Tong Siew Keong

Driving meaningful change for the environment

^{Photo Caption: Siew Keong discovering unusual flotsam, such as shipping ropes, oil drums, and rubber dinghies, at Punggol Point Jetty}

The 56-year-old’s journey as a green advocate began rather spontaneously, when he decided to participate in a street clean-up by Green Bird – a non-profit environmental group originating from Tokyo – over a decade ago. The group’s vision was simply to clean the town they love and live in, and this resonated with Siew Keong.

As a firm believer that public cleanliness is a collective responsibility and an ongoing effort, Siew Keong has been dedicating his weekends to cleaning up designated beaches in Singapore with fellow enthusiasts from coastal clean-up group SG Beach Warriors, over the past five years.

Beyond the typical plastic bags and straws, Siew Keong focuses on removing deeply embedded marine trash and heavy items, such as mattresses, helmets, long thick ropes and even electrical appliances, from our shores! 

While Siew Keong and his team marvel at what they uncover during their clean-ups, this is also an indication of their ongoing impactful work to take care of our environment, and shows how every action can contribute towards the vision of a clean Singapore.

With 2024 designated as the Year of Public Hygiene by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Siew Keong hopes that his role in working alongside volunteers from all walks of life will inspire and inculcate the importance of maintaining high levels of public cleanliness and hygiene amongst the younger generation, to ensure that Singapore remains a pleasant place to live, work and play in, for years to come.

^{Photo Caption: Siew Keong oversees and manages team operations at SG Beach Warriors}

His work doesn’t end here though. Siew Keong also participates in the ‘food rescue’ initiative, where he collects food items on the verge of expiry and redistributes these to the community using the mobile app Good Hood, to help reduce food waste.

Siew Keong’s unyielding passion and hard work is a testimony of how one man’s efforts can drive meaningful change in the community and for the environment.