Malaysia needs to upgrade to 5R

Rubbish comprising mostly bottles and plastic waste piled up along the river that runs through Bintulu in central Sarawak. Complaints about the dirty Kemana River is not new. It is downstream from residential and commercial areas. A market is also nearby. ZULAZHAR SHEBLEE / THE STAR

WALK down the city streets, in the kampung, along the beach, in the forest, in fact anywhere in this country and you will inevitably see it – plastic garbage. This is the most common litter in our country and it is not only drowning our nation but the entire planet as well. Even the oceans are teeming with plastic waste.

Plastic pollution is one of the most basic environmental problems we face today. Unfortunately, we tend to forget that we are the biggest culprit behind this problem and that we have to take drastic action to reduce and ultimately end plastic pollution.