The Giving Hands

It’s Clean Up The World weekend, peeps! And since I’ll be in Redang Island for a land and underwater clean up, here’s a list of 10 things that you can do to help prevent marine debris:

1. Participate in the Clean Up The World weekend. Clean up your store room. Or your garden/backyard.
2. Clean up your trash. It’s amazing that a vast majority of trash in our waterways comes from land-based activities. Even trash discarded miles inland can make it to the ocean, carried by the rain and the winds.
3. Retrieve your monofilament fishing line. Don’t leave fishing line in the water and remove others’ when you find it. Being careful not to tug on snagged lines that could be caught on important habitat below the surface.
4. Contain and properly clean spills when boating. Use oil-absorbent rags or even diapers to clean spills.
5. Recycle used motor oil and oil filters. Your local petrol station should have facilities for recycling these materials. Never pour oil, paint, antifreeze, or other household chemical into an open sewer.
6. Better yet, find alternatives to household chemicals. Don’t use fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides that can wash into open waters. Use lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda for household cleaning.
7. Become a storm drain sentry. Stencil your local drains to remind people where the things they dump there end up… And of the potential consequences.
8. Use cloth bags for groceries instead of plastic bags. Take them with you when you shop to reduce the number of plastic bags you use. In addition to being ugly, plastic bags can choke marine wildlife when mistaken for food.
9. Properly dispose of used batteries and electronics. Use your local recycling bins. Or send them to the nearest recycling centre. Electronics leach harmful chemicals into the environment. Once there, these toxic pollutants can affect the environment for decades.
10. Spread the awareness. Tell a friend or family about the importance of preventing marine debris and share with them the many ways that they can do their part.

Source: Adapted from Ocean Conservancy