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The Recycling Drive, a biannual event held by Earthlink NTU was conducted from 7th to 12th December. The members of the Recycling Drive portfolio in particular, and the club in general, covered all the halls of residence within NTU. In groups of 6 to 7, Earthlinkers moved door to door asking students for used paper, notes and clothes. Being right after the semester exams, the recycling initiate was welcomed warmly by all the residents. The club not only helped inculcate the notion of recycling in the student, but also provided the means for students to clear out their rooms and greet a new semester hassle free. Apart from this door to door task, recycling bins were placed in the vicinity of these halls.

The entire process commenced each day at 11:00 AM in the morning, where the Earthlinkers gathered at a common point, and then split into groups to cover all the blocks of each hall. Students were sent an email prior to the drive, reminding them of the drive, and thereby giving them time to gather their contributions. The materials were collected and assembled in the recycling bins. The drive was complete by around 3:00 PM each afternoon.

Recycling is the perfect solution for the increasing amount of waste generated and the ever increasing need for raw materials. Not only does it promote energy conservation, it also reduces our dependence on landfills. The motive of conducting the Recycling Drive was to promote recycling among NTU students and to increase the awareness of the benefits of recycling, along with doing our part in preserving the Earth. At the end of the drive it was evident how a small step has the ability to play the role of a catalyst towards a big change. After all, as we Earthlinkers say,  If I change, the world changes . Do your part in saving our environment today, and join us in our activities across Singapore this coming semester!!!

Trip to the Macritchie Forest, turned out to be an exhilarating and rejuvenating experience for the Earthlinkers, as it helped give them a break from the monotony of university life and provided them an opportunity to get close to Nature. With flora and fauna at its best, the forest walk turned out to be an informative and fun-filled excursion. Gawking at monkeys and squirrels ambling around in abundance, was indeed a fun adventure. Such rich foliage turned out to be a sumptuous feast for our eyes. We even came across human sized leaves!!! Ice- breaker games were organized in order to strengthen the bonds between fellow Earthlinkers. Amidst all the fun and frolic, we gained valuable knowledge about the forest around us, and the importance behind saving it. If you missed the walk and would still like to do your part in ensuring it is not destroyed before our very eyes, sign up for the petition at the following link and leave your footprint on the path to environmental conservation.

On 19th October 2013, Earthlink NTU organised an environmental seminar on  Knowing Singapore from an Environmental Perspective . Esther Chan from National Environmental Agency was the guest speaker for the day. She presented the audience with extremely fascinating slides and captivating videos on energy production and conservation in Singapore. One video that made a lasting impression was a talk on  How behavioural science can lower your energy bill by Alex Laskey (President & Founder of OPOWER).

In San Marcos, California, as a part of an experiment, people were asked to turn off their air conditioning and turn on their fans instead, in addition one fourth of the neighbourhood received memos on monetary benefits, another one fourth on saving the planet and the next one fourth on being good citizens and preventing black outs, all three efforts were fruitless; but the fourth message proved to be a tremendous success, in short it said  your neighbours are doing a better job !

It was evident from the video that the common man triggered by social pressure can bring about pivotal changes. The seminar was not just informative but also motivating and inspiring for all the participants gathered at Lecture Theatre 11, North Spine@ NTU. It showcased the importance of the extent to which an individual can make a difference in the world today.

As Ms Chan concluded her seminar, her final quote  Our planet can only accept the kind of love we think it deserves , proved to be a favourite amongst the audience, and was quite thought provoking.

Post the seminar, a short quiz was conducted by the Earthlink Welfare Committee .The questions revolved around the Environment and Energy Conservation in Singapore. Questions such as,  prioritize a list of objects you would take with you if all humans migrated to another Earth-like planet, were immensely well thought out and effective at delivering the eventual message of the seminar. The event ended with a prize distribution for those who scored the most in the quiz. On the whole, the seminar was an enriching experience, which left us motivated to save the environment.

On Sunday, November 3, several Earthlinkers visited Semakau Landfill, the world s only offshore ecological landfill. Situated 8km south of Singapore, the landfill has been built entirely upon sea space by enclosing Pulau Semakau and a small adjacent island (Pulau Sakeng) with a rock bound. It is an engineering feat designed to overcome Singapore s most pertinent constraint: land scarcity.

Earthlinkers took a tour of the landfill, driving along the outskirts to gain perspective on its operations. In their journey, they were prompt to observe that unlike other landfills, Semakau was clean and free of any odour. Semakau has achieved this via responsible disposal of waste: a layer of marine clay and an impermeable landfill liner, ensuring that no waste seeps into the environment.

In their journey, Earthlinkers also had the pleasure of viewing fish nurseries and observing a variety of flourishing wildlife within the landfill, features that significantly distinguish Semakau from any other landfill in the world. Indeed, the Semakau Landfill is the only active landfill that receives incinerated and industrial waste while supporting a thriving ecosystem, encompassing more than 700 types of plants and animals and several endangered species.

At the tail end of the visit, Semakau personnel also presented the audience with an account of the history of waste management within Singapore and its often-overlooked importance. More significantly, Earthlinkers were presented with the pressing challenge that the landfill faces, today: an escalating amount of waste (2000 tonnes per day) while its physical capacity to contain such wastecontinues at status quo.

The participants were urged to  reduce, reuse, recycle in order to ensure that Semakau, the only space Singapore has to dispose of waste does not prematurely reach full capacity (which it is on track to, currently). Heading back to mainland Singapore, Ito Chicharu remarked,  I think that is the most important message: for everyone to reduce, reuse, recycle to keep the landfill going. It is the only one Singapore has!