Protect rivers, stop littering

THE Malaysian Plastics Manufacturers Association (MPMA) refers to the article “Plastic and polystyrene clogging up Klang River” (The Star, July 25). MPMA applauds The Star for raising public attention on the littering issue and its resultant impact on river pollution, although the headline misdirects attention to the products that end up as litter. It should be noted that the article does mention that besides plastic and polystyrene, other products are also found to be clogging up rivers.

MPMA has been reiterating that litter contributes to environmental pollution, be it on land or at sea, and litterbugs are to blame for this problem. Littering is a behavioural issue, and the public as well as the authorities need to understand that if no action is taken against litterbugs or proper infrastructure is provided for disposal of litter, rivers would continue to be polluted despite the noble actions by the authorities to clean them up.