LUNDU: Volunteers collected more than 100kg of rubbish on Pandan Beach — a popular picnic site — in two hours during a beach clean-up programme over the weekend.
Sarawak Eco-Warriors president Mark Liao said 30 participants took part in the event to restore the beauty of the beach and raise awareness on how plastic items affected marine life.
“Plastic items, especially bottles, are what we usually, or expected to collect during our beach clean-up. But what surprised us was the large amount of diapers.
“It was such an irresponsible act as diapers are harmful to the ecosystem too,” he said.
The event, jointly organised by Sarawak Eco-Warriors and Kuching Beach Cleaners, was held in conjunction with the 4th Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative anniversary celebration.
Apart from cleaning up, the event also featured a presentation on marine debris by Kuching Beach Cleaners founder Alcila Abby.
Liao said Sarawak Eco-Warriors was a newly-formed organisation, whose objectives are to inspire, educate and empower local communities through environmental projects and programmes.
“We formed about five months ago and the Pandan beach clean-up is our third project. Although we are still new, with about six members, we plan to reach out to more people who share the same interest or those who wish to do something for the environment,” he said.