Interactive Map Brings Insight into Malaysia’s Coral Reef Health

KUALA LUMPUR, 4 OCTOBER 2022 – Reef Check Malaysia coordinated the annual nationwide beach clean-up throughout the month of September in conjunction with International Coastal Clean-up Day (ICC). A total of 9129 volunteers joined the campaign with 9065 volunteers cleaning up on land and 64 divers involved in underwater cleanups. A staggering 24,301 kg of trash were collected over 394 km of coastlines around Malaysia.  

A total of 300,183 items were collected. The most common item found were cigarette butts at 55,100 pieces, plastic bottles came in second at 44,706 bottles, followed by 34,673 plastic or foam pieces smaller than 2.5 cm. These small pieces of plastics, also known as microplastics, are most concerning as they can be accidentally ingested by marine mammals.  

TechnipFMC volunteers in action

“Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, items made from plastics were the most commonly found during our clean-ups. Plastics do not degrade easily and can be floating around our oceans for decades before ending up on our shores”, explained Julian Hyde, the General Manager of Reef Check Malaysia.  

The last physical ICC coordinated by Reef Check Malaysia was conducted in 2020 when the restrictions were slightly relaxed. In 2021, in light of the pandemic, Reef Check Malaysia held a 4-week #ICCfromHome campaign. The weekly challenges include learning about what we throw away, not using single-use plastic bags, combating food waste, and sorting at the source – at home. 

ICC is a global effort that has been running for more than 35 years and took place in the month of September. Around the world, volunteers work together to clean our beaches and waterways, as well as raise awareness on the seriousness of the marine debris issue. This year’s campaign in Malaysia was using #ICCMY2022 hashtag to share all volunteers’ efforts on social media.  

Primer Group volunteers cleaning up the beach for #ICCMY2022

The #ICCMY2022 was also made possible by sponsors who supported the effort including TechnipFMC and Primer Group.  

The TechnipFMC team which consisted of their employees and family members participated in beach clean-ups in Johor and Malacca and collectively removed 1,405.127kg of trash in one day. Besides participating in a beach clean-up in Selangor, the Primer Group also sponsored E-vouchers for all volunteers and four 24oz, 21oz and 18oz Hydro Flask bottles to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd best teams that collected the most trash.  

“After the Covid-19 lockdowns, we are proud of fellow Malaysians who came out in forces to clean-up our environment for this year’s ICC campaign. This shows that there is growing awareness on the issue of marine debris”, mentioned Theresa Ng, the Programme Development Manager of Reef Check Malaysia.  

The ICC campaign may have ended this year but the effort to address waste in our environment should continue. Reducing consumption and separating our recyclables at source should become part of our daily habits.  

For more information on Reef Check Malaysia, you may visit them on their website, Facebook and Instagram or contact them at hello@reefcheck.org.my.   

 

-END- 

KUALA LUMPUR, 18 OCTOBER 2024 – 8,569 volunteers from all around Malaysia collected 41,015kg of trash during the annual International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) event in September 2024.

Among 388,730 items collected, the most common item found was plastic bottles at 50,785 bottles. The second and third most common items were cigarette butts at 39,584 pieces and plastic/foam pieces at 38,801 pieces.

Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) coordinates the nationwide ICC in Malaysia every year since 2018. Organizations, groups and individuals collect data during the cleanup and key in data into the Clean Swell app to contribute to the global database of cleanups by Ocean Conservancy.

Tengku Zatashah, Princess Beach Cleanup in action

Y.A.M Tengku Zatashah binti Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the princess of Selangor, who is also fondly known as ‘Princess Beach Cleanup’, also participated in this year’s ICC. “The International Coastal Cleanup is an event I look forward to every year since 2017. Participating in beach cleanups allows us to see the problem firsthand and take action to address it. I encourage everyone to do their part in keeping our oceans clean.” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.

Proud volunteers of Hapag-Lloyd Business Services Malaysia that cleaned up Pantai Batu 23

This year’s ICC was supported by Hapag-Llyod Business Services Malaysia and KPMG Malaysia. Hapag-Llyod Business Services Malaysia’s volunteers cleaned Pantai Batu 23 for ICC and collected 54.75 kg of trash. KPMG Malaysia chose to clean Pantai Remis, Kuala Selangor and collected 126.61kg of trash.

Coastal Cleanup is an event I look forward to every year since 2017. Participating in beach cleanups allows us to see the problem firsthand and take action to address it. I encourage everyone to do their part in keeping our oceans clean.” commented Tengku Zatashah who joined the ICC at Pantai Morib Baharu in Selangor this year.

KPMG volunteers cleared 126.61kg of trash from Pantai Remis

Reef Check Malaysia also held their Kod Blue: Laut Needs You event as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC). Volunteers for Kod Blue 2024 which happened on 7 September at Kampung Air Batang, Tioman Island, collected 757.7kg of trash from the beach cleanup and 50.8kg of trash from the underwater cleanup. The underwater cleanup team also removed 62 coral predators, the Crown-of-Thorns starfish (COT).

All Kod Blue 2024 volunteers before the cleanups

“The objective of the event is to spread awareness about the issue of marine debris while bringing together the general public and the local community of Tioman Island,” said Theresa Ng, Chief Operating Officer of Reef Check Malaysia. “Kod Blue is an homage to the term used to mean ’emergency’ in the medical field, and ‘blue’ is also a nod to the ocean.”

The second event in the series featured a conservation talk by Reef Check Malaysia’s Chief Programmes Officer, Alvin Chelliah, a special ‘Action Camera Underwater Videography’ workshop by Reef Check Malaysia’s ambassador, Baki Zainal, a beach and underwater cleanup, a ‘Pasar Malam Mesra Alam’ offering local delicacies from the Tioman Island community, a glass crusher and coral block workshop, and a movie night.

Volunteers segregated trash according to types

The event was supported by sponsors including Migalabs, Diamond & Platinum, REEF, Bose, Sol Sauce Sunscreen, Akkord Scents, Nautika Scuba Centre, B&J Diving Centre, Small Towns Malaysia, Ryan’s Special Needs Care Centre, Garmin Malaysia, Cowa, MobyTek, and Nazri’s Place.

“We are grateful for our sponsors for their generous sponsorship and support for Kod Blue 2024.” commented Theresa.

“We also would like to thank our ambassadors, Sharifah Sofia and Baki Zainal, all of our volunteers including representatives from Tioman Development Authority, Department of Fisheries (DOF), Alam Flora, SWCORP ROMPIN, PERHILITAN Department, Tioman Police, SMK Tekek (Nature Lovers Club), and Malaysia Civil Defence Force for participating in our cleanup effort.” added Theresa.

A TMCG member who supported our cleanup weighed all trash collected

Every year, millions of tons of trash—including an estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic waste—flows into the ocean, impacting more than 800 marine species and even entering the food chain.

“When I first heard about Kod Blue 2024, I was excited, and I think it is a good chance to be part of conservation work with experts in the field. It was not easy to make time for this event, but I am very happy I did. I get to meet like-minded people, and I enjoy every second of the activities. I have a lot of takeaways from this event” commented Yvonne Jong, one of the underwater participants of Kod Blue 2024.

For more information on Reef Check Malaysia, you may visit them on their website, Facebook and Instagram or contact them at hello@reefcheck.org.my.

-END-

Other Press Releases