In celebration of World Octopus Day, MullenLowe Group around the world took the afternoon off to clean-up local waterways. Here in Singapore, MullenLowe Singapore joined the Waterways Watch Society to help with a reservoir clean-up. There had just been a large downpour, which meant that four rivers were channelling vast amounts of rubbish into the Kallang Basin.
Armed with oars, gloves and pails, the team of 30 managed to pick up 100 kg, apparently (and alarmingly) a record haul for a 2-hour period. It is reported that in the Marina Reservoir alone, more than 10,000 kg (10 tonnes) of trash is collected daily. Styrofoam packaging, plastic bags and bottles, diapers, pantyliners, condoms were among the retrieved piles of rubbish.
With Singapore’s plentiful rainfall at an average of 167 rainy days a year, we rarely give a second thought about where our water comes from. Yet, Singapore is considered to be one of the most water-stressed countries in the world, due to lack of natural water resources, limited land available for water storage facilities and high water demand. The water demand in Singapore is currently about 430 million gallons a day. That’s enough to fill 782 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
Check out some pictures from our efforts!
