LUMUT: A whopping 480kg of rubbish was collected by Pengurusan Aset Air Bhd (PAAB) during a Beach Clean-up Programme at Teluk Senangin here on Monday.
About 300 volunteers from the programme's strategic partner Kelab Belia Prihatin, the banking sector, Perak Water Board, Manjung Municipal Council, as well as students from Universiti Teknologi Petronas and UniKL Malaysia Institute of Marine Engineering Technology, took part in the programme, themed "A Wave of Change".
They got their hands dirty and collected the trash within a one-kilometre radius in just one hour.
PAAB chief executive officer Ir. Zulkiflee Omar said the programme was part of the company's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative focusing on environmental sustainability and the promotion of green practices since 2019.
"Besides the 'Sustainability School' programme, we are also conducting the PAAB green mosque campaign at nine mosques in Melaka, Kelantan and Negri Sembilan. The mosques have upgraded facilities to be more efficient in water usage.
"Today's programme is a continuation of 'A Wave of Change — Beach and Mangrove Cleaning', which was held in Nibong Tebal, Penang; Tanjung Karang, Selangor, and Kampung Sungai Melayu, Johor, last year.
"The objective of this programme is not only to maintain environmental sustainability, but also to instil volunteer values in students while conveying a message to visitors."
PAAB installed three information signboards at the beach area and planted four casuarina trees to inaugurate the event.
Zulkiflee said PAAB had completed water asset-related projects worth RM7.4 billion, with projects worth RM1.8 billion currently under construction, while projects in the design phase involve more than RM5 billion.
"PAAB's water assets include the construction of water treatment plants (WTPs), the refurbishment of existing WTPs and the replacement of outdated pipes nationwide.
"We focus on these three aspects because they can boost the treated water reserve margin in the state."
He added that the largest project being initiated was the construction of the Langat 2 WTP (phase two), which costs RM4 billion.
"We are designing the Langat 2 WTP project for phase two, which is expected to produce 1.13 million litres of water per day. It is expected to be completed by 2030.
"Additionally, we have other projects in Johor, Negri Sembilan and Melaka. We have also started many projects in Kelantan because the government wants to focus on advancing the water supply system in the state."