To enhance environmental awareness, pre-schoolers in Singapore are being trained to identify recyclable waste and even to sort it. This will go a long way in nurturing young children to be sensitive to environmental issues right from the beginning.
This is part of the annual recycling drive organised by the South West Community Development Council and the National Environment Agency (South West Regional Office) to encourage residents to recycle items, which can then be exchanged for groceries.
For the first time, 360 children from two pre-schools, NTUC’s My First Skool in Kang Ching and in Yung An, are involved in this drive.
The children have already started identifying and collecting their families’ recyclables, and bringing them to collection points at their pre-schools. The drive will continue till January 26.
At the end of this period, they will be involved in sorting out and weighing the recyclable items, with their teachers guiding them.
When the exercise ends, the items will be redeemed for groceries, which will go to needy residents in the area.
The organisers also hope to rope in more pre-schools in the district in future to participate in this drive, known as Clean Up South West!
South West District Mayor and Member of Parliament (Chua Chu Kang) Low Yen Ling said “When good habits form in childhood, they can stay with us for a lifetime. When we have our pre-schoolers start recycling at a very young age, we’re also nurturing in them a keen sense of the need to take care of the environment. At the same time, we’re teaching them the importance of looking after people who are less privileged.”
My First Skool (Kang Ching) principal Rita Lim added: “We’ve always been teaching the children how to recycle, but now they have the opportunity to practise what they’ve learnt in a community setting.”