Beach eyesore: A clean-up volunteer checking the pile of rubbish that was washed ashore by the high tide phenomenon at Pasir Bogak beach on Pangkor Island for recyclables.
IPOH: About 100 tonnes of rubbish washed ashore at three beaches in Lumut and Pangkor Island due to the high tide phenomenon have been cleared, says Loh Sze Yee.
The Perak tourism committee chairman said the amount of rubbish removed was unprecedented and had been cleared in a large-scale clean-up operation.
Loh said the garbage at Teluk Batik and Teluk Nipah beaches in Lumut as well as Pasir Bogak beach in Pangkor included tree branches, bottles and plastic food containers.
“The Manjung Municipal Council had received many complaints from the people, including tourists, about the rubbish that got washed ashore.
“Efforts to clear the rubbish were held on Dec 9 and 10. Clean-up works at Pangkor are still ongoing,” he said in a press conference during a visit to the Teluk Batik beach yesterday.
“About 29 tonnes of the garbage collected from the Teluk Batik beach and about 69 tonnes of garbage from the Teluk Nipah and Pasir Bogak beaches have been removed,” he said, adding that the high tide phenomenon, which occurs annually, started on Dec 9 this year.
Loh said rubbish like bottles and plastic food containers were littered indiscriminately by irresponsible folk.
Municipal council secretary Mohd Helmi Arifin said the clean-up works at the three beaches had incurred a cost of about RM100,000.
He said it was conducted on a large scale.
