Singapore’s dire  need to address solid waste

Singapore is a small island surrounded by the sea, yet facing catastrophic effects of climate change. As global GHG emissions continue to rise despite political pledges from the 2015 Paris Agreement, it would be timely to reconsider how vulnerable Singapore is to present and future climate change impacts. Rising sea levels due to the warming climate will lead to increased flooding and erosion of coastal dumpsites causing pollution and harmful effect to marine life. Burning waste from plastics to electronics could be a deleterious source of air pollutants and causes air pollution. Today our equatorial location Singapore seems to be vulnerable to floods and there is a necessity in cutting climate warming carbon emissions.

Through fun activities children can  contribute to problem solving

Richard Wan has featured to little children in his animation video what recycling, reusing, and reducing mean. To this end, we can creatively look at reusing waste material- All those the world discards, we produce what is most natural.

Making tortoise using ready to discard recyclable materials:

One can find ideas and inspiration in making a dome-shaped tortoise with recyclable materials. We look at sustainable materials that promote circularity using assemblage techniques, wherever possible, such as baby seat or a body contour board, wooden pegs, refrigerator leg coasters, worn-out socks, empty mineral water bottle, used ball pens and papers.

Creativity put in action can do wonders

Anyone may love the unpredictability of found materials and enjoy the intensiveness necessary to appropriately transform it to an uplifting icon for the global community living in today’s world. Its functionality originates from our interest to communicate, display, and share on a cultural level as an extra visual effect to going green which can fruitfully be exploited as a by-effect of the design of an artistic ornament. Inspired by sophisticated arts, one can stylistically create things combining art with fun, particularly other animals out of these recycled products with breathing life and positivity. For instance, the scutes on the carapace acting like a permanent suit of armour, protect the tortoise from harmful environment such as greenhouse effects and serves as a shade over its habitat.

Here is a list of products at end of life that were used for model tortoise :

• Abandoned baby seater (to convert into tortoise body shell frame)
• Abandoned lorry wheel tyres (to convert into tortoise scaly body)
• Wooden cloth pegs (to convert to tortoise’s crawls)
• Mineral water bottle (to convert into its head)
• Discarded television cable (to convert into its tail)
• Men’s socks (to cover as tortoise’s head in black)
• Refrigerator coaster (to convert into its legs)
• Abandoned art paper (for its eyes and face expression)
• Abandoned newspaper (for building its body framework)
• Abandoned crayon (to outline its body and armor contour)
• Used black adhesive tapes (to get a better body outline)
• Ball pen (to make a portion of its tail)
• Paper egg Tray (to create scutes on tortoise carapace)
• Unwanted men’s belt (to build its neck)
• Discarded magazine (paper cutting for decoration)
• Paper box (to mount its body as sculpture)

Utilizing the recycled products

Children hardly have a chance to come close to wildlife. Getting this real size tortoise will be helpful in the studies of animals, anatomy and physiology among childhood education while highlighting the important aspects of living in harmony with nature.