Greenwave Environmental Care Competition 2009 Awards Ceremony

Green Wave Environmental Competition 2009 came to an official close on Friday when a total of 53 awards worth over S$50,000 were given out.

The cash prizes were awarded to promising projects on environmental action conceived and produced by students, and the competition, organised annually by Sembawang Shipyard and jointly sponsored by Shell International Trading and Shipping Company Limited (UK) and BP Shipping Limited (UK), aims to encourage young environmentalists to further create, sustain and implement ideas on environmental issues for the improvement and sustainability of our planet.

The participating teams of students, representing their respective schools, were divided into four categories - namely, Primary, Secondary, Junior College/ITE and Tertiary.

The team from Hougang Primary walked away with the top prize of $4,000 in the Primary Level with their project entitled Podcasting at X-Cell Zone. Meanwhile the Secondary Level saw 2 teams from Hwa Chong Institution walk away with the first and second prizes ($6,000 & $4,000), with projects entitled Green Cosmetics (a range of environmentally-friendly beauty products made from active ingredients extracted from waste materials), and Synthesis of Biodegradable Plastics by Bacteria.

However, there was no top prize given out for the Junior College and ITE Level, and the second prize amounting to cash of $5,000 was won by a team from ITE College West (Dover Campus) who submitted a project entitled Conservation and Repopulation of Fiddler Crab for Improving the Quality of Sands on the Shorelines.

Finally, the Tertiary Level saw a team from Temasek Polytechnic with a project entitled Use of Recycled Plastics in Building Materials win $10,000 as well as a one-month development attachment with a Shell associate company, Northwest Shelf Shipping Company, in Perth, Australia. Notably, this is only the second time that the Tertiary Level first prize has been awarded since 2003.

Over 1,000 students participated in the latest installment of this competition and 292 entries were received, making it the largest since inception. Mr K Shanmugam, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, and also Member of Parliament (MP) for Sembawang GRC (Group Representation Constituency) graced the event as the guest-of-honour.

Call for Entries

Green Wave Environmental Competition 2010 is now open for registration and interested teams can submit their project proposals by 31st March 2010. Teams will then have four months until 31st July 2010 to complete and submit their projects.

The assessment of the submitted projects by a panel of judges from Sembawang Shipyard, Ministry of Education, Housing and Development Board, Public Utilities Board, National University of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, National Institute of Education, National Environment Agency, Singapore Environment Council, National Parks Board,Public Utilities Board, Singapore Science Centre, Polytechnics, Junior Colleges and relevant statutory boards and government institutions will be in October and November 2010 and teams may be called upon to conduct a presentation if necessary. The results of the competition will then be announced by the end of the year.

The competition invites projects in the form of a report, an actual product or equipment, and participants are encouraged to submit reports that focus on the application and development of the project products and concepts. The focus areas identified are Wild Life/Natural Reserves, Air Management/Pollution Control, Waste Management, and Water Management/Conservation.

Details of this year's competition as well as the entry forms can be obtained from the GreenWave website. The transcript of Mr K Shanmugam's speech is also available, as is the full list of winners including project titles and the students' names.