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5 Top Creative Classes

Leatherwork
REASON: Make the new It Bag
Sign up to one of The General Company’s leather workshop 101s and you’ll be making bags to give a Birkin a run for its money in next to no time. Get hands-on with the leather and be creative. thegeneralco.sg

Sweet Smelling
REASON: Who nose…
The General Company are at it again with this introduction to perfumery. In the two-hour class, you learn about the different facets and how to build your own scent. Breath deep for those floral notes. thegeneralco.sg

Hey Mr DJ
REASON: It’s not just for teenagers in their bedrooms
C’mon, you already have your DJ name picked out don’t you? Head to the Ministry of DJ team to get you up on the decks, spinning and mixing to your heart’s content. ministryofdjs.com.sg

Commit to Canvas
REASON: Join an art jam
Head to a studio where you can either fly solo to create your own masterpiece a la Picasso, or sign up for a session with a resident artist to give you some pointers on your technique. artjam.asia

Life Thru’ The Lens
REASON: Be the director of your family movie
Phocus Gallery in Telok Ayer offer a concise course to get you up and running using just your iPhone – or DSLR if you want to seem a little more pro’. In a couple of sessions, they’ll take you through the theory, filming and editing. Oscar-worthy already. phocus.com.sg

Bronze Medallions and Surf Rescue Certificates

Hear that stampede down at Tanjong Beach on the weekend? That was the sound of 13 ANZA Singapore Nippers members, young and old, passing their proficiency test to start training for their Bronze Medallion and Surf Rescue Certificate. After churning their way through a 400m swim in under 9 minutes, this squad got down and sandy to learn how to perform a tube rescue, a board rescue, a rescue with a spinal board, carries for conscious and unconscious patients, signals, radio call signs, and CPR.
To top it all off, they kicked up the sand and battled the ocean some more to achieve their 200m/200m/200m run-swim-run in under 8 minutes. It was a team effort, with every member ahead inspiring those in their wake. If you can imagine a peloton in water, this was it. The camaraderie didn’t end there though. From bottoms in faces while riding boards, to post-lunch breath shared over CPR techniques, to lying face down in the water and trusting team-mates to lift you out correctly, everyone got a whole lot closer!
This includes 11 coaches and assistant coaches who will join our existing 10 Bronzies to lead our Nippers age groups this season, as well as 2 very dedicated Nipper participants from the U14 age group who are going for their Surf Rescue Certificate. Owen Van der Werff and Astrid Kowald-Linsley are living proof of what can be achieved through Nippers. As our older Nipper participants they will soon graduate to assisting some of our younger age groups and hopefully they can go on to learn some more advanced Surf Life Saving.
There’s no rest for the wicked though. This squad will be swotting hard this week to learn how to deal with all sorts of bites, stings, cuts, impacts, and all sorts of medical conditions to pass their First Aid. Then its assessment time all weekend to see if they can pull off a mass rescue.
What’s it all for? With year round warm weather, who wouldn’t want to learn how to be safer, smarter and happier at the beach. Get involved in Nippers, fun surf lifesaving activities for kids, and sign up for the new season here. There are still spaces left in some age groups, but get in quick as a fish.

Teenage Eating Disorder

What is an eating disorder?

There are three main types of eating disorders. The first one is anorexia, where your child or teenager will refuse to eat adequate amount of food/calories due to an irrational fear of being or becoming fat. The second one is called bulimia, where your child will engage in “binging” (extreme overeating), and then use “purging methods” (self-induced vomiting, laxatives) to avoid gaining weight. The third one is called binging, where your child will grossly overeat without using any “purging methods”. When someone suffers from an eating disorder, if can be a mix of all of those. Your teenager could be alternating periods of anorexia, bulimia, and binging.

Who is at risk of getting an eating disorder?

