Imagine having a meal and after consuming the food, you proceed to complete the gastronomic experience… by eating the cutlery!
To reduce the use of disposable cutlery and the impact of non-recyclable waste on the environment, a student from Huamin Primary School mooted the novel concept of edible spoons.
Entitled “Crunch Cutlery!”, this creative green project of edible spoons to cut down the use of plastic won the first prize in the Primary School category of the Green Wave Environmental Care Competition 2022.
The year-long competition saw active participation with 216 project submissions from some 850 students from primary and secondary schools, junior colleges/institutes of technical education and tertiary institutions, with a total of 76 awards, including cash prizes of up to $10,000, presented at the Green Wave awards ceremony held yesterday on 16 February 2023. The awards were presented to the winners by Guest-of-Honour Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education, at the Green Wave awards ceremony held yesterday on 16 February 2023 (please click here for details of his speech).
Among the entries included a project which won first prize in the Secondary School category by students from Dunman High School which explored distilling herbal extracts from medicinal waste for use as a safe and effective solution with minimum environmental impact on aquatic ecosystems for controlling algae and bacterial in water bodies.
SCM Green Wave 1st Prize (Secondary) – Dunman High School_16Feb23
Another award-winning project which won top prize in the Junior College (JC)/Institute of Technical Education (ITE)/Centralised Institutes (CI) category was the creative idea by a team from ITE College West to mount Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers on lamp posts as a space-saving, cost-efficient installation alternative to the erection of standalone EV charging stations which takes up precious real estate.
A team of students from Temasek Polytechnic took home the first prize in the Tertiary category for creating an innovative solar-powered sustainable automated carbon capture device that aims to improve air quality and reduce carbon emissions.
Education Minister Mr Chan Chun Sing with Green Wave Students 2_16Feb23
Other entries comprise a wide spectrum of projects that offer innovative solutions for a plethora of environmental issues – ranging from natural fly repellents for use in East Java chicken farms to recycled eco-friendly marker ink, as well as sustainable and biodegradable food packaging to reduce plastic use.
Fostering Young Eco-champions of Tomorrow
Since its inception in 2003, the annual Green Wave competition has established its standing as a key environmental competition platform for schools and tertiary institutions in the region. The competition aims to foster in the young an appreciation of global environmental challenges.
Through a hands-on project-based competition, students are offered the unique opportunities of identifying environmental problems, conceptualising the solutions and developing the most viable options. Such an ‘engineering approach’ is the perfect way for students to develop their own abilities and expand their horizons beyond the classroom.
Over the last 20 years, more than 18,000 students have participated in the Green Wave Competitions.
SCM Green Wave 1st Prize (Tertiary) – Temasek Poly_16Feb23
The COVID-19 pandemic did not put a stop to this annual competition. The advent of technology allowed online interactions and virtual presentations, as well as the strong support from tertiary institutions in Southeast Asia contributed much to the success of this regional competition.
Mr Wong Weng Sun, Sembcorp Marine President and CEO, said: “We are pleased to mark 20 years of advancing sustainability through our Green Wave Environmental Care Competition. This long-standing competition reflects our steadfast commitment towards environmental protection and our firm belief in fostering young eco-champions of tomorrow to make a difference in Singapore and globally.”
Source: Sembcorp Marine