KOTA KINABALU: Over 1,800kg of trash was collected within two hours during the cleanup at Semporna’s Pulau Larapan on Thursday (May 19).

       Organised by Reef Check Malaysia and Kg Larapan Youth Club, the initiative was held in collaboration with Green Semporna, WWF-Malaysia and Amwil Densel Management.

       The programme, involving 64 participants, was part of the World Clean Up Day which is also held at the national level, said Reef Check Malaysia in a statement.

       "Pulau Larapan community here has expressed concerns on the problem of ocean plastic which was carried over to our waters.

       "Not only was it an environmental pollution, but it also affected how the island looked with all the garbage, so this initiative was to help create awareness on the need to clean up the island," said one of the islanders, Moktaruddin Bustamin, who represented the community.

       The clean up was also one of the activities under the garbage management pilot project for Pulau Larapan, which is being done together with Reef Check Malaysia and Sc Johnson.

       Garbage management programme coordinator Mad Rinta Parintamin said they are in the midst of replicating such a management programme from the Pulau Mantanani community.

       “At present, some 60 houses are involved in (household) garbage collection activities daily since March this year.

       “The result was 1,027kg of trash successfully collected from March to April, and avoided ending up at the sea,” he added.

       The aim was to get all homes there to participate in garbage management so no one would throw their trash into the sea.

       This is also important to avoid pollution that could destroy the coral reefs around the island, as Pulau Larapan has the most coverage of reefs in the Semporna district.