The volunteers combing the sand for tar balls and other marine litter on East Coast Park beach. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: When 18-year-old Michael Ike Chukwuebuka saw a photo of the sea and sand turned black following an oil spill in June, he felt that it was a call to action.
So when the applied chemistry student at Nanyang Polytechnic received an e-mail from the Public Hygiene Council (PHC) asking for volunteers to help remove tar balls and other debris from the sand at East Coast Park, he jumped at the opportunity.
He said: “I go to the beach several times a month to cycle and eat, so it was really sad to see the sand turn from golden to black because of the oil spill. I wanted to help in whatever way I could to restore the beaches to what they were before.”
Ike was one of close to 50 volunteers who were at East Coast Park on Saturday (July 20), the first day of the final phase of cleanup efforts following the oil spill in June.
About 400 tonnes of oil spilled into Singapore waters after Netherlands-flagged dredging boat Vox Maxima hit the stationary Singapore-flagged bunker vessel Marine Honour at Pasir Panjang Terminal on June 14.
The spill affected many areas, including East Coast Park, Keppel Bay, the Southern Islands and Sentosa.
The volunteers, who are from groups such as the Kindred Community and SG Beach Warriors, combed the sand for tar balls – remnant oil deposits that have hardened and mixed with sand – and other marine litter on the East Coast Park beach.
Armed with gloves, they used rakes and tongs to pick up the tar balls and throw them into trash bags.
Volunteers were instructed to not use their hands to pick up the oil-stained debris, said PHC executive director Christina Liew.
Also joining them in the cleanup was Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu.
Fu said on Facebook on July 20 that raking through the sand and removing the tar balls scattered around the beach was not an easy feat.
She thanked the volunteers at the cleanup, adding: “I am heartened that our community is coming together, spending their Saturday afternoon working hand in hand with us to clean up our coastline.”
Dr Liew said hundreds of volunteers are expected to help with cleanup efforts at East Coast Park over the coming weeks.
They include members of the public and those from grassroots organisations, National Youth Corps, PHC’s R.I.S.E Champions Network and the National Environment Agency’s volunteer corps.
Another volunteer at East Coast Park on July 20, Karen Loke, 58, said she wanted to do her part to restore the beach to what it was before.
The housewife said: “It is sad that the oil spill happened, but I was relieved to see that the beach was already pretty clean today.
"The cleaners did a good job at clearing the large tar balls, so today we were more focused on clearing smaller tar balls and other debris stuck in the sand.”
The authorities had said cleanup would be done in three stages: an emergency phase that focused on containing the spill in the immediate aftermath of the incident; a project phase targeting areas not easily accessible, such as rock bunds; and a final polishing phase to remove remnants on land.
A Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) spokesman said that Siloso Beach in Sentosa has entered the final phase of cleaning, and that SDC will deploy volunteers from the public to help clear tar balls from the beach from July 21.
The spokesman said subsequent cleanup sessions have been planned until the end of July.
Among the volunteers who chipped in on July 20 was sustainability and climate consultant Wong Sze Waiy, 33, who said she was worried when she first heard about the oil spill and saw photos of what it did to Singapore’s waters and beaches.
“The beach is a place where we go to enjoy time with our family and friends, so I believe that cleaning shouldn’t be left only to our cleaners.
"If we have a part in enjoying the beach, we also have a part to play in keeping it clean,” she said. - The Straits Times/ANN