Doctors are not 100% sure why eating disorders happen. We think it is a combination of genetic and social factors. Eating disorders will usually first appear in teenage years or early adulthood, and girls are more at risk than boys. Teenagers can be easily influenced by unhealthy body images they are exposed to in their day to day life (on TV, in magazines, on social media, etc.). An adolescent who has low self-esteem, is in any kind of mental distress, has a fear of becoming overweight (either by seeing constant images of rod thin models, or from being teased by peers in school, or other), or has someone in their family suffering from an eating disorder is also more at risk of developing one.

How can I tell if my teenage child is suffering from an eating disorder?

Being a teenager is tough and comes with many challenges. This is why it is important, as a parent, to try to recognise if your child is suffering from an eating disorder so you can get them the help they need.
We have to remember that an eating disorder is not really about food. It’s usually more about keeping control of one’s body, fear of loosing control, etc. It often goes hand in hand with other mental health problems like anxiety, depression, and drug abuse.
The signs to look for are: anxiety/depression, low self-esteem, being overly critical of themselves, dieting even when not overweight, extremely rapid weight loss that they might try to hide with shapeless clothes, excessive exercising, being terrified of becoming fat, strange eating habits (avoiding meals, eating in secret, hiding food in room, high calorie food disappearing from the cupboards, etc.). If your child has constant mood swings or spends an unusual amount of time in the bathroom after meals, those should also raise a red flag.

What are the consequences of suffering from an eating disorder?

Eating disorders can affect every aspects of your teenager’s life. It affects mental health, physical health, school, relationships, etc. The physical effects of eating disorders depend on the type of eating disorder, but as teenagers will usually have more than one type, they can suffer from many of those consequences.

Anorexia:
– Loss of menstruation (periods stopping)
– Fragile bones
– Irregular heart beat
– Slow pulse, slow breathing, lower body temperature
– Damage to kidneys, liver, brain, heart

Bulimia:
– Damage to the esophagus from vomiting
– Damage to teeth from vomiting
– Abnormal levels of potassium in blood (can cause irregular heart beat as well)

Binging:
– High blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes

What should I do if I think that my child has an eating disorder?

If you suspect that your child or teenager is struggling with an eating disorder, don’t keep silent. Your child needs you to advocate and speak up for them. It can be a long road to recovery and your child will need you to support him/her all the way.
Talk to your family doctor, we are usually well equipped to start the discussion with you and your teenager. As a doctor, I would usually order some blood tests and ECG (heart test) to make sure that your child’s organs are not suffering. Then, we usually talk about psychotherapy (counselling) which can be extremely helpful, and sometimes medications can also be prescribed to help. In Singapore, we have some wonderful Eating Disorder programs where psychiatrist, dietitian, counselors, etc. will work together to give your child their best chance at recovery.

Dr Méli Noël is a Canadian trained doctor based at IMC Jelita. Call 6465 4440 to make an appointment.

ANZA Magazine September 2017

From the Rainforest, to the Sea

Wandering Yogi, Lee Carsley, takes a trip of extremes.

Borneo is known for its beautiful beaches and ancient rainforest, home to so many of the world’s plant and animal species, including the most famous of them all, the orangutan.

Sabah, one of the Malaysian States to make up Borneo, has another unenviable reason to earn a reputation. It produces 12% of the world’s total palm oil supply.  With over a fifth of its land under palm oil plantation, Sabah contributes 30% to Malaysia’s total palm oil production. Malaysia and Indonesia combined, supply 85% of global demand.

I wonder as we make the three hour flight from Singapore into Kota Kinabalu, how Sabah manages to balance its amazing biodiversity with the rampaging global thirst for palm oil.

Singapore to SABAH

The choices on what to do in Sabah are adventure based. You can hike the 4,095m-high Mount Kinabalu, or dive the famous Sipadan Island. Spend some time at the beach, visit the orangutan, and of course go rainforest wild. We opted for a five-day light adventure designed by myself, traversing Borneo from the rainforest to the sea.

