People often associate good deeds with heaps of money or other big commitments. But these assumptions are not entirely right because you can still contribute to society without large amounts of time and/or money.

You can begin with everyday habits and that on its own is already a good cause! Think about how not wasting your food is one. It is really that simple, and by simply finishing everything on your plate, you are minimizing food wastage and that is already helping the environment. While the problem of increased wastage might not threaten us directly, our descendants will be the ones to clean up our mess.

To encourage everyone to commence this green movement, Singapore’s National Environment Agency is inviting everybody to participate in a “No Waste Days” Challenge, where selected participants stand a chance to win either a GoPro Hero4 Silver Camera worth S$590 or Daniel Wellington Watches worth S$198 each for their commendable actions in leaving less carbon footprints behind. Read on more to find out how we can all be part of this meaningful cause and how you can participate in this contest.

WHY YOU SHOULD TAKE PART IN THE “NO WASTE” CHALLENGE

Imagine living in a dumpster.

While the above scenario is too extreme for Singaporeans to imagine, a fact remains true – land is extremely scarce in Singapore. The rapidly increasing amount of trash is straining our already limited resources and in the future, Singapore will be struggling to build more incineration plants and landfills to cope with garbage.

The undesirable results such as polluted lands and exorbitant properties could be reduced and everyone can help to reduce the potential environmental damage and possible economic inflation in property prices.

Before we commence on what this challenge is all about, we just want to say that this movement does not require much effort on your part and you might not see its immediate effect – but each small action goes a long, long way.

From bringing your own shopping bags to actually finishing the food you order, these little gestures are a great way to start giving back to the environment. So shall we all take the effort to do something for our environment? Gather your family, friends and colleagues to join in this challenge and you might be rewarded with cool prizes.

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE AND WIN PRIZES

Participate in the #NoWasteDays Instagram Contest either by yourself or with a friend. The winning individual participant will get a GoPro Hero4 Silver Camera valued at S$590 while the winning team of two can walk away with a pair of Daniel Wellington Watches worth S$396. Six S$50 NTUC vouchers are up for grabs too! Going green has never been cooler.

For solo participants: Demonstrate an eco-friendly action, capture the act and upload it on your public Instagram account with the following hashtags #NoWasteDays and #NoWasteDaysHero. If you are at a lost on what you could capture, do know that it could simply be a picture of you taking the last bite of your lunch . Or even a picture of you bringing your own reusable coffee mug for your daily dose of latte to cut down the number of wasted disposable cups.

For a team of two: Follow @Be_EcoWithMe on Instagram and look out for their weekly posts where they would ask simple questions twice a week till Friday, 4 December 2015. To take part, both participants have to repost the picture with the hashtags #NoWasteDays and #NowWasteDaysTagTeam. You would have to tag your friend in the image and include the answer in your caption. Sounds simple, isn’t it!

If you are interested for your school or office to carry out “No Waste Days”, support will be given to your organisation where NEA will provide a collection box, pledge cards and pull-up banners etc to facilitate your event. Alternatively, you could also sponsor this programme financially. Together, we can all be part of this course within our own means.

For more information about “No Waste” Challenge, visit its official website here and ‘like’ Clean And Green Singapore’s Facebook Page.

This post is brought to you by Clean And Green Singapore.

“Going green is not about taking a leap of faith into the unknown. Rather, it’s about taking baby steps to make changes to our current lifestyle. Like a jigsaw puzzle, every little piece contributes to a bigger picture.” – Dweam.com

Earth Hour 2011 is taking place on the 26th March next saturday. The recent disaster in Japan has shown how fragile life is. This is surely a timely warning that Earth is not well, and we should do whatever we can to conserve energy. Simple things like reducing food wastage, switching off electrical appliances when not using, changes plates only when necessary can potentially make a big difference.

You don’t have to be an environmentalist to know that our actions have an impact on Earth. The beauty blogger has come up with some tips on how to conserve energy, it is really not that difficult to do our part for the environment.

It is heartening to know that some establishments in Singapore have implemented green policy initiatives:

Four Seasons Singapore The hotel has an Organic Garden, and Staff are involved in cultivating herbs and spices like limes, bananas, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, marjoram, tarragon. If you are wondering what can you do during Earth Hour, a special menu will be featured at One-Ninety restaurant on Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 8:30 pm: all food items used will be organic and electricity and gas will be reduced close to 0%.

