The battle against the lost cups

 Ever since we made the right decision to get rid of single-use plastic in our canteens, replacing them with reusable plastics, we've made a huge dent in how much waste we were producing. Although, now, we have a new problem. In 6 weeks in 2020, 800 cups were lost. Strewn around campus on tables, playgrounds, cupboard, fire extinguishers and worse, in bins! Facilities changed their clean up procedure to have employees scouring the campus for cups to use so that they don't run out, but ultimately losing money buying new cups. 

We ask ourselves the question, with all these hard plastics going missing and to waste, is this really more sustainable? 

What has been done 

 - More collection stations 

 - Posters 

 - Stickers on the black bins 

 - Display board in the tent 

 - Do the Right Thing Campaign 

Student Council Accountability week coming up in May 

 - Reminding students 

 - Proposed Accountability Week of no facilities collection 

 - Re education video 

Will this make a difference? Well, it's quite hard to measure without doing an inventory count but we are definitely enthusiastic for accountability week doing a difference. It seems to be a matter of trial and error until we get it right. However, it might be time to change the angle from sustainability and waste, to a student cultural behaviour. 

Track Our Trees - Reflecting on the past two season

This year a problem was identified by our service a sustainability team, that in our eager work to offer tree donations to community members, we have lost track of what trees are where. Therefore a service was offered to our high school's students, to investigate the campuses donated, and planted trees. They collected data, in order to report back to the foundations and gardening team, what is where and what needs attending to. As the season and big job comes to an end, the students have reflected on the importance of this organisation, and their role in this service. 

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"I learned the major differences between papaya trees, mango trees and banana trees. Most of the sessions were very efficient as the entire group split up into different pairs and each pair was assigned to a designated area. I think one of the biggest challenges we've encountered in this service was to identify the species of the tree and match it with the numbering system on the spreadsheet. Overall, I really enjoyed the service and the members, it was a great opportunity for me to get to know the flora population on the campus. - Sean Fang

"Track our Trees has been a very enjoyable service to be a part of through the first 2 seasons of the academic year. With sustainability being one of UWC's key underlying principles, I've learned a lot about the maintenance of our natural environment, and the general conditions necessary to promote the growth of vegetation in Singapore. I particularly enjoyed the tabulation of data within the common spreadsheet, as it gave a great sense of satisfaction to see the accumulation of all our work throughout the weeks and months. One of the struggles we sometimes had was paying attention to detail with some trees in our spreadsheet, and this involved revisiting zones multiple times. However, with determination and a good attitude we were able to complete our assigned tasks ahead of the deadlines set." - Siddarth Sridhar

"Doing this service, I have acquired a plethora of useful skills that are applicable to a multitude of scenarios I am to encounter later on. Perhaps the most important skill in improving was my skill in using spreadsheet software; in this instance, Google Sheets. I also greatly improved my knowledge of various species of Flora previously unknown to me." - Aidan Loughnan

"At the start of the season, it would take a few sessions to record data in a tree section. However, now we are able to cover a section in 1 session. Our speed and efficiency has progressively grown across the season and I feel more confident in identifying trees and recording data surrounding its health or structure." - Luka Matic