Category: Latest News

Going Net Zero: Save with LEDs

Going Net Zero: Save with LEDs Light Up Those LEDs Almost all common areas (97%) in CCK Town now use LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs.   LEDs offer the same brightness, use half the power compared to fluorescent bulbs and last twice as long.They can be recycled too. Switching to this energy-efficient option has halved the electricity bill for common areas, saving money and scoring green benefits. If you haven’t already made the switch in your home, it’s not too late to start. See the savings you can reap: Source: National Environment Agency Psst! For residents of 1, 2 and 3-room flats, remember to use your Electronic Climate Vouchers before they expire on 31 December 2023 to make your switch to energy-efficient appliances! Back

SG Clean Day on Sunday, 29 October 2023

SG Clean Day on Sunday, 29 October 2023 Residents of Chua Chu Kang Town, lend us a hand in support of the quarterly SG Clean Day on Sunday, 29 October 2023.  Every small action makes a big difference, so let’s refrain from littering and clean up after ourselves to keep SG clean! Together, let’s create a cleaner and safer Chua Chu Kang Town for all! Back

Going Net Zero: Harvesting the Power of the Sun

Going Net Zero: Harvesting the Power of the Sun Solar panels on rooftops of flats in CCK Town are one of the ways Singapore is adopting to achieve its net zero emission goal. (Photo by Flynn Tan) Singapore aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 under its Singapore Green Plan 2030. From installing solar panels on HDB rooftops and using LED lights in common areas, we will explore how CCK Town plays a part in this national movement towards more sustainable living in this new ‘Net Zero’ series.  Win a Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm Tour Did you know one of the world’s largest inland floating solar farms is found in Tengeh Reservoir, located in CCK Town? Spanning 45 hectares, the Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm has some 122,000 solar photovoltaic (PV) panels. The panels, spread across 10 islands, produce enough electricity to power some 16,000 four-room HDB flats for one year. The electricity generated from the solar farm is sufficient to power Singapore’s five local water treatment plants, making us one of the few countries in the world to have a 100% green waterworks system. Building a solar farm on water not only overcomes the issue of land scarcity in Singapore, but the evaporative cooling effect of water and higher wind speed also lead to higher energy yield than conventional rooftop systems. The Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm will contribute around 4% of Singapore’s target of reaching 1.5 gigawatt peak (GWp) solar energy capacity by 2025. Singapore aims to reach 2 GWp by 2030. 10 lucky residents will get a pair of tickets each for an exclusive tour of Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm, specially brought to you by CCK Town Council & Sembcorp.  The 1.5 – hour tour, starting at 9.30 am on 11 November, will give residents a rare chance to go behind the scenes and, weather permitting, hop on a boat ride to view the panels up close!  To win, tell us how many blocks of flats in CCK Town have been installed with solar panels. (Psst, read on to find the answer!) Email your answer to corpcomms@ccktc.org.sg by 29 October! All correct entries stand a chance to win! Hope to see you at the amazing solar powerhouse in CCK Town!  Harvesting the Power of the Sun In the first of our ‘Net Zero’ series, we explore how the sun is put to work in CCK Town.  To date, 250 HDB blocks in CCK Town have been outfitted with solar panels as part of the Town’s drive to transform into an eco-town. The target is to reach 282 blocks by 2025. Did you know such a move has resulted in savings of approximately 23 million kg of CO2 emissions, which translates to some 23,000 return flights between Paris and New York? These rooftop solar panels power common services, such as lifts, lights and water pumps. They allow the outfitted HDB blocks to achieve net-zero energy consumption in the common areas, meaning they use roughly the same amount of energy in their common areas as what they produce. Any excess energy generated from these rooftop solar panels is channelled to the grid. This conversion of unused rooftop space to harness the energy of the sun will go some ways in helping Singapore achieve its SG Green Plan target of reducing energy consumption in existing HDB towns by 15% by 2030. Join our eco efforts & send in your answer to the quiz above for a chance to visit one of the world’s largest inland solar farms!  Back

Take a Ride on the Sustainability Train — Find the Upcycled MRT Seats in the Neighbourhood

