Malaysian experts join international study on plastic pollution

E-bottles which will be used to track plastics across the ocean in an international study on plastic pollution by researchers from Malaysia, United Kingdom, Singapore and Thailand.

WITH the rising concern on microplastic pollution, a group of international experts, including from Malaysia, are studying the source of these pollutants in this part of the world.

The project will track the sources of plastic pollution and study how it affects marine life here.

“Our study will look at the impact of such plastic, including microplastics, on organisms like fish.

“We will also come up with intervention and mitigation steps which can be presented to policy makers to reduce such pollution,” says Prof Dr P. Agamuthu from the Jeffrey Sachs Center on Sustainable Development at Sunway University.

Prof Agamuthu, a solid waste management expert, is part of the total 20 experts from Malaysia, United Kingdom, Singapore and Thailand who will be conducting the project until the end of next year.

Titled “Risks and Solutions: Marine Plastic in Southeast Asia”, the project, which began last year, is led by Britain’s University of Exeter.

Other researchers in the study are from organisations like Universiti Malaya in Malaysia, National University of Singapore, Chulalongkorn University in Thailand and Plymouth Marine Laboratory in the United Kingdom.

The study will include a simulation exercise by releasing special plastic bottles, known as e-bottles, into the sea from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand in June this year.

This is to track the flow of these e-bottles and study how such plastic is degraded in the region.

“Each e-bottle comes with a transmitter chip attached to it and we will track its movement for six months through GPS.

“In Malaysia, we are planning to release three bottles into the sea from areas like Terengganu and Kuala Selangor.

“We will have to take a boat and travel about half a kilometre before releasing it into the water.

“Our Singapore and Thailand counterparts will also release the bottles from their sites,” explains Prof Agamuthu.

But while the project is ongoing, Prof Agamuthu says it is undeniable that plastic waste keeps increasing.

“The least that Malaysians can do is to be wary of their plastic disposal and try to stop using single-use plastics like straws,” he says.

Malaysia has a target to have zero single-use plastics by 2030, Prof Agamuthu disagrees that it should be eight years from now when it can be done sooner.

“Of course we cannot live without plastic. But we should try to reduce what we can,” he stresses.

He suggests Malaysia emulated India by introducing bags made from straw to reduce the dependence on plastic bags.

“Since it is straw, you can throw it away and it becomes compost. The cost is roughly RM3 each but it is practical,” he adds.

On the consequences of microplastics in the human body, Prof Agamuthu says it is worrying as it can affect internal organs, such as the kidney.

“Kidneys filter our blood and such microplastics may accumulate there, possibly causing long term issues like cancer or affect its function.

“This is especially for those who are diabetic, as their kidney function may have already been affected,” he says.

As such, it is important to identify the source of microplastic pollution to ensure it is controlled.

“One potential way that microplastics end up in our body is by eating seafood like cockles and fish.

“Such creatures consume the microplastics in the sea and when we eat such seafood, the particles end up in our body,” he says.

But Prof Agamuthu points out that it is us who cause plastic to be in the ocean.

“A source of microplastic is microbeads which are added to cosmetic products like face creams.

“Such material then gets washed into the rivers and seas,” Prof Agamuthu says.

Meanwhile, WWF-Malaysia plastics initiative interim manager Tahirah Mohamed Ariff says dangerous thresholds of microplastic concentrations were reported in the Mediterranean, the East China and Yellow Seas and the Arctic sea ice.

“In the worst case scenario, such high levels of microplastic pollution could lead to adverse effects, including reduced marine life populations.

“The durable nature of plastic also means that the uptake of microplastic in the marine food chain will only continue to dangerous levels, if we do not cut our production and use of plastic now,” Tahirah explains.

Encouragingly, in March of this year, she notes that the United Nations (UN) Environment Assembly unanimously agreed to develop a legally binding treaty by 2024 to end plastic pollution.

The resolution addresses the full lifecycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.

“The WWF welcomes this decision and urges the world’s governments to seize this powerful momentum for eliminating plastic pollution.

“We hope nations can act just as strongly and decisively in developing the full content of the treaty by 2024,” she says.