Liew Jia Min (FoE), Low Fei Yun (FASS), Rao Pranathi Mahesh (FoE), Stuart Chen Tze-Jin (FoS), Tchea Yu (FASS), Tristan Ho Ze Min (FoS)
Academic Advisor: Dr. Chua Siew Chin
In Singapore, 7,673,500 tonnes of waste are generated every year, and a meagre 4,649,700 tonnes of waste are recycled (about 61%). This dismal statistic highlights the dire need for integrating Zero-Waste Schemes into existing Waste Management Systems. Especially on campus, the wastage of resources – food, paper and water, needs to be curbed with immediacy. In this project, we attempt to investigate the possibility of achieving a “Zero-Waste” Campus. Zero-Waste refers to minimizing the production of waste that needs treatment or landfilling. Hence, the adoption of a “Zero-Waste” scheme inherently involves the reduction in consumption and an increase in recycling efforts. We will be conducting a trial of the “Zero Waste Challenge” on a randomized student sample. This project has two aims. Firstly, to encourage individuals to discover environmentally friendly ways of performing day-to-day activities with the aim of producing zero waste during the course of one week. Through this, we hope participants will realise that it is possible to cut down on the waste we produce. Next, using the feedback gathered from participants from both pre-campaign and post-campaign surveys, we would pinpoint the difficulties that a typical student faces when trying to reduce the waste they produce on campus, and feedback to the school management on how it can better facilitate a zero waste lifestyle on campus.
Keywords: Culture and Lifestyle Trends, Responsible Consumption, zero waste campaign, vlog and blog, waste reduction.