Holiday Inn Atrium For Earth Hour 2011, the hotel will be dimming/switching off lights in the public area. To encourage house guests to switch off the lights in their rooms, the hotel will also be having a special Earth Hour F&B promotion at its restaurants ($0.60 for every second beer at Lobby Lounge, Special $60 Earth Hour menu for two pax at Xin Cuisine and 50% off Melting Pot Café buffet) and Executive lounge.

InterContinental Singapore A five-pronged waste management strategy has been implemented to reduce daily waste and contribute to a greener environment. Besides the segregation of recyclable materials and waste, the green hotel also has water saving devices in placed, and it has led to a reduction in water usage by about 8% from the previous year. For Earth Hour 2011, the hotel will be dimming/switching off lights in the public area. At Olive Tree restaurant, there is a blackout draw with prizes such as 50% discount off food bill or a complimentary whole cakes, wines and chocolate.

Sentosa Group The exterior lights of the attractions on Sentosa like the Merlion, Sky Tower, and Images of Singapore will be switched off during Earth Hour on the 26th March 8.30pm – 9.30pm. In addition to that, it is also worth noting that Sentosa Leisure Group’s main office has replaced the T8 lights with more energy-savings T5 lights for the long run.

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Do share with us what are some of the things that you do to conserve energy. Remember to switch off your lights during Earth Hour 2011: 26th march 8.30pm – 9.30pm!

“We should always use our influence to make positives changes to this world.”

Miss Earth Singapore is the one who taught me this, and like what I’ve mentioned before — it’s easy to be influenced by her passion to make changes and help the environment. Today, I’m not going to talk about the good food in Singapore. Instead, I will like to bring your attention to something more serious: Food Wastage in Singapore.

I’m not about to write a thesis on food wastage and starvation in the world. I’m definitely not dumb enough to bore you with the statistics, because chances are, you will just switch off and look at my other food reviews. Please give me a minute of your time to read this post, because everyone can play a part to help the environment.

According to the Waste Statistics and Recycling Rate for 2009 that is released by the National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore, there was a total of 529,400 tonnes of waste disposed, and only 13% (76,700) was recycled. I’m not sure if you get the magnitude of things here, but 1 tonne is 1000kg — which makes it 529.4 million kg of food waste. Now, you see what I’m talking about?

Here’s 3 simple steps on how to reduce food wastage in Singapore.

Order less food (or order wisely)

Don’t be alarm that the food blogger is asking you to eat less. I’m just advising you to order wisely. Somehow or rather, we tend to over-order when there are guests around. All of us want the best for our companions, so I understand that it’s only human to do that.

Explain that you can always make a second round of order if the food is not enough. Ask the staff about the portion of the food if you are not sure how big it is. If you know you have a small appetite, order less, or offer to share it with your dining companions. In short, don’t over-order and waste food.

Finish all the food that you order

I get very upset whenever someone cannot finish their food. First, they are not appreciating the chefs’ effort in preparing the food. And most importantly, there are so many people starving all over the world, and here we are, complaining that we are too full, or that the food isn’t nice enough.

Finish, whatever that you have ordered. Do not leave anything on the plate. Lick it clean and make sure that you can see your own reflection in it.

Bring home the leftovers

No one is going to laugh if you tell the waitress to pack the leftovers (when there’s really a lot of food untouched). If they do, tell me their names and I will give them a piece of my mind. It’s not about being ‘stingy’ or ‘thrifty’ – it’s about not wasting food. I know it may seems embarrassing to pack the leftovers, but do think of it as your part to help the environment towards less food wastage.

If the staff tells you that you can’t pack the leftovers home, repeat the following to them: “Hello? We paid for our food, so what’s wrong if we want to pack it home?” Disclaimer: Please don’t try this in a buffet restaurant.

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To round things up, I just want you to know that there are currently 925 million people who do not have enough to eat – that’s more than the populations of USA, Canada and the European Union. Starvation in the world is very real, so please appreciate that we are actually very blessed to have food on our table every day.

The next time you can’t finish your food, think of all the people who are starving out there.

// This post about Food Wastage in Singapore is inspired by dweam.