Corals squashed by washing machine spurs S'porean marine biologist, 34, to start ocean garbage collection initiative

SINGAPORE — When Ms Terese Teoh was 15, she read about the detrimental effects of plastic pollution in a textbook.

She thought to herself: “Why is it that we are learning about this in school and we know about the severity of it, but every day in the canteen and at home, we’re using (plastic)?"

Her questioning got her reading more about the environment, and she soon realised that plastic pollution is but one problem among an array of issues plaguing the planet.

This led her to develop what she calls “eco-anxiety” — a constant fear of environmental catastrophe. 

So, she channeled this anxiety into action. At 18, she started volunteering with Plastic-Lite Singapore, a group of volunteers spreading awareness about plastic use.

In January, she became the president of Singapore Youth for Climate Action, an organisation that aims to educate youths here about environmental causes.

The 22-year-old undergraduate majoring in environmental and political science at the Nanyang Technological University is the youngest among 10 recipients of the 10 For Zero award.

The award, handed out last weekend by United States-based non-profit organisation Conservation International, recognised Singaporeans aged 18 to 35 who have made significant contributions to the protection of the environment. 

As an aspiring environmental lawyer, Ms Teoh feels strongly that climate issues are also human rights issues. After all, she noted, climate change disproportionately affects marginalised communities.   

For Ms Teoh, the award is not only for her. She told TODAY: "I am receiving this award with the spotlight focused not on me but on environmental defenders out there." 

THE GREEN ROAD WARRIOR

For another award winner, Ms Oh Chu Xian, her road to becoming a green warrior somewhat began when she was nine years old.

That was when her father and grandfather took her and her three siblings to what she described as a "beautiful" natural spot with lots of stony hills in Kulai, Johor in Malaysia.

Three years later, she returned to the spot to find that the earth had been dug up and there were craters everywhere. It had been turned into a quarry.

She later found out that the raw material mined from the site was being sent to Singapore to make roads.

As a third-generation member of a family running a construction business, she realised it was her calling to do something about this. 

The 30-year-old is now the founder and chief executive officer of Magorium, a company that turns plastic waste into materials for building roads.

"(The method of turning) plastic waste into asphalt was developed in the past nine years... Upon prototyping a successful model, I incorporated Magorium to continue development and commercialisation of the technology," she said. 

The company's technology recycles plastic waste that would otherwise have been incinerated, while reducing the amount of raw material and crude oil used in making roads. 

Eventually, Ms Oh hopes to expand her company to other parts of Southeast Asia.

“This region has the largest infrastructure potential," she said. "I want to provide them with a way to pave green roads.”

THE MARINE BIOLOGIST 

Another award winner is marine biologist Sam Shu Qin, 34. 

She recalled that there was once when she was doing health check-ups on corals in Singapore waters, she saw a washing machine squashing a whole patch of corals.

This image stuck with her. Turning to her colleague, Dr Toh Tai Chong, she said: “We need to do something.”

Ms Sam and Dr Toh co-founded Our Singapore Reefs (OSR), a community of volunteer divers collecting ocean garbage contaminating Singapore waters. 

Ms Sam is a marine biologist at the National University of Singapore's Tropical Marine Science Institute. Her work involves diving into Singapore waters to plant corals and collect ocean garbage. 

Together with 917 divers, OSR has collected a total of 11,086 items, amounting to about 2,600kg of ocean garbage, around Singapore islands as of February. 

Asked why it is important to plant corals, Ms Sam said: “The coral reef is the foundation of the whole marine ecosystem. It supports marine life, provides food, shelter and home.”

The coral reef also supports humans. For coastal communities in the region, the coral reef helps break waves, alleviating the impacts of rising sea levels. This protects shorelines from waves and storms.

Ms Sam has adapted her work to the Singapore landscape; because there are extensive seawalls around the island nation, her work involves transplanting corals onto these human-made structures.

“If I plant more corals there, they eventually become a natural reef. If you don't do anything, then it's going to be a barren rock,” she said.

Seawalls turned into natural reefs can foster a rich marine ecosystem in Singapore waters. Planting corals and seeing them grow make her feel like “a proud parent”, said Ms Sam. 

She wants her work to have a far-reaching impact on public awareness.

“I want people to know what we do, bridging the gap between scientists and the public. People think scientists are very boring, but we are not. Look at us!” she exclaimed.