the world is like our body. It is up to us to decide what’s good for it.
The mission statement of the “Save the World” movement (“Protecting the world’s environment – one person, and one business at a time”) caught my attention with its close link to my personal belief. If everyone makes an effort to cut down a little, this little contribution will snowball.
There are many ways to take part in saving the earth, but focusing on one or two ways at a time makes it easier for me to do my part. The pollution problem flashed its alert while I was on holiday in Australia. I caught a documentary, which depicted the harms of non-biodegradable waste in the ocean. The vicious cycle of people throwing rubbish in the sea, the fish eating the rubbish, and mankind eating the fish that ate the rubbish, shocked me.
I’m a seafood lover. This means that according to the food chain, I’ll be indirectly eating the rubbish. I immediately stopped using plastic bags, and have been bringing a recycling carrier along with me when I go shopping. It was during this time of revelation that I spotted a ring, which said, “NO PLASTIC”. This was symbolic to me in two ways: it reminded me to stay true to myself and to not use plastic. Finding the ring felt like a sign that I was doing something right and today, it has become my cult item.
I’ve since started collecting recycling bags, as some of them are well designed. They ensure I remain fashionable even while using them at the supermarket! The plastic and Styrofoam containers, which hawkers use to contain food, melt into the food when the containers get too hot. For environmental and health reasons, I have stopped using these harmful substances. Instead, I bring my own metal containers when I do takeaways.
As an entrepreneur, I have taken the “Save the World” movement into the office. My staff practice reducing, reusing and recycling, especially recycling paper. They are encouraged to print on both sides of the sheets, and to use recycled paper to print non-formal documents. Sharing the “Save the World” values with my staff gives them the opportunity to take these ideas out of the office and spread the word.
It takes a little to achieve a lot. If everyone in Singapore were to use just one less non-biodegradable object, we would
be cutting our consumption of these objects down by
five million.
The vicious cycle of people throwing rubbish in the sea, the fish eating the rubbish, and mankind eating the fish that ate the rubbish, shocked me.
