KOTA KINABALU: Almost 600 cigarette butts were picked up within 30 minutes of a beach clean-up adjacent to a resort in Tanjung Aru here.
The rubbish was found within a 200m radius among resort staff, including its general manager Conor Hadlington, non-governmental association Reef Check Malaysia (RCM), and the media.
RCM programme manager Nadhirah Mohd Rifai said aside from the direct benefits to the environment, beach clean-ups also raise awareness about marine debris and its effects.
"Volunteers experience firsthand the types of trash collected and are visually presented with the composition of trash.
"This is in line with our commitment to highlight the severity of plastic pollution and its effects on us.
"Having multiple large-scale beach clean-ups also encourages dialogue among the public," she said during the event held yesterday to commemorate the resort's recent appointment as an Asean Green Hotel.
Using the "Clean Swell" application, the clean-up recorded a total of 46kg of rubbish.
The app requires volunteers to record data on the trash collected, identifying the quantity of categories of rubbish collected.
This data will be uploaded to an online database available to the public, including local authorities.
RCM's International Coastal Clean Up Report 2023 stated that a total of 29,466.06kg of marine litter was collected throughout Malaysia that day, weighing approximately equivalent to the weight of an adult humpback whale.
The top five most commonly found items on Malaysian shores during the International Coastal Clean-Up Day 2023 were plastic bottles, cigarette butts, plastic or foam pieces, plastic bags, and plastic bottle caps.