Take a Ride on the Sustainability Train — Find the Upcycled MRT Seats in the Neighbourhood The Action for Green Towns collaboration between SMRT and 15 PAP Town Councils has gotten together to “rescue” some 14,400kg of reinforced plastics, metals and other hard-to-recycle materials from Singapore’s only landfill, Pulau Semakau, which is expected to be full by 2035. The entire project is expected to upcycle at least 1,500 MRT seats into community seats at void decks as well as other communal areas. The community seats upcycled from retired MRT trains have been installed across Chua Chu Kang Town.  Find the upcycled MRT seats in your neighbourhood now! Locations (as of October 2023): Blk 370 Bukit Batok Street 31 Blk 384 Bukit Batok West Ave 5 Blk 417 Bukit Batok West Ave 4 Blk 512 Bukit Batok St 52 Blk 524 Bukit Batok St 52 Blk 224 Choa Chu Kang Central Blk 251 Choa Chu Kang Ave 2 Blk 354 Choa Chu Kang Central Blk 411 Choa Chu Kang Ave 3 Blk 448 Choa Chu Kang Ave 4 Blk 807A Choa Chu Kang Ave 1 Blk 159 Jalan Teck Whye Blk 801A Keat Hong Close Blk 801B Keat Hong Close Blk 102 Teck Whye Lane Back

Snap & Win: CCK Town 2024 Calendar Photo Contest

Snap & Win: CCK Town 2024 Calendar Photo Contest The CCK Town annual Calendar Photo Contest is back! 12 resident shutterbugs can look forward to getting their photos showcased in our 2024 calendar. Show How the Living is Better in CCK Town This year, we are calling for residents to portray how living is greener and better in CCK Town because of its: Abundant nature and beauty found in our parks & green spaces; Fun & friendly places for socialising, from playgrounds to fitness corners, community gardens to BBQ pits; and Sustainable and green practices.   Hong Kah North resident Yong Kuo Hoong’s morning mists over Kranji Marshes won 2nd prize last year. The fun playgrounds at The Arena @ Keat Hong helped Bukit Batok resident Gina Ng clinch a spot in 2023’s calendar. CCK Town is home to close to 300 hectares of public park & Singapore’s first gazetted wetland reserve, Sungei Buloh. Our town is also making strides towards greener living as a designated eco-town. Did you know that 250 blocks have been fitted out with rooftop solar panels? They power the lifts and corridor lights, saving 23 million kg worth of carbon emissions to date. (Psst, the savings is equivalent to one person taking return flights from Paris to New York for 23,000 times!) 12 winning shots will be showcased in CCK Town’s 2024 calendar. This year’s prizes 1st prize: $400 NTUC FairPrice vouchers & Fujifilm Instax Mini Smartphone Printer (worth over $200) 2nd prize: $300 NTUC FairPrice vouchers & Fujifilm Instax Mini 11 Holiday Travel Kit – Black (worth about $160) 3rd prize: $200 NTUC FairPrice vouchers 4th to 12th prize: $50 NTUC FairPrice vouchers    Snap and win! Send in your entries via the online contest form or email corpcomms@ccktc.org.sg by 15 October 2023. Winners will be revealed in December 2023. See Terms & Conditions here. Back

Congratulations to Our 8 National Day Contest Winners

Congratulations to Our 8 National Day Contest Winners 8 lucky winners have won a CCK Town limited edition gift pack for showing off their SG spirit and colours at home or around their estate. Here are their winning photos. Wearing their love for Singapore on their block. Photo by Tan Le En (CCK estate) Little Arunkumar Tulasi saluting the nation. Photo by Dhivya Chockalingam (Hong Kah North) Sunshine Villas – all decked out for National Day. Photo by Susan Choo (Bukit Gombak) Happy 58th National Day, Singapore! Photo by Jasmine Sim Mui Eng (Chua Chu Kang estate) Valerie Koh (far right) with her friends. Photo by Valerie Koh (Hong Kah North) Showing off her love for the nation. Photo by Lua Su Yean (Brickland) Love for the nation crosses generations. Photo by Lim Chwee Lian (Chua Chu Kang estate) Little Engels shows us it’s never too young to show your love for Singapore. Photo by Engel’s mother (Keat Hong) National Day may be over but you can still celebrate your love for SG by hanging your flag till 30 September. Beyond the National Day period, the national flag and its image can now be used on attire for non-commercial purposes all year round. We may also get more opportunities to fly the national flag from our homes other than National Day under the recent change of rules governing the use of Singapore’s national symbols, such as the flag, crest and anthem. The new National Symbols Act and its Regulations allow for wider use of some symbols for citizens to express their national pride and solidarity. Back