The best time to travel is between March and October when it is driest.  We were there in February. It was incredibly hot and the mosquitoes were persistent. Something also to note, because Mount Kinabalu is considered an extreme hike and Sipadan Island is ISIS territory with kidnappings of tourists a weekly occurrence (so much so that they are no longer reported), neither place is covered by travel insurance. Just bear it in mind.

To reach the rainforest, it was one short plane ride from Kota Kinabalu (KK) to Sandakan and a depressing 30-minute drive through palm oil plantations to Sepilok. The digs were cheap, as are all digs in Sepilok – but ours was a mere 10-minutes walk to the orangutan reserve. Our room was small, dark and smelt of mould. Food was MSG central, and breakfast was for carb-otarians.  However, we were there for the orangutan and were incredibly excited for the next morning to come around.


The Rainforest

In Sabah, you have two conservation centres to visit the orangutan. One is a public/private partnership in Kota Kinabalu, the Shangri La Rasa Ria Nature Reserve. Here they foster young orangutan from infancy until they are old enough to be transferred to the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre further north. The latter, opened in 1964 by an English woman named Barbara Harrison, has been rescuing orangutan from logging sites, plantations, illegal hunting or those kept as pets ever since. The orphans learn living skills with humans and others of their kind and once they reach a certain age, they either stay near the centre or move into Kabili-Sepilok Forest Reserve which is about 4,294 ha of mostly virgin rainforest. Today around 60 to 80 orangutan live freely in the reserve.
It also has a nursery area where younger orangutan first learn to be outside and play on a large climbing frame. The viewing area consists of two large indoor seating areas with a large window that overlooks the play area. Great for the kids and kids at heart.

Borneo is not iPhone camera territory – you need a 400mm lens and a good camera to get the best nature shots. Sepilok’s viewing area is some distance away from the orangutan, and you can pay about US$300 a day to rent a 600mm lens inside the Centre, but I would not recommend it. The cameras have a tendency to look like guns – the orangutan have long memories, even longer arms, and are very strong. There have been a few stories about tourists losing their cameras to a seriously pissed orangutan.

There are two open feedings every day; 10am and 3pm. The morning feed is jam-packed with tourists, but they depart for other adventures soon after. Your ticket is for the whole day so I would suggest the 3 o’clock session – we were able to quietly enjoy the orangutan, whom without a large audience, became braver.

Across the road is the Sun Bear Conservation Centre, home to about 44 rescued sun bears. They are the smallest bears in the world, found only in South East Asia and their biggest threat is down to illegal hunting (either for their body parts, or as pets).

They are darned cute-looking but they are extremely territorial. Their long claws are used for hunting for ants, and to inflict nasty wounds on other bears that wander too close. We saw two involved in a nasty fight over a tree stump. I have a picture of a woman from a Lao conservation centre with one arm, thanks to a sun bear. But don’t worry; you never, ever get that close to them here. Hence the camera lens.

Kinabatangan River

The river starts high in Sabah’s Crocker Range and winds 560km down to its mangrove swamp estuary into the Sulu Sea. We took a two-hour drive north from Sepilok through those damn palm oil plantations, hopped on a short boat ride before arriving at our river ‘resort’.

The World Wildlife Fund states Kinabatangan is one of only two known places on Earth where 10 primate species can be found including the Bornean Orangutan, the Proboscis Monkey, Macaques, Caped Langurs (called the Beckham monkey by locals due to their punk hair cut) and Bornean Gibbon.

You can also expect to see crocodiles, hawks, eagles, at least three varieties of hornbills, kingfishers, and so much more. If you’re very lucky, you may catch a glimpse of the Pygmy Elephant feeding on the edge of the riverbank as we did. We spotted a mother and her baby, swimming across one of the river tributaries.

Evening river cruises are busy and you will be competing for photo angles but that is when you will see the most orangutan, gibbon and monkeys. Morning cruises are less touristy, and the time for eagles, egrets and reptiles.  Just don’t forget that big lens!

