KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's agencies and corporate entities need to consider a corporate social responsibility role in addressing ocean pollution.
Recently, a water concessionaire company had collected a whopping 12.1 tonnes of marine debris from the islands off Kota Kinabalu and Semporna in just four days.
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Sabah Environment Protection Association president Alexander Yee emphasised the importance of corporate social responsibility in environmental conservation.
"A huge shout-out to the individuals who volunteered their time, effort and resources to participate in these ocean clean-up efforts.
"While the company's initiative is commendable, it raises questions about how both corporate entities and state agencies can contribute more effectively to addressing the ocean pollution issue," he said in a statement.
Yee added that the severity of ocean pollution in the state was evident with the amount of rubbish collected within the clean-up period.
According to Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), plastic waste constituted the highest percentage (38.5 per cent) of waste composition found in rivers and beaches in the city.
Other significant components included organic waste (18.5), e-waste (16.6), diapers (eight), textiles (six), rubber (five) and polystyrene (four). Paper, glass and metal accounted for one per cent each.
He also said that the lack of basic infrastructure such as piped water had caused island residents in Sabah to rely on plastic bottled water.
Due to the absence of proper collection centres for used plastic bottles and other plastic waste, villagers often resorted to disposing of their bottles in the ocean, necessitating frequent clean-up efforts.
Last year, the Sabah government announced a study to explore the use of bio-reactors to manage waste.
State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam said that the proposal, leveraging green technology for hygienic waste disposal, would commence as a pilot project in Papar, Sandakan and Tawau.
In the state capital, Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) has aimed to eliminate single-use plastic bags by August.
Since Sept 11 last year, the local authority has collaborated with 33 major outlets to reduce the usage of single-use plastic bags.