Learn from CCK Town’s Newly Crowned Eco-Warriors

Learn from CCK Town’s Newly Crowned Eco-Warriors Congratulations to Eleen Koay (Brickland), Ting Siew Khim (CCK estate) and Ng Chee Wee (Bukit Gombak) for coming out tops in CCK Town’s latest eco contest! For her upcycling effort, Eleen won the top prize of an HP Envy 6020 All-printer. Siew Khim’s suggestions show us that old is still gold when it comes to water-saving efforts the traditional way and was awarded the second prize, an HP Deskjet 2722e printer. Chee Wee took home the consolation prize of an HP Pavilion Wayfarer Backpack for his idea which helps one get fit and conserve electricity. Let’s find out more from the three of them on how to reduce, reduce and recycle. Reuse, Recycle & Upcycle as Eleen did Having a carpenter father and a seamstress mother meant Eleen grew up watching her parents tinker with things. Naturally, she picked up their hands-on habit. Thus, when she noticed that her sofa was beginning to break down earlier this year, inspiration struck. “The springs in the sofa were broken but the leather was still in very good condition. At the same time, I noticed that our dining chairs were looking quite worn and needed replacement,” the 33-year-old research engineer said. She thought, why not use the leather, cushions and padding from the sofa to give her dining chairs a new lease of life? She bounced the idea off her parents, who gamely said: “Sure, that sounds workable!” So, one weekend before Chinese New Year, Eleen, her husband and her parents stripped off the worn cloth seats from the dining chairs, took apart the sofa and got to work cutting up the cushions and leather of the sofa to make new dining seats. By the end of the day, Eleen had six beautiful dining chairs. She even got a set of baby pillows and bolsters made from the leftover stuffing for her two children. “The wood in the sofa was not of very good quality, otherwise, we would have made small cupboards or side tables with them. If I had the equipment to work with metal, maybe we could have done something with the sofa’s metal frame too,” she added. “There are lots of possibilities when it comes to upcycling. It’s just a matter of how creative you want to be.” For example, her sister once made a side table out of her old car tyres. In her family, when something is broken, the first thing they will try to do is to see if it can be fixed. If it can’t, they will think about whether they can make something else out of it. “I think it is wasteful to just throw things away because everything is so expensive,” she said. ‘Reduce’ as Siew Khim did For Siew Khim, living sustainably is as natural as breathing. As someone who follows the news, she understood the threat of global warming is real. “Every one of us can play a small part,” she said. The need to conserve resources is especially acute in a small country like Singapore which does not have natural resources, she added. Her contribution is to conserve water and electricity wherever possible. For example, she grew up collecting water in a pail and showering with a water scoop and continues to do so even now at age 55. She also uses a mug for brushing her teeth instead of leaving the water running. She uses LED lights at home, turns off electrical appliances when not in use, and recycles all the plastic packaging to use as trash bags. She also recycles batteries and other IT gadgets into e-waste bins. Her effort to reduce the use of water and electricity helps her to keep her utility bills for her 4-room flat around $50 to $60 a month. She encourages her neighbours to live more sustainably too by offering to take their items for recycling to the correct recycling points. Reduce as Chee Wee did Application engineer Chee Wee, 35, is a sustainability advocate at work, and he brings the practice home as well. He said: “I’ll always try to see what are the easy and doable tasks that can be done frequently to make an eco-difference.” For instance, instead of using the lift, he takes the stairs when going up or down two or three storeys. Since lifts consume the most electricity when in motion, he explained that by not using the lift, he is helping to reduce the use of electricity while getting some exercise at the same time. “Climbing the stairs reduces electricity use, is very easy to do, makes an impact and the bonus is, you get a healthier you,” he quipped. He also tries to conserve resources in other everyday tasks such as reusing water from the washing of vegetables. “Such mindful practices will go a long way. We just need to get started somewhere,” he added. Congratulations to all our eco-winners! Their ideas and actions show us how we can make the 3Rs of reduce, reduce and recycle part of our daily life. Let’s all get sustainable to create a greener future for all! Back