Since the age of 5,Laura Lee has had what most would consider an odd habit-she collects toilet rolls. At that time, she didn't know this habit would eventually become a nationwide recycling campaign.
In December 2018, as a 16-year-old student of Nanyang Girls' High School in Singapore, Lee founded ToiletRollSG, a national project that aims to collect 1,000 kilograms of cardboard cylinders（纸 筒）-or about 150,000 pieces． As of February of 2021, Lee, who was studying at Hwa Chong Institution， had collected 860 kg of toilet rolls, reported Singapore Today. Slightly later, she was awarded Singapore's National Environment Agency's Ecofriend Awards, which recognizes individuals for their contributions to the environment, under the Youth and Students category.
But why did she choose toilet rolls? "They are convenient to collect and also one of the purest forms of waste to recycle because they are made of only one material," Lee told Singapore Today. "Project must be economically practical too. For example, it's more difficult to recycle pens because they are made up of too many different materials like rubber casings （橡胶外壳），metals and plastics which require more resources to separate. "
Lee went into a partnership with the waste management firm Veolia, which gives her five cents for every 1 kg of toilet rolls collected.
She organized "toilet roll challenges" within Nanyang Girls' High School and worked with cleaners to collect used toilet rolls from school toilets. She also conducted talks about ToiletRollSG. But due to COVID-19, she has been unable to conduct physical talks, so she raises awareness about different social causes through her Instagram Live series called On A Roll.
One of the biggest challenges Lee has faced has been others doubting her due to her young age. "I always have to use my actions as well as the different things I've done to prove that I'm passionate and know about this," she told The Straits Times.
Lee will donate the money collected to a social cause that is focused on community health.
