Woodlands Secondary students have found a way to recycle egg shells and clam shells to create environmentally-friendly paint.

While paint is normally made from calcium carbonate extracted through mining and quarrying, the group of four students has found an alternative method to extract the compound for paint.

The students, who are now in Secondary Two, partnered Nippon Paint, and they crushed and filtered the shells to extract the calcium carbonate. Their paint passed the standard tests and is comparable to normal quality paint.

For their efforts, the group received the top award in the secondary school category of the Green Wave Environmental Care Competition organised by SembCorp Marine's subsidiary, Sembawang Shipyard.

The contest, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, aims to promote environmental awareness to students.

Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, presented the awards to the winners on Thursday.

He said: "The days when we could extract cheap energy from the ground are over. We have to discover renewable sources of energy and live in a way that does not threaten the existence of our neighbours, and more importantly, that of our future generations."

He also commended the group for their efforts and added: "We need more of such innovative ideas that can work and are commercially viable."