240kg of trash collected in Pantai Dalit clean-up

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Volunteers with the 240kg trash they collected

KOTA KINABALU: Joining thousands of others on the world’s largest single-day volunteer event for oceans, Shangri-La’s Rasa Ria Resort & Spa in partnership with Reef Check Malaysia picked up a total 240kg of trash in a beach clean-up at Pantai Dalit in conjunction with the International Coastal Clean-Up Day yesterday.

Over 100 Rasa Ria volunteers, including Tuaran Municipal Council, Kampung Terayong, Tuaran Fisherman Association and guests of the resort showed their undivided support for marine debris reduction and ocean conservation.

International Coastal Clean-up Day is the world’s biggest annual volunteer effort to protect the oceans.  Every year, millions of people around the world gather to collect trash along beaches and record information on types of trash, which gives insight into ways to tackle the ever growing problem of marine debris.

The debris were in different materials and the most common items collected were plastic bottles (120 pieces). The volunteers also collected 550 pieces of plastic wastes including disposable plastic plates, take away containers and small fragmented pieces.

“We are happy to have worked with the local authorities and communities, as well as with our guests and staff, in this great community effort. Beach clean-up is part of the resort’s culture with daily clean-up by the staff and we see more and more guests joining the gotong-royong.

“Today is more than just another clean-up, it’s part of our commitment together with our stakeholders in helping to raise awareness on the dangers of debris to our beautiful beach and encourage people to do their part to passionately protect our unique environment and marine life by reducing their reliance on single-use plastics,” said Fiona Hagan, General Manager of the resort.