glass, and many other kinds of garbage were picked and recorded. It was shocking to see these trash that ended up on the coastline are actually all the everyday items that we use.
Over the course of 90 minutes, we managed to fill 33 trash bags with all kinds of garbage that washed ashore. Most of the garbage were pieces of plastic and Styrofoam. We also managed to pick up much unusual garbage such as fishing nets, syringes, light bulbs, and even a monitor. At the end of the event, all the trash that we collected were weighed. We managed to collect an astounding amount of trash: 169.5 kg to be exact.
Each of us reflected on our deeds as we went back to NTU by bus. It was a very tiring day but we were happy knowing we did the right thing and have made Mother Nature smile. Not only it is an eyesore, trash in the water and on the shore damages the marine ecosystem. It is a very pleasant feeling to know that we have cleaned the environment and helped to contribute to the marine ecosystem.