On 17 March 2012, the staff of PPB Group Berhad (PPB) and their families together with staff of Majlis Daerah Kuala Selangor (MDKS) and Global Environment Centre (GEC), an NGO, gathered at Pantai Remis for a beach clean-up.
Pantai Remis which is situated approximately 20 km from Kuala Selangor town, is a fishing village popular with day trippers for picnics, kite-flying and leisure. The beach is been a favourite spot for locals who patronise the bazaars selling mostly shellfish at weekends. Sadly, litter especially plastic bags which are not biodegradable are commonly found at the beach.
As volunteers began the clean up, they discovered layers of plastic bags buried in the sand of Pantai Remis. It was heart warming to witness a total of 170 volunteers including children who worked tirelessly to pick up rubbish under the blazing sun. The GEC team led the volunteers for the clean-up in a fun way by organising a small competition for the most rubbish collected by individual teams. At the end of the day, more than half a tonne of rubbish was collected and separated into four (4) categories by the volunteers:
- Plastic/Aluminium
- Glass
- Paper/Cardboard
- Unrecyclable items
The event was organised as part of PPB's CSR activity for the environment as well as to bring together the staff of PPB Group and their families, to not only get close to nature but to work for nature. It was also aimed at creating awareness about the importance of the marine habitat and to keep the beach clean at all times. With this in mind, PPB contributed an "interpretative signboard" and two sets of recycling bins for the beach.
The Yang Dipertua MDKS, Puan Hajjah Noraini binti Roslan, was present to receive the contributions from PPB. A strong advocate of green living, Puan Hajjah Noraini in her speech, encouraged the volunteers to start separating and recycling the rubbish in their homes if they had not done so. She also encouraged composting kitchen waste as well as making garbage enzyme.
Reflecting the theme for the event "EVERDAY IS EARTH DAY", the Senior Manager (Corporate Affairs) of PPB, Ms Koh Mei Lee urged the volunteers to practice more green habits in their daily lives and by doing so, encourage others to do the same leading to a healthier, cleaner and a better Earth! Ms Koh reminded all that "caring for the environment is not the responsibility of the government alone but everyone's".