SINGAPORE – Every Thursday this past year at Yew Tee Primary School, class representatives took recyclables from their classes to the recycling bins, where student leaders weighed the recyclables.

The classes that collected the most recyclables at the end of the term were given a certificate in recognition for their efforts.

As a result of the friendly competition, 104kg of plastics were collected through the programme from March to June. The plastics were given to non-profit organisation Ground-Up Initiative.

“We make recycling more fun by turning it into a competition,” said Ms Joyce Ng, the teacher in charge of the environmental club co-curriculum activity (CCA) at the school.

This was one of several environmental initiatives at Yew Tee Primary School, which was among the winners at the 2025 School Green Awards.

The school also had an upcycling project that produced more than 270 upcycled tote bags were made out of PVC banners or old T-shirts. Environmental club members led the project, teaching students and staff how to make their own recyclable tote bags.

On Nov 17, Yew Tee Primary School received the Outstanding Environmental Achievement Award in the primary school category at a ceremony held at HomeTeamNS Khatib on Nov 17.

Organised by the Singapore Environment Council (SEC) and supported by Keppel Care Foundation, the annual School Green Awards (SGA) celebrates the efforts of pre-schools, primary, secondary, international and special education institutions in environmental advocacy.

The SGA was launched in 2000, receiving 28 submissions from schools. More than 300 school participated in the awards in 2025.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo said that the award recipients reimagined how we use resources, how we interact with nature, and how we inspire others to protect our planet.

“These initiatives go beyond environmental education – they teach...