One Sunday night, we took a night walk with no real idea of where we were going but it appeared to be around our resort.  Listening to the sounds of ‘Nearer my God to Thee’ coming from a nearby community chapel, we spotted a mouse deer, a rare marbled cat that looked a little like an Aussie possum dressed in cat clothes, and any number of sleeping baby kingfishers and parrots. We also took home some leeches, so bring matches
and salt with you.

The Sea

Heading back to KK took the better part of a day, but we arrived in our island resort in time for a sunset tipple. There are two resorts quite close to KK; Gaya and Bunga Raya. The former is home to a marine ecology centre and pluses include morning fish feeding of giant trevally; 5* for both food and location; as well as ocean stilt villas and on-beach accommodation. We stayed there but visited Bunga Raya, a short private boat ride away, for its beautiful beach and its great ‘sandy toes’ bar and dining area – although it let itself down on lack of choice for the plant-based eaters among us.

We also took a three-hour hike across Gaya Island, where we lost 2.5kgs and 4.5litres of water from our bodies. We went diving and saw turtles, loads of fish and the amazing coral diversity (83 staghorn corals have been recorded in Sabah Borneo), – but also experienced the uncomfortable underwater sensation of reef dynamiting, despite its prohibition in national parks.

When it came time to leave, it was a short 15-minute private boat ride back to KK, then to the airport, before arriving back in Singapore the same day. We are fortunate to literally have one of the most unique eco systems on our doorstep. Go visit it, come back, and together let’s commit to keeping it for our children’s children.

Top Tips

  • Sunscreen & mosquito repellent – loads of it.
  • Decent camera & lens – hire a 400mm lens http://sg.camerarental.biz – ANZA discount applies.
  • Cover your shoulders & knees when out in public, particularly in the north.
  • Stay in the rainforest, rather than just visit it.

Amo

33 Hong Kong Street, 059672
6723 7733
amorestaurant.sg

Rule number one, when heading to the latest creation from IlLido patron, Beppe de Vito: go very, very hungry. Rule number two, wear elasticated pants. Number three, leave your guilt at the door for this is a place to indulge.

A quick spin around, before we get onto the important things like the Italian food and wine. The interior is a warehouse-style take on the shophouse location with a narrow bar for aperitifs and a private dining space for celebrations. Through to the back, past the window into the frenetic world of the kitchen, you pass through a jungle-esque hug of palm fronds into the courtyard. It’s a perfect space for an excuse to get a group of friends together, so remember it, you’re going to want to book.

Back to the food…The menu is fit to bursting with dishes to take you back to Roman Holiday or sun-splashed afternoons on Capri. Try zucchini flowers with mortadella, linguine with clams and black cod with crab cioppino and fregola. But whatever you do, leave space for the pizza – it’s already being hailed as the best in Singapore and I’m inclined to agree. We tried the mushroom, truffle, mascarpone and Tuscan pecorino, but they all looked delizioso! And when we literally couldn’t button our jeans, the charming waiters boxed up the rest of the meal for us to take away. The waiters are also extremely knowledgeable about the wine so take their lead on ordering something crisp and light to cut through all that truffle, garlic, prosciutto di Parma, fresh pasta…

In short, go. You’ll love it for a relaxed evening of great food. We’ve already booked the outdoor terrace for a birthday celebration of pizza, palm fronds and prosecco. Our big pants are at the ready.

Jade – The Fullerton Hotel

1 Fullerton Square, 049178
6877 8188
fullertonhotels.com

The newly reopened JADE at The Fullerton Hotel’s lobby, not only boasts a pretty and welcoming interior, but also a menu with popular favourites as well as new creations.
The light green lustre of precious jade gemstones is reflected in the exclusive wallpaper, Chinese artefacts, plants and staff uniforms, creating a sense of calm. Chinese executive chef Leong is also a skilled craftsman and some of his works are displayed in the restaurant, including sculpture, pottery and calligraphy.

