As an effort to directly address recent and surging incidences involving the death and threats of marine life caused by excessive marine debris, Metrics Global teamed up with Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) to rally 600 over participants to investigate the amount of trash at three local coastlines which were gathered as tangible evidence to necessitate tougher waste management policies in Malaysia.
Through a beach cleaning initiative organised simultaneously at Pantai Mori (Banting, Selangor), Pantai Remis (Jeram, Selangor) and Pantai Minyak Beku (Batu Pahat, Johor), participants were required to collect as much trash as possible, which was then converted into data used as substantive proof to sensitise policy makers, researchers and the government to promptly develop firmer recycling habits and greater infrastructure for the country’s waste management system.
The organisers kickstarted the event by exposing participants to the rising occurrences of marine life killed by devastating amounts of marine debris and excessive waste washing up on beaches that were recently reported in different parts of the world.
Metrics Global Managing Director, Mr Jackal Chua said, “There is truly a great need now for us to genuinely understand just how grave the situation has become. That’s why it was very important for us to work with Reef Check Malaysia to level up solutions by inculcating the use of fun technology in our efforts to educate citizens in playing an active and consistent role in the preservation of our marine ecosystem and the environment in general.”
Using Clean Swell – a user-friendly app that globally revolutionises marine conservation efforts, users simply start collecting trash anywhere in the world, after which is translated as data when users record their findings on the app by specifying the types of trash amassed. These data are instantaneously uploaded onto the Ocean Conservancy’s global ocean trash database, which then produces a clear and current worldwide snapshot of our trash-infested oceans.
