MELAKA: Cigarette butts were the most common form of litter found along the Pantai Puteri recreational beach at Tanjung Kling here, says a Southern Waste Management (Environment) official.
"A total of 1,226 cigarette butts were collected on that day. It has not only become an eyesore but also raised concern over its detrimental impact on the environment," said SWM Environment's corporate general manager Mohd Norlisam Mohd Nordin.
He added in an interview on Tuesday (Oct 1) that this was what was found during a cleaning programme held recently in conjunction with World Cleanup Day (WCD) 2024.
Norlisam then said that cigarette butts can be easily absorbed into the soil and water due to the chemical mixture in these tobacco products.
"The WCD initiative involved cleaning the beachfront alongside our strategic partners and the event was organised with an aim to raise public awareness about the importance of maintaining and preserving seashore cleanliness," he said.
Norlisam said the programme was attended by some 50 volunteers and some 178kg of waste was collected from the beach within two hours.
"We managed to collect about 30kg of recyclable items including various types of plastic, paper, aluminium, glass and bottles," he added.
Norlisam said apart from the cigarette butts, volunteers also collected 504 plastic bottles and 333 pieces of plastic materials which were the top three types of waste collected during the event.
He added that the programme will be continued at other beachfronts in the state in view of the ongoing Visit Melaka Year 2024.
Recent data from the United Nations Development Programme estimates that 4.5 million cigarette butts are littered around the world annually.
