Tag Archives: Punggol

Talking Trash: 123kg!

Some twenty ONE (SINGAPORE) volunteers cleared more than 120kg of rubbish from Punggol Beach on a rainy Saturday morning, as part of an International Coastal Cleanup that was timed to coincide with the second anniversary of the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.

In addition to plastic bottles, grocery bags, plastic takeaway containers, cigarette butts and packaging materials, volunteers found discarded handbags, plastic toys and even something buried in the sand that appeared to be part of a foam mattress or bed.

Every item collected was logged and the data shared with Ocean Conservancy, a non-profit environmental advocacy group.  Below is a glance at what was found; you can check out the full list here.

Debris Summary

Millions of tons of plastic are dumped in the ocean every year, killing sea birds, whales, seals, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine life. Not only that, plastic production requires millions of barrels of petroleum, contributing to climate change, which in turn disproportionately affects impoverished countries.

As part of the Sustainable Development Goals, the nations of the world have pledged to significantly reduce marine pollution - particularly from land-based activities - by 2025.

Related Links

Not just another day at the beach! ONE (SG)'s Beach Cleanup Coordinator talks trash.

Dikirim oleh ONE(SINGAPORE) pada 22 September 2017

Talking Trash: Register for Beach Cleanup

Join us at ONE (SINGAPORE)'s Beach Cleanup and Data Collection.  Register Now!

Millions of tons of plastic are dumped in the ocean every year, killing sea birds, whales, seals, dolphins, sea turtles and other marine life. Not only that, plastic production requires millions of barrels of petroleum, contributing to climate change, which in turn disproportionately affects impoverished countries.

Join the fight for a sustainable planet!   Join ONE (SINGAPORE) as we clean up Punggol Beach on Saturday 23 Sept.    RSVP now!  This action is part of International Coastal Cleanup Day, which is conducted in more than seventy countries every year.  Help us take a stand in support of the Sustainable Development Goals!

Talking Trash

Trash is affecting our marine ecosystems at an alarming rate. The largest contributing factor is plastics.  Why? Plastic lasts forever and is designed to be thrown away.

How bad is it?

  • Approx. 15 to 51 trillion plastic pieces float in the oceans at any given time.
  • 8 million metric tons of plastic enters the oceans each year
  • In Singapore last year alone, 3179 volunteers cleaned 18.6 Kilometres of coastline and collected 12773Kg of trash (approx.. 149,892 items) in 90 minutes!

Why it matters
Plastic can affect marine life by entanglement and ingestion.

From last year’s clean-ups alone, 250 horseshoe crabs were found dead at various sites around the island, from fishing net entanglement. Coastal horseshoe crabs are endangered marine animals.

Many marine animals cannot differentiate plastic from their food, especially turtles because plastic bags floating in the ocean look like their favourite food- jellyfish!

But large visible plastics are not the only problem. Microbeads from beauty products have been found accumulating in fish and oysters that eventually make their way back on our tables!

Why clean up?

  • Trash washes onto the shores from the oceans.
  • By clearing the trash, we reduce the stress it has on the marine environment.
  • By recording and sharing what we collect, we act as citizen scientists to inform researchers and policymakers on how to better tackle this problem locally and globally.
  • At clean-ups, we realize just how far our trash can travel and how it affects our surroundings.
  • It provides the perfect opportunity to educate and reach out to people who want to make a difference.

Join us at ONE (SINGAPORE)'s Beach Cleanup and Data Collection.  Register Now!

Programme:
9am: Assemble at meeting Point
9:10-9:30am: Briefing on safety and how to conduct clean up
9:30-11am: Pick Trash, record data
11-11:15am: Move trash bags to collection point
11:15-11:30: Debrief
11:30: End