Gaya Island clean-up a huge success

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KOTA KINABALU: Downbelow Marine and Wildlife Adventures Sdn Bhd (Downbelow) recently funded another Project Aware Beach and Snorkel clean-up.

They invited a group from the Asia Tourism International College to help them this time.

The educational event was a huge success with lots of rubbish being collected at the end of the day.

“We would like to say a big thank you to all the students and staff for their help and as always a special thanks to the Downbelow team which not only ensured the day ran safely and smoothly but also took great care of our regular guests.

“We have been doing all kinds of activities including fun dives to discover scuba and snorkeling programmes” said Downbelow general manager Evelyn Bernardinus.

According to Evelyn, people who want to know about the effects of plastic bags to the environment must consider that production contributes to air pollution and energy consumption.

She stressed that four to five trillion plastic bags were manufactured each year, and of those 100 trillion only one per cent was recycled.

Evelyn said approximately one billion seabirds and mammals died per year by ingesting plastic bags because they were often mistaken as food by marine mammals.

“These animals suffer a painful death, the plastic wraps around their intestines or they choke to death.

“We must consider the alternatives to plastic bags,” she added.