First debris skimmer boat ready
KOTA KINABALU: The first Catamaran debris skimmer boat for the unique “NOW” (No More Plastics in Our Waters) project is now ready for trial runs.
Co-Chairperson of the NOW Action Committee, Marinah Harris Embiricos, disclosed this at the Committee’s sixth meeting chaired by Co-Chairman Datuk Yeo Boon Hai at the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, recently.
At 8am, prior to the meeting, she had launched it on the Rampayan River in Menggatal. It was later brought to the Jesselton Point for inspection by the Committee in the afternoon. Embiricos attributed the delay in the launching of the skimmer boat to technical hitches. It was supposed to have taken place in June this year. According to her, two adjustments were made to strengthen the boat structure.
“Initially, the boat was light and we were concerned whether it would sustain the weight of the metal basket when it is filled with rubbish. The boat is more rigid now with a bigger engine, and we have also installed steel bars to support the basket. We need to adjust the steering too,” she explained.
Asked by Yeo, who is the Director-General of Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), whether she was comfortable with the boat, Embiricos said:
“We have to try it out for two full days to ensure that technically, it works very well. “Actually, we have ordered two units of the skimmer boat costing RM40,000 each. We plan to acquire four more units once the project has commenced and received financial support from sponsors or well-wishers.” These boats will be operating around Kota Kinabalu, Tanjung Aru and other major coastlines.
She added that the coastal communities will be engaged in the plastic waste collection exercise towards alleviating poverty as profits from the sale of recycled polymers pellets will be shared with the communities.
Yeo also confirmed that the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment has earmarked RM30,000 for the NOW project, which will be channelled to the Environmental Action Centre (EAC) for educational programmes in Sabah schools.
He said DBKK on its part will provide a small tractor to assist NOW in collecting rubbish from the beach, for example. “It is not as simple as just picking up rubbish from the ground as garbage is sometimes embedded in the sand and a tractor is needed to remove the massive collection of refuse.”
He described the emergence of the NOW Action Committee as a new stimulus in enhancing public awareness.
“We are excited because NOW brings a new dimension to the collective effort of the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, and DBKK in that civil society is also concerned about keeping the city, islands and beaches clean.
“And they are also prepared to fork out money for the purpose. That’s a plus-point,” Yeo noted.
The “NOW” project was originally designed and developed by Gaya Recycle Sdn Bhd, a Sabah-registered private company that promotes environmental awareness of recycling plastic wastes. Embiricos is the Director of this company.
Others present at the meeting were Christopher Jintoni (Ministry of Tourism, Culture & Environment), Lizawana Matin (DBKK), Ray Marvin Tann (Environmental Protection Department), Mayliza Good and Helen Erut (Environmental Action Centre), Dr Fred Weirowski (Blue Life ecoservices Bhd), Ak Mohd Rodzan Pg Dahlan (Sabah Parks) and Rita Ignatius (Gaya Recycle Sdn Bhd).
Meanwhile, Dr Weirowski reported that his company has initiated a bottle building project on Pulau Mantanani (off Kota Belud), involving university students from Australia, in collaboration with the NOW Action Committee.
Later, during the inspection, Yeo concurred with Embiricos that the winch must be made stronger to facilitate the task of lowering the steel component to scoop up rubbish from the sea and then lifting and drawing it backwards to empty the contents into the basket.
A mother boat (sailing vessel or floating pontoon) will hold all the trash that has been collected by the skimmer boat. It will then be transported to a recycling plant that will be established in KK while non-recycling garbage will be sent from the UMS jetty (waste collection location) to Kayu Madang Landfill in Telipok (some 10km away).
Also present were DBKK Director of Cleanliness and Environmental Health Department, Robert Lipon, Assistant Manager (Operations), Jesselton Point, Benie James, and Supervisor (Operations), Jesselton Point, Salim Kansung.
Apart from Gaya Recycle Sdn Bhd (which is financing the cost of building the skimmer boat), Suria Bumiria Sdn Bhd of the Suria Group has made a contribution too.
NOW is a major concerted effort to clean up Sabah’s beaches and coastlines around tourism hotspot, beginning with Pulau Gaya, towards ending the practice of sea dumping. Its vision and mission are:
O To create a multi-beneficial initiative to manage marine litter and end ocean dumping. O To ameliorate the impact of waste dumping on our coastlines.
O To catalyse development of the 3R by presenting the recycling value chain for waste. O To encourage participation of communities to alleviate poverty.
O To develop a public and private awareness campaign to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle marine plastic litter.
This 3R Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Initiative to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle marine plastic litter, is a collaborative effort by Gaya Recycle Sdn Bhd, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK), Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), Blue Life Ecoservices Bhd, Environmental Action Centre (EAC), Environmental Protection Department (EPD) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) like Humana Child Aid Society and Daily Express.
State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister, Datuk Masidi Manjun is the Chairman of the NOW Action Committee, assisted by three Co-Chairmen, including Permanent Secretary to the Ministry, Datuk Michael Emban.
Source: Daily Express
