Spreading awareness of plastic waste disposal harm to marine life while sharpening social interaction, leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking.

Malaysia is a high-consumption country, with single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws, and bottles. These plastics are often not properly disposed of and end up in the environment, where they can damage waterways and oceans.

Many people are unaware of the negative impacts of plastic pollution and do little to reduce their plastic footprint. As more plastic enters the environment, it contributes to the problem of plastic pollution.

Plastic waste is extremely harmful to marine life, killing fish and other marine life, and making it unsafe for human consumption.

20 volunteers from the Asia Pacific University of Technology & Innovation (APU)’s IMechE Student Chapter undertook an initiative to cleanup the beachfront in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan.

APU’s IMechE Student Chapter in partnership with IMechE Malaysia Branch is an independent student-led organization that is affiliated with the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) — professional body for mechanical engineers in the United Kingdom and around the world.

This volunteer activity is part of the program’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts, which are guided by Prof. Ir. Eur. Ing. Ts. Dr. Vinesh Thiruchelvam, APU’s Chief Innovation & Enterprise Officer.

“The main objective of this event is to spread awareness about plastic waste disposal towards marine life because Malaysia is one of the top ten countries that contribute the most plastic marine debris to the ocean.

“Thus, cleaning the beach and collecting plastic waste material will protect the open ocean from harmful floating plastic,” said Ts. Dr. Arun Seeralan Balakrishnan, Academic Liaison Officer for APU’s IMechE Student Chapter, who joined the students during the awareness activity.

“It took four hours to gather various waste, including small pieces of plastic on the beach sides, and we were able to collect 20 huge pieces of plastic waste.” 

According to Mechatronics student, Amogha Seelan Balakrishnan Arun Seeralan, volunteering is a fantastic way to give back to your community and make a difference in the world.

“Beach cleaning is a particularly rewarding activity because it contributes to the long-term preservation of our oceans and beaches for future generations.

“I enjoyed working as a volunteer because it taught me how to manage our committee members and create a proper event plan,” he explained.

His classmate, Muhammad Ridwan Bayrajee, pointed out that volunteering is important to him because he participates in volunteer initiatives in his native country.

“Volunteering can help us develop leadership and teamwork skills,” he added “We learn how to encourage and inspire people, as well as how to delegate tasks, solve problems, collaborate, and compromise, when we are in charge of leading a team of volunteers.”

Zainab Yasmin Baig, a Computer Engineering student, mentioned that “some people do not care about the environment,” and wonders how as a future engineer she could help resolve this problem with what she learned at APU.

“This activity is beneficial for us because apart from being able to see the outside world, we can participate and contribute, and we will try to use what we learn to solve harmful plastic waste problems in the future,” she said.

It is critical to raise awareness about the dangers of hazardous waste disposal since it can help to prevent pollution from affecting marine life. By teaching people on the dangers of plastic waste disposal, we can help ensure that it is disposed of correctly and responsibly.