Volunteers collect 45kg of waste during underwater, beach clean-up in Brunei

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Iqbal (right) and local diving instructors pose for the camera before undertaking the underwater clean-up at Pelong Rocks. Sitting inside the boat are Iqbal’s wife and their two young daughters.

MIRI: Volunteers from the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) Miri and CRK Elite Diving Brunei collected a total of 45kg of waste during a joint clean-up activity in Brunei last weekend.

According to MNS Miri chairman Iqbal Abdollah, they conducted underwater clean-up at Pelong Rocks, and a beach clean-up at Pelumpong Spit in Muara Brunei.

He also said the activity was part of many programmes run in connection with Sultan of Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah’s 72nd birthday celebration.

“This joint clean-up was run with the hope that the Bruneians would be aware of the importance of having pollution-free seas and beaches,” said Iqbal, who is also a certified divemaster.

The underwater clean-up hauled in about 5kg worth of fishing nets discarded by irresponsible fishermen, while the beach clean-up yielded 40kg of waste comprising plastic water bottles, plastic and styrofoam containers, as well as polystyrene beads.

Volunteers work together to collect rubbish along the beach at Pelumpong Spit.

Adding on, Iqbal hoped that other local non-governmental organisations and those from the private sector would also undertake similar programmes.

“We do hope that this small project would continue annually with more public, private and government cooperation for the betterment of the environment in Brunei, both on land and in its waters.”

CRK Elite Diving Brunei is the latest scuba diving centre operating at Serasa Muara in Brunei, while MNS Miri is an active non-profit organisation that focuses on marine protection and conservation in the northern region of Sarawak.