Cantonese cuisine is the mainstay, acclaimed for its variety of stir-fried dishes. I particularly enjoyed crispy roasted pork belly with its ‘noisy’ crackling leaving a pleasant feel in the mouth. Baked lemongrass char siew lamb rib loin, using New Zealand lamb, is basted with honey during cooking, complementing the aroma of zesty lemongrass, while the accompanying sauce entices with hints of rose wine. Other signature items encompass barbecued osmanthus-flavoured char siew bun with its floral scent and fruity taste. Also, simmered egg-noodles with Boston lobster and XO chilli sauce, as well as sautéed beef tenderloin with crispy garlic in black pepper sauce.

Finish with delightfully smooth hot almond cream with egg white accompanied by pistachio muah chee.

Located at 1 Fullerton Square in the heart of the city, the hotel is a national monument, yet another reason to visit and absorb the historical vibes still in evidence.

5 Humbling Conservation Points

Sharks
More than 70million sharks are killed each year according to the World Wildlife Fund. For many, it’s a slow death by drowning once their fins have been savagely hacked off for the shark fin soup so popular in parts of Asia. Join campaigns such as FINished with FINS to protest against the trade.

Javan Rhinos
There are just 60 surviving in Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia. Until the early 20th century they existed from India and throughout Southeast Asia but poaching, disease and invasive species have pushed it to the edge of extinction. Read about the translocate program at worldwildlife.org.

Elephants
Not seen The Ivory Game yet? Watch it. A highly emotional film that tackles head-on the problem faced: 150,000 African elephants killed in the last five years for the multi-billion dollar ivory industry. Traders in this “white gold” actually WANT the extinction of elephants. Do your bit and head to the ivorygame.com to see how you can help to stop it.

Orangutan
These men of the forest (as it means in Malay) share 96.4{d2c05350095ed942d62ca1635aad234a702e9575e5f9632e6c89e76dec25dfbf} of our DNA yet how are they treated? The pet trade is a huge problem – each orangutan reaching Taiwan, as many as 3-5 additional animals die – as is the loss of their habitat to make way for palm oil plantations.

Great Barrier Reef
Earlier this year, some scientists warned that the Reef, the world’s largest living structure was now in a “terminal stage.” Two thirds of shallow coral have been severely affected by bleaching (caused by global-warming induced rises to sea surface temps) in the last 18months with little chance of recovery.

Columbia Jungle Run 2017

Announced just last month, Columbia Jungle Run made waves in the local trail running community as a fresh challenge for pros, fun event for novices, and unique opportunity for active families.

Organised by Centaurs Group and sponsored by Columbia sportswear, this brand-new event on the Singapore calendar is a refreshing take on the trail run. Held at the privately-operated Centaurs Sports Park, Turf City, Bukit Timah on Sunday 1 October, competitors will traverse the twists of untamed jungle tracks for around 5 kilometres.

Natural and manmade obstacles incorporate river runs, bank climbs, wall jumps, balance beams, scramble nets, barrier hurdles, tyre jumps and more to guarantee a thrilling, fun terrain for kids and their parents, seasoned runners or those looking to experience something different.

“Families who run together, have fun together”, says Jungle Run Race Director and CEO of Centaurs Group, Tim Lambert. “Centaurs has been developing juniors through sport and recreation since 2002, encouraging the family dynamic to flourish. When parents and children work together they inspire, support and encourage. That’s why we’re offering four categories in the Jungle Run: two for individual runners, and two for those who want to run as a parent-child pair. Centaurs is all about family and community and these parent/child combos embrace this ethos.”

The Jungle Run will reveal an elusive pocket of Singapore. The Pit and the Centaurs Jungle Trail – renowned for dynamic kids parties and camps, as well as the Mountain Bike Jungle Cross Race series – are only open for special events and bookings.

“From the Grandstand, you see established sports and recreation facilities on the old Turf Club racetrack. What many don’t know is that the central ravine is thriving with indigenous flora and fauna. It’s a truly stunning part of Singapore”, says Centaurs Group’s Charli Bromley.

