Nearly 150 ExxonMobil Singapore volunteers spread across Singapore, removing litter, as part of the #Clean4Change initiative launched by the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (Alliance), of which ExxonMobil is a member.

The campaign is a global movement started by the Alliance that seeks to reduce plastic waste in the environment using the power of connected communities and collective action.

Due to the pandemic, ExxonMobil employees took part in the clean-up activity in groups of two or five, to adhere to the COVID19 guidelines. Over the course of the multi-week campaign, many staff volunteers also involved their families, turning the activity into a bonding experience.

Mother-of-two Chong Rui Hoong recounted how the litter-picking journey for her family began as a result of the #Clean4Change campaign. “It’s been a positive experience so far, and allows me to encourage my child to take care of the environment. In our adventures, we talk about the impacts of littering, where waste streams could flow into, and even potential recycling opportunities,” explained Rui Hoong, who gathered more than 400 pieces of litter.

Cowan and his son incorporated litter picking into their family activities at the beach and park

For Cowan Lee, the clean-up activity allowed him to spend time with his three-year-old son as they worked together as a team. “My son did most of the litter picking, while I focused on taking photos and logging them,” Lee said. Armed with their metal tongs, which are popular litter-picking tool among participants, Lee and his son together gathered more than 380 pieces of litter as part of the campaign.

Don Haslam also picked litter with his daughter, using the experience to raise her environmental awareness and how one person can make a difference.

“This is the first community activity where my daughter saw the impact of her participation and took a real interest as she grew more aware about how our actions can affect the environment,” Haslam said. Together, they started litter picking along walking paths near their home, and also headed to the beach. “Once, my daughter even invited her playdate to join us!” he added.

“Through this campaign, my family became more aware of the litter that’s thrown in public, and I took the chance to inculcate in my boys the importance of behaving responsibly when discarding our waste,” said Dawn Lim.

Don and his daughter are among the parent-child teams among ExxonMobil Singapore participants

“At work, we even came up with a mini-challenge to inject more fun and encourage friendly competition. While it was sad to see my colleagues and I pick so much trash; but I’m glad we each did our part to dispose the litter!”

As the #Clean4Change campaign empowers individuals to make a difference in their communities, each small action is creating a wave of change that is building a better future.

A spokesperson from the Alliance to End Plastic Waste said, “We welcome participation by members including ExxonMobil in our #Clean4Change movement, as it is another demonstration of the collective action needed to address plastic waste in the environment. To date, participants from around the world who took part in the Alliance’s member challenge have picked up a combined total of over 1.4 million pieces of litter. This shows how much we can accomplish when we work together.

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