10 tonnes of waste collected from Semporna water village since March

SEMPORNA: A community-based waste management pilot in Kampung Sri Aman has collected more than 10 tonnes of household waste since March, helping prevent waste from entering the surrounding marine environment.

Led by Reef Check Malaysia (RCM) and a local community committee, the pilot provides regular waste collection services to 100 households in the water village.

RCM said the initiative was designed to shift the focus from removing marine debris to preventing waste from entering the marine environment.

The pilot, funded by Etika until the end of the year, was developed in collaboration with the Semporna District Council and district office, as well as the Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry.

The programme is also generating data on household participation, waste types and quantities, and the approximate amount of waste generated per person in the water village.

Village chief Hassan Gabra said the programme showed that residents were willing to participate when provided with a clear and practical waste management system.

"Collecting more than 10 tonnes is a significant achievement for our village, but we do not want the effort to stop when the pilot ends," he said.

RCM senior programme manager (Sabah) Adzmin Fatta said the 10-tonne milestone should be viewed as more than just a measure of waste collected.

"More than 10 tonnes is not just a waste statistic. We need to ask ourselves: where would this waste have gone if the system did not exist?

"In a water village surrounded by the sea, a significant portion could eventually leak into our marine ecosystem," he said.

RCM said water villages faced particular waste management challenges due to their geography, infrastructure, accessibility and proximity to the marine environment.

It said sustained collaboration among communities, government agencies, businesses, tourism operators, civil society groups and funders would be needed to maintain the waste management system beyond the pilot period.