Columbia Jungle Run will be a family and community affair as the finish line meets a festival celebrating local business, the Bukit Timah Community Village.

For a family trail-running event like no other, join the very first Columbia Jungle Run on the morning of Sunday, 1 October 2017. Prizes for top 3 finishers in each category and every runner receives a race pack with a Columbia Jungle Run running t-shirt and finisher’s medal.

Register here: www.centaursgroup.com/columbia-jungle-run/. Registration closes: 17 September and is limited to 750 runners.

Doing Our Bit

The Singapore of old was humorously observed as the Five Cs: Cash, Car, Credit-Card, Condo, and Country-Club. Times have obviously moved on – hopefully we’re all a little less materialistic and now we’re turning our attentions to another letter in the alphabet, the Five Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot.

Much of the following, you’re undoubtedly already doing – or at least variations of. Many people I’ve spoken to from Australia and New Zealand are more than aware of the benefits of recycling, keeping an eye on their impact on the environment. But we can always do with a little booster lesson and an opportunity to share the info.

You’ve watched Al Gore and Leonardo Decaprio’s climate change documentaries; you’re conscientious  on what you buy and where you buy it; you enjoy the outdoors and want to keep it as pristine as possible. But it’s all about doing our bit and being educated so don’t just recycle, refuse plastic; don’t just re-use your clothes, reduce the fashion you buy. It’s incredible the impact we can have collectively so no change in lifestyle is too small. I’m starting today.

 

REFUSE

Straw Wars

Just say no. Americans use over 500million straws EVERY DAY, and in a world where up to 43{fad86f5e3336133246a213aa2a2588200b27e4ae08b3f6f25405093f2c4991ee} of plastic ends up in a landfill site, these tiny tubes – which, FYI, take 200years to break down – are taking up way too much space. Drink directly from the glass or purchase a metal or bamboo re-usable straw.

 

Plastic Not-So-Fantastic

By 2050, the ocean will contain more plastic than fish at the rate we’re disposing one-use items. Remember your reusable bag when heading to the supermarket and say “No, I do not need three plastic bags to individually wrap my bread rolls.”

 

To Market

Heading to the Tekka or Chinatown wet markets means you’re buying your goods directly and they’re not pre-packaged in a styrofoam tray and enough clingfilm to wrap your first born. Also – although its obviously difficult to avoid in Singapore – you can keep an eye on where your food is flying in from. Buying local produce or picking Asian vegetables over the European counterparts for example reduces the farm-to-table footprint. Tick tick.

 

REDUCE

Takeaway Your Need

Oh the ease of the food delivery app. A quick select ‘n’ click, and food is enroute within 30minutes – along with three bags, a set of plastic cutlery you won’t use and a container for the three leaves of your side salad. What about your daily coffee from the shop to your desk? I am dreadful at this and my over-flowing bin of disposable cups puts me to shame. Essentially here, it’s about trying to use your supper leftovers for lunch the next day and packing them into reusable tupperware.

 

On Your Bike

In a city as accessible as Singapore, there really is no excuse not to use the MRT or walk – although sometimes getting to meetings a little flushed and flustered isn’t always the impression you want to start with. There are also the great bike initiatives such as oBike, the “stationless bike-sharing platform”. Download the app, locate your nearest oBike, scan the QR code to unlock it and off you go. Your carbon footprint AND your calories go down. Win, win.

 

Why to Buy?

Take a look at the Story of Stuff on YouTube: it tells the story of production from extraction to disposal or the “material’s economy”. I found the psychology behind what and why we buy absolutely fascinating – especially as many of us are part of a generation that has grown up on brilliant marketing and the social media pressure for bigger and better. It’s about 20minutes of easy-to-digest info that gets you thinking about what you really need and what your possessions actually mean to you.

