PETALING JAYA: More than 600 employees of consumer goods company Nestle Malaysia “invaded” nine beaches across the country last week.
But instead of floats and boats, they were armed with garbage bags and rakes. At the end of the campaign, they came away with 5.6 tonnes of waste.
The effort, carried out jointly with the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS), was part of the company’s global effort to wage war against plastic waste and to commemorate World Oceans Day which falls on June 8 every year.
Nestle Malaysia chief executive officer Juan Aranols said the company was committed to be part of the solution in tackling the problem of plastic waste. “We aim to make all our packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025,” he said.
Today, he said, 65% of the company’s product packaging was already designed to be recyclable.
Aranols said Nestle was also committed to eliminate single-use plastic items from all its work sites by September.
MNS president Prof Dr Ahmad Ismail said Nestle’s efforts showcased how companies and communities could do their part for environmental conservation.
The beach clean-up effort was conducted in Pantai Remis, Pantai Morib, Pantai Cermin, Pantai Robina, Pantai Sepat, Pulau Perhentian, Pantai Batu Layar, Pantai Santubong and Pantai Kudat.
The team in Pantai Cermin collected 1.3 tonnes of trash, the largest portion of all the waste collected.
