My Sustainability Journey 2025

In 2025, I penned 15 blog posts, many covering sustainability. From AR recycling tech to NEA's YES Leaders. Launching 2026 with this theme feels right; it's my passion, and Singapore's SG Green Plan 2030 demands youth action. But awareness alone falls short. Real change hinges on solutions that are simple, practical and wallet-friendly. Here’s a reflection of my sustainability journey thus far: Problem → Personal Journey → Realistic Solutions → Future Vision.

Problem: The Plastic Dilemma

Love it or hate it, plastics have become a necessary part of our everyday life. The invention of plastic has brought much convenience to mankind for the past centuries. It's truly ubiquitous, found everywhere from our environment and our oceans, right down to the food we eat. Researchers have detected plastics as far as in our polar ice caps((Polar Journal, Feb 2022).

Singapore counters this via Semakau recycling, plastic bag charges, NEA's Packaging Partners. All of the above are a top-down approach. I believe a bottom-up movement would be necessary for Singapore's sustainability to move forward at a faster pace. So, I was heartened to learn about Ecoworks’s initiative back in November 2025. In a nutshell, their modus operandi is to install automated refill stations to significantly cut down on plastic waste from detergent and dishwashing bottles.

Unfortunately, this laudable initiative does not seem to have taken off as well as it should. Even at my Pinnacle@Duxton HDB void deck, which is a relatively more affluent HDB estate, Ecoworks' subsidised refill kiosks initially drew crowds but few repeaters. Fast forward 2 months and I hardly see anyone visits those kiosks. Pity. A likely reason is that at SGD 3 per litre (govt already subsidised Ecoworks by waiving their rental), this was 3 times more expensive than NTUC and Sheng Shiong alternatives.

Is SGD 3 per litre too high a price for sustainability?

Despite being installed in a relatively more affluent neighbourhood, people are still not taking this up. It made me wonder:

“Under what conditions will people be willing to pay a premium to support sustainability?”

Personal Journey

My efforts in sustainability evolved from tech demos to collective action. Here's a timeline of events showing my progression:

Project	Key Lesson	Impact
LTA CarLite Part 2 (Feb 2024)	Reducing carbon emissions via reduced car dependency	Promoted alternatives to 50+ participants; temporary shifts
Recycling with AR Technology (Feb 2025)	Using Technology to garner interests and boosts awareness	Engaged dozens via interactive demos; short-term buzz
Beyond the Flush: NEA YES Leaders (Jun 2025)	Simple innovations can potentially solve nationwide hygiene challenges	Showcased to minister; won JPL prize (planted Kale seeds since)
Eco Paddle with Ola! (Nov 2025)	Hidden trash only discoverable during hands-on activities	Collected 15 bags of micro-plastics/cigarette butts along Sentosa

Having gone through these projects, I learnt some hard truths. While these projects helped build my resilience, it also highlighted the limits of how raising awareness alone does not lead to lasting behaviour change.

Realistic Solutions: Wallet (always) Wins

So, how do we come up with sustainability projects that are appealing to fellow Singaporeans and scalable at same time?

Enter Treatsure app. CNA featured Treatsure back in 2022 as a sustainability-initiative that slashes buffet waste. For example, through this app, a SGD15/box allows you to take anything from a buffet that costs anything from SGD65+ and above. I first learnt about it through a CNA documentary (featuring Steve Chia) back in November 2025. While that video generated some publicity for Treatsure, it also positioned Treatsure as a regular cai fan alternative, which I felt was a disservice. IMO, Treatsure should be positioned as an alternative way for families to enjoy an extravagant meal at heavy discounts.

Screenshot from CNA video featuring Steve Chia. Its a great video, go watch it!

Anyway, I convinced my family to try it out. My family had fun packing the food into the boxes and likened the experience to family bonding activity. Thanks to Treatsure, many other families can now enjoyed a high end buffet dinner at a fraction of its original price!

Look at how much food my sis and I packed into those boxes!

On a related note, I am heartened to see the “mystery boxes” surprise bag gaining popularity. My mom is a fan and regularly buys them for my family’s breakfast. Stealing a line from Forest Gump's mother, “You never know what you gonna get…” she joyfully quips each time she brings a new bag home and opens it up.

We need more such thrift-joy examples. This approach is a win-win in that it saves consumers money while doing something for the environment.

Future Vision: Path Forward

Ecoworks is a good initiative but could gain more traction by working closely with schools, conducting workshops for trials, and getting the students interested in supporting sustainability. Through this indirect gamified approach, companies gain support of students, who inturn can influence the purchasing decisions of their parents and have them look beyond the perceived premiums.

I end this first blog post of 2026 with good news that my sustainability poster submission was one of the winners of the Joint Poly Libraries (JPL) sustainability competition. The prizes given to the winners were very creative! We received different bags of seeds. Completely random. I received a bag of Kale (Green Dwarf) seeds. I have since planted these seeds at my grandma’s flat, sowing the “seeds” for a future conversation topic. I think its apt that I received the Kale plant, because I like how it thrives even in harsh conditions.

The Kale Plant is best known for its resilience and determination!

Singapore’s SG Green Plan 2030 goals can also germinate through thoughtful initiatives like “Ola beach cleaning”, “Ecoworks Shampoo refill”, “Treatsure app”, and “NEA Yes Leaders programme”. Similar to planting a tree, not all these samplings will survive in the long run. But for those who do, may their initiative continue to grow like a big strong tree and provide shelter and serve as an inspiration to others.

Howie Chia

22 January 2026

TLDR

Reflecting on my past year's sustainability projects, I now see things around me with a sustainability-lens. Learnt about how initiatives like Treatsure and Ecoworks are helping with SG's sustainability movement.