 

Wasted Energy

We’re all concious of turning off the light when we leave a room, but I know I’m still guilty of leaving the TV on standby. I spoke to a firm who look at the energy efficiency of various businesses and advise them on how to reduce costs with the by-product that it is sustainable and good for the envrionment. They drew to my attention that when looking at the business accounts, every last dollar was accounted for but energy isn’t as scrupolously looked at.

Finding out exactly what appliance uses what, could effect your use and in turn, reduce your overall cost.

And it probably goes without saying, but try using a fan instead of your AC blasting out arctic air all day. I don’t want to run the risk of being called an alarmist if I tell you some of the scary figures surrounding AC usage and carbon released into the environment!

 

 

REUSE

Fix it, Don’t Bin It

We live in a world where companies deliberately produce items less durable so we have to buy new things; or the technology is developing so quickly that our products rapidly go out of date. However, check out Repair Kopitiam which runs a repair workshop on the last Sunday of every month – they have a Facebook site to confirm locations, dates and registration.

Also, make a point of trying to buy the best you can, when you can – a higher cost to begin with can prove more energy efficient and durable. But you know that.

 

Upcycle

Recall the Blue Peter programme? What those guys couldn’t make with an old yogurt pot and some sticky back plastic. This is a great aspect of eco-lifestyle that the kids can get involved with. Best advice for some inspiration here is to check out the Festival for Good (see pages 42).

Pass-It-On

With so much disposable fashion, we’re buying and getting rid of more clothing than ever before – and much of it is ending up at landfill. So make sure you donate your second-hand clothes to charities such as the Salvation Army (salvationarmy.org/singapore). Or stores such as H&M have installed recycling bins in their 10 outlets across Singapore to encourage you to drop off unwanted items. Last year, they collected 64 tonnes of second-hand fashion.

 

RECYCLE

Eeek! E-waste

This is the biggie. With new designs and tech companies wanting us to upgrade and repurchase, it’s no wonder that there’s so much getting thrown in the bin. E-waste (phones, computers, kettles) contain harmful chemicals and so we need to get better at managing this aspect of recycling. Watch out for the RENEW bins at 274 locations across the island – head to www.starhub.com/about-us/corporate-sustainability-and-responsibility/recycling-nations-electronic-waste.html for a full list of what you can and cannot dispose of and bin locations. Also take a look at ReCYCLE (www.recycle.sg/), a programme launched this year between Singtel and SingPost. Unwanted devices can be dropped at Singtel stores or mailed so that the components can be recovered and given a new lease of life. Just trashing your e-waste results in incineration – and all of those toxins smoking up into the atmosphere you live in.

 

Battery Operated

Rechargeable batteries are best, but the chemicals in any are harmful to the environment. Traces of mercury are found in these as well as fluorescent lamps so there can’t just be thrown into your regular recycling. Currently there is no official programme for your batteries – only for computer and mobile batteries. Problem. However, if you’re near an IKEA, they do take lamps and batteries for recycling. It may be worth the trip.

 

Where does it go?

So scarily, more than 90{fad86f5e3336133246a213aa2a2588200b27e4ae08b3f6f25405093f2c4991ee} of Singapore waste goes to the incinerator…at this rate the country will need to build a new plant every decade or so and one Sentosa-sized landfill every 35-45 years (thefinder.com). That’s costly and not even sustainable. Make a point to separate your recyclables and drop them in the clearly marked bins at your condo or HDB. Most malls offer a recycling service too, so there’s really

no excuse.

 

ROT

Compost-ition

Over half of your daily waste is food stuffs – it’s the equivalent of each citizen throwing two bowls of rice in the trash every 24hours.  Put another way, cutting food waste by 15{fad86f5e3336133246a213aa2a2588200b27e4ae08b3f6f25405093f2c4991ee} would have the same impact on CO2 emissions as taking 86,000 cars off the road. So how about composting rather than throwing down the chute? Or going one-step further and getting a worm farm? They don’t need much space (you can buy worm farms to fit under the kitchen sink) which is great news in our square-foot-poor city living. I found a great website, www.zerowaste.sg with lots of tips on how to get started.

 

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