DATA collected during a clean-up of beaches in the country earlier this month revealed that most of the rubbish collected (2,700kg) was made from plastic. The items ranged from water bottles to plastic bags.
This is evidence that urgent action is needed to address plastic pollution in oceans.
The clean-up, organised by Reef Check Malaysia (RCM), was conducted in 16 locations and involved more than 500 people from 20 organisations.
They cleaned up trash along 15km of coastline, filling nearly 400 trash bags. The rubbish collected included 15,874 plastic water bottles, 6,884 plastic bags, 2,368 cigarette butts, and 203 diapers.
We have been concerned about marine debris for some time. This clean-up shows just how big the problem is. Imagine if this were extrapolated to the whole of Malaysia.
The clean-up is the first in a series of activities celebrating the International Year of the Reef 2018, and will hopefully raise awareness about the problem of marine debris, and plastic, in particular.
Further events are being prepared for World Oceans Day and Coral Triangle Day.
In September, RCM hopes to organise a nationwide clean-up event with partners and participants.
The goal is to persuade the government and stakeholders to take action. Possible solutions include: a deposit scheme for plastic drink bottles, improved recycling schemes, barriers in rivers to stop trash from reaching the ocean, re-purposing plastic into useful products, and providing revenue to coastal communities.
This clean-up has proven that it is possible to mobilise large numbers of people to solve a problem, and we are grateful to those who joined in to make it a success.
But, we need to eventually stop trash from getting there.
The government, food and beverage companies, resorts and other tourism operators must get involved. Everyone has a role to play if we want to find solutions to this problem.
Julian Hyde is the general manager of Reef Check Malaysia