Not one but three venues were hives of activities on 17 Sept 2005. Recycling Day 2005 activities created a buzz at Dunman Secondary School in Tampines, the open area beside Yew Tee MRT and Bukit Ho Swee Community Centre. Open to the public, the idea was to raise awareness on waste minimisation and recycling in Singapore.

Adding excitement to the day was a record-breaking Longest Plastic Drink Bottles Chain held at Dunman Secondary School. Using 25,655 empty plastic bottles, the chain stretched for an incredible 5,535 metres. The bottles were collected by students from the neighbouring housing estates, and the record breaking feat was an initiative by the school to increase awareness of waste recycling and promote community participation.

"Organising Recycling Day with the NEA and its partners has given my teachers and students an invaluable experience in working together as a community with other schools and residents in our neighbourhood to convey and educate the young and old on the need to reduce waste in Singapore," said Mrs Edelweiss Neo, Principal of Dunman Secondary School. For students, there was also a jumble sale to encourage reuse of items, while principals and teachers attended a workshop on the 3Rs where they shared best practices adopted in their schools.

Over at the other venues, members of the public brought their household recyclables such as paper, drink cans, plastics and glass bottles to exchange for game and gift tokens. Some also brought along their unwanted PCs and PC peripherals in exchange for tokens at the booth manned by Dell Computers.

Given the participation of the people, private and public sectors, Recycling Day 2005 proved another successful event in spreading the all-important 3R message across a wider audience.