KUALA LUMPUR: Badminton star Pearly Tan took time off to clean rubbish at a beach yesterday.
To spread awareness about the importance of sustainability to Malaysians, Pearly and about 100 volunteers got their hands and feet dirty when they participated in the "Clean Up, Charge Up!" beach clean-up event in Sepang.
A total of 203 kilogrammes of rubbish was collected by Pearly and Co at the Bagan Lalang campsite beach.
Pearly, 24, told Timesport that the event meant much more to her than just a Sunday fun-day activity.
In fact, she felt that it's a good change of environment for her ahead of the Olympics.
"First of all, I love the beach and I love being in nature. I'm really very happy to be able to contribute to this event," said Pearly.
"Usually we train so hard during weekdays, and sometimes we just want to stay in on weekends. Today I got a chance to come out and see the world, get my mind off things.
"I feel like hitting the refresh button before the Olympics," added Pearly, who makes up the world No. 13 women's doubles pairing with M. Thinaah.
Pearly stressed that more initiatives like this are needed as sustainability efforts do go a long way.
"We really need to reduce the use of plastic bags and be mindful of this because most times we take things for granted," she said.
The event was hosted by supplements brand VitaHealth, in partnership with Big Pharmacy, Caring Pharmacy and Cuci Malaysia.