This cleanup is part of a new Humanist Society annual initiative called National Day Community Service. where every year in August, we will roll up our sleeves and take part in various projects to help the needy and protect the environment. This is also our first physical event since the Circuit Breaker. Safety precautions were taken.
Recently, monsoon winds have brought huge amounts of trash onto Singapore’s East Coast. Some types of trash, especially plastics, are very harmful to marine life.
By the time our volunteers started cleaning the beach on 15 August, large pieces of trash have been removed by efforts of the government and other volunteer initiatives. The beach looked deceptively clean.
However, the beach is still very dirty as there are still tens of thousands of small styrofoam pieces, plastics and cigarette butts lodged in the sand and in between pebbles and grass. The trash deposited earlier had been broken by elements of nature, leaving countless small pieces behind that are still harmful to wildlife.
Our volunteers concentrated efforts in the areas around East Coast Car Park E2. The cleanup lasted from 10am to 12pm. The sun was strong and we reminded volunteers to hydrate themselves regularly.
Moments from the cleanup
After the cleanup ended, some volunteers met at East Coast Lagoon Food Village for refreshments.
This is our fourth beach cleanup to date. Previously, we have organised cleanups in Pulau Ubin (2015, 2017) and Changi beach (2016). Read about our Ubin cleanup below:
