KOTA KINABALU: Sabah will see a solution to its waste management issues when certain new laws come into force.
State Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said the Solid Waste Management and Public Sanitisation Enactment are under way.
"We will be able to empower local authorities in the enforcement, collection and disposal of solid waste and provide a solution to the state's waste management issues.
"With additional strong support from international governments, Sabah can and will lead the way with Sabah Plastic Neutral for a healthier and more sustainable future at the beginning of the Unesco Ocean Decade," he said during the launch of BluHope's "Water is Life! – Rethinking Plastics Education & Awareness Programme" here last night.
Launched on Jan 1 last year, the Ocean Decade will be held from 2021 until 2030 to foster partnerships and generate the knowledge needed to support a well-functioning, productive, resilient, sustainable, and inspiring ocean.
Masidi's speech was read by his Assistant Local Government and Housing Minister Mohamad Hamsan Awang Supain.
Present were French Ambassador to Malaysia His Excellency Roland Galharaque and BluHope founder Simon Christopher.
He added that Sabah's ocean was part of the Coral Triangle, a marine area located in the western Pacific Ocean that contains 30 percent of the world's coral reefs and one of the most biodiverse regions on earth.
"However, a lot of plastic comes back with the tide, littering Sabah's beautiful sandy beaches with plastic debris and waste.
"Sabahans living near the sea are having to live on generations of plastic waste. The situation cannot continue."
Masidi said the state government is delighted about BluHope's progress on the Sabah Plastic Neutral initiative towards maximising value from plastic waste.
He added that the organisation has helped to support the local community and protect biodiversity with various approaches.
Among them was through education and awareness, plastic collection and separation at source, different recycling technologies and science-based beach clean ups among others. - NST
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