NEX, the largest mall in the North-East region of Singapore is promoting environmental awareness with a textile donation drive and more.
From 16 March to 23 April 2023, check out Green Living @ NEX, a campaign meant to increase environmental awareness amongst shoppers. From collaboration with partners like Cloop to a series of green initiatives by the mall, this program is sure to leave behind an impact on both shoppers and the environment!
recycle textiles with Cloop and NEX.
In about a week’s time, from the 13 to 16 April 2023, there will be a textile donation drive run by both NEX and Cloop. The Cloop Recycling Bin will be located at Event Plaza, Basement 2 (below the external escalator). Shoppers are welcome to drop off their clean, pre-loved textiles any time from 12 to 8pm.
Items like clothes, bags, shoes, accessories, belts, caps, hats and other household items such as toys, pillows and linen (as long as it’s clean and dry!). Yes, this means even your undergarments or clothing which are not in good condition can be donated into these bins. As long as donated goods are packaged into a bag and tied up well before it is dropped inside the bin, and they are both clean and dry, you’re free to place any of the above into the bin. This sounds like a great time to put the upcoming long weekends to good use and declutter around the house!
who is Cloop?
Cloop is a circular fashion enterprise that focuses on reducing fashion overconsumption and waste by helping consumers to close the textile loop. They primarily provide solutions for unwanted textiles, as well as campaign for sustainable shopping alternatives – namely Fashion Swap!, Open Wardrobe, and Curated Bag.
You’ve probably seen them around the neighbourhood as well. With the assistance of ISO-certified recycling partner Life Line Clothing, there are now more than 250 textile recycling bins in Singapore! Besides NEX, you can locate the closest bin to you here. Donors can even earn 200 points through the susGain app when they donate unwanted textiles into one of these yellow recycling bins.
what happens to the textiles?
Life Line Clothing will be collecting and sorting the materials into over 500 categories with a zero-waste-to-landfill process. This ensures the minimisation of waste and that the best outcome is secured.
There are a variety of possible outcomes for the textiles. They may be up for resale, reuse, upcycle, and recycling internationally. About 55 percent of what goes through the facility can be reused: clothing pieces in good condition are sent out to other areas to be resold, while those which have seen better days can either be cut up into cleaning cloths for other industries and discarded baju kurung (traditional Malay dresses) are turned into shopping bags by home sewers.
These are only a few of the many possibilities that happen to the 189,000 tonnes of textile and leather waste generated by Singapore in 2021, of which only a mere 4% was recycled.
NEX shopping rewards.
Besides the collaboration with Cloop, there are also shopping rewards available for NEXrewards members during the entire campaign. Members get to enjoy 500 Bonus NEXpoints when they scan their QR code and spend a minimum of $50 in a single transaction at participating green retail stores.
Additionally, Citi Credit Card members get to double their benefits and receive an additional $10 eNEXvoucher when they spend a minimum of $150 on their Citi Credit Card. However, redemptions are limited to the first 2,000 shoppers, and they must be made in person with a same-day receipt at the Customer Service Counter on Basement 2 from 10.30am to 9.45pm as well.
behind the scenes with NEX: other green initiatives.
Beyond the various incentives and collaborations NEX offers to their shoppers, the mall has also been actively making strides in working towards a greener future. Certain operational features are to be tweaked to be more environmentally friendly, like in their architectural considerations and tenant engagements.
solar panels.
1,104 solar Photovoltaics (PV) panels will be installed across the rooftops of Shaw Theatre and the National Library situated at the top of the mall. Hoping to tap on increasingly sustainable energy sources, NEX aims to generate a total peak capacity of 596.16 kWp, which can be used to power chiller operations in the building.
cool mist paint.
NEX hopes to specify the application of cool mist paint for the mall’s proposed facade painting, which aligns with The Singapore Green Plan 2030. Using cool mist paint can help reflect solar radiation, which subsequently minimises heat absorption through the building surface and thus prevent heat retention in NEX’s interior.
Consequently, this will help reduce the ambient temperature of the building and mitigate the urban heat island effect. The latter takes place when urban areas (which are more built up and densely populated) are significantly warmer than the surrounding rural area due to the presence of human activity.
rainwater harvesting tank.
A rainwater harvesting tank has also been installed at NEX as the mall looks towards various innovative water solutions. Considering the rainfall in Singapore, it will be able to harvest and collect 1,050 cubic metres of water based on a hundred rainy days, which can hopefully supply the mall’s demand for water. There are hopes to add an irrigation system in the near future to further repurpose the rainwater collected.
eco-friendly appliances in NEX.
By July 2023, NEX will be installing eco-friendly appliances – Simxin taps and Dyson Airblade dryers – in their newly upgraded toilets. The former has a lower flow rate of 0.7L/min, as compared to 2.4 L/min for other brands. It too offers innovative features to track water consumption for each tap, which can aid in the reduction of the mall’s water consumption of more than 30,000 cubic metres (30000000 litres!) of water per year.
At the same time, the Dyson Airblade dryers can help in lowering the environmental impact of the mall as seen in their certification by Carbon Trust. They eliminate the need for a power-hungry heating element and can dry hands faster and more hygienically. In addition, it has lower carbon emissions and energy consumption, especially since it reduces the need for single-use paper towels for shoppers.
collection of used cooking oil.
NEX actively engages with tenants to be part of their sustainable initiatives to further their environmental cause and encourage sustainable practices. Together with F&B tenants, NEX has started to collect used cooking oil, which will be processed and then converted into biodiesel and other commercial products. Over the past year, a shocking 3,200kg of oil per month has been collected from over 30 participating stalls.
recycling of unsold perishables.
Last but not least, grocery stores and F&B restaurants are also being encouraged by NEX to participate in the recycling of unsold perishable fruits or vegetables and food waste. This includes chains such as Cold Storage, FairPrice Finest and Food Republic. Food waste can potentially be converted to compost fertilisers, which will subsequently be utilised for landscaping at the mall.
starting from the mall.
Besides making individual choices geared towards sustainability, it’s comforting to know that one of the bigger shopping malls is taking conscious steps to become more environmentally friendly! Green actions like this – that are on a wider scale – are definitely welcome and encouraged, especially in the long run.
Check out NEX’s website and Facebook for additional information about the Green Living @ NEX campaign.
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