The National University of Singapore (NUS) on Tuesday removed 90 per cent of its rubbish bins from the Kent Ridge campus for a day to spread an environmental message.
The unconventional outreach activity, which was championed by the university’s student environmental group, Students Against the Violation of the Earth, aims to encourage youths to rethink the way they manage their waste.
Its members said the campaign serves as a wake-up call and they are hoping this could become an annual affair.
The group’s publicity director, Goh Jean Woon, said: “This is to put people out of their comfort zones because we believe there is a use-and-throw culture prevalent in Singapore. We see rubbish bins all around, so we think it’s convenient to throw our rubbish and the moment you throw your rubbish, it’s the end of our responsibility. That’s not true because waste doesn’t stop there.”
The group also hopes that the campaign can increase recycling efforts in the university.
Currently, only about 15 per cent of the rubbish disposed in the campus gets recycled. The group is hoping that with this campaign, the figure can increase to 20 per cent over the next semester.
