100 volunteers remove 800kg of rubbish from Penang islet to address growing plastic threat
ARMED with gloves, litter pickers and garbage bags, about 100 participants spread out across Pulau Gazumbo to collect rubbish washed ashore by sea currents.
Within less than two hours, they gathered more than 800kg of waste from the 3ha uninhabited islet located off the eastern coast of Penang island, near the Penang Bridge.
Among the items hauled away were plastic bottles, food wrappers, spent fireworks tubes, torn fishing nets, old ropes, polystyrene packaging and rubber slippers.
The “Plogclean on Gazumbo” cleanup was organised by Penang Island City Council’s (MBPP) Urban Services Department, involving members of Penang Youth Development Corporation, Green Educators Workgroup, dental and nursing trainees as well as MBPP staff.
Surrounded by shallow waters and seagrass beds, Pulau Gazumbo plays an important ecological role as a habitat for marine life.
However, the rubbish piling up on its shores is a reminder of how easily waste travels and where it ends up.
Environmentalists have long warned that plastic pollution poses a serious threat to fragile ecosystems like this.
Lightweight plastics can drift long distances before settling on remote shores, where they may entangle marine animals or break down into microplastics that enter the food chain.
Pulau Gazumbo appears pristine from afar, yet its coastline remains a collection point for sea-borne waste.
Rubbish washed ashore by the sea currents makes for a challenging cleanup operation.
Participants picking up a large number of plastic bottles on the islet during the “Plogclean on Gazumbo” programme.
Volunteers preparing to transport bags of collected rubbish off the island for disposal.
Spent fireworks tubes among the waste found on the island.
