Marine Debris on Selected Malaysian Beaches: Impacts of Human Ignorance.

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1 Marine Debris on Selected Malaysian Beaches: Impacts of Human Ignorance. Agamuthu, P.*, Fauziah S.H. and Khairunnisa, A.K. Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. *corresponding author: ABSTRACT Solid wastes are commonly found on Malaysian beaches as any other parts of the world. Generally known as beach debris, this particular type of waste is treated similar to other municipal waste in Malaysia where 95% of it will be disposed off into landfills. Studies were conducted on four beaches in Peninsular Malaysia namely Teluk Kemang, Pasir Panjang, Batu Burok, and Seberang Takir. The objective of the study is to estimate the composition and abundance of debris on the selected beaches. It is also aimed to investigate the perceptions of beach users on various issues of marine debris management, and to determine the correlations. This study involved field investigation namely waste separation and composition studies and public surveys. The data obtained were analyzed statistically to derive the correlations. For the field investigation, debris collected from 60 m 2 x total width area on each beach were weighed and counted after separation into 11 predetermined type of wastes. Plastic was the most abundant type of debris found on all beaches with the percentage ranging at 36 94%. These included plastic bags and wrappers, hard plastics, polystyrene and abandoned fishing nets. The density of debris on Malaysian beaches were found to be comparable to other beaches worldwide in the range of items/ m 2 or g/ m 2. The public survey conducted indicated the reluctance of the beach user to assist in beach cleaning when they are vacationing on the beach. Additionally, beach users are not willing to pay for beach management services namely waste cleaning activities, even though beach cleanliness is one the factor that influenced their decision on which beach to visit. Therefore it can be concluded that the abundance of marine debris on Malaysian beaches would require local municipalities to be more responsive since there is a lack of public participation in waste management. Thus, this calls for the urgent need to educate public on the importance of proper management of marine debris on Malaysian beaches. Keywords debris, public perception, solid waste, Malaysian beach INTRODUCTION Beach debris can be found in all Malaysian beaches although it may not be as severe as other beaches on earth. Beach debris is not commonly addressed as compared to other environmental marine issues such as water quality and toxicology (Agusa et al., 2005; Sultan et al., 2011). For instance, Malaysian Department of Environment (DOE) had issued water quality standard (temperature, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solid, total faecal coliform and heavy metals) as reference and for

2 enforcement purpose (DOE, 2011). No focus is given to the accumulation of marine debris. Currently, presence of marine debris is not regulated in Malaysia. However, regulations prohibiting beach user from littering exist where offender is liable with RM500 penalty. Yet, enforcement in public places such as beaches is difficult (DOE, 2011). In Malaysia, debris found on beaches was treated similar as solid waste found on any other area. Therefore, only beaches with public interest are well maintained. In most cases, local government is the responsible body in managing solid waste found on beaches. Most of these local authorities manage waste collection directly while others appointed private contractors (MPPD, 2011). Even though the presence of marine debris is common on Malaysian beaches, it is not widely studied. One of the few studies on marine debris in Malaysia had listed abandoned fishing gear as one of the threats to the extinction of marine turtle in Malaysian waters (Chan, 2006). Anoather study on marine debris suggested plastic as the most abundant type of marine debris found on Malaysian beaches (Chan et al., 2006). These few related studies are not sufficient to illustrate the level of marine debris contamination on Malaysian beaches. Perhaps, the most intensive paper on marine debris for Malaysia is the International Coastal Cleanup report (ICC, 2010). Voluntarily cleanup event may benefit in terms of removing marine debris while producing semi quantitative estimates of debris (Moore et al., 2001). However, the report was based on the amount of beach debris found on one particular beach during one event, thus may not represent actual condition of marine debris on Malaysian beaches. However, the thorough study had suggested possible sources of debris on Malaysian beaches. Sources contributed to the presence of debris on beaches include shoreline and recreational activities, smoking related activities, ocean/ waterway activities, dumping activities, and medical/ personal hygiene (ICC, 2010). Among the sources, 80% are man-made debris. It shows the huge relationship between beach users to the quality of the ecosystem. Public, beach users, and authorized parties have the ability to curb debris problem, as quoted by UNEP Executive Director in International Coastal Clean-up report, Marine litter could be reduced by improving waste reduction, waste management, and recycling initiatives (ICC, 2010). Realizing the relationship of the beach cleanliness with the beach users, this paper therefore is aimed to provide a more scientific data on the abundance and composition of marine debris on Malaysia beaches and to explore the correlation with beach users perception. MATERIALS AND METHODS Field study of beach debris composition and abundance Four beaches (recreational, fisheries, and shipping lanes beaches) in Peninsular Malaysia were selected for the waste composition and abundance studies. Figure 1 indicates the location of selected beaches. On each beach, three field sampling events were conducted to determine the composition and abundance of the beach debris. Based on strips transect, debris from an area of 60 m 2 x total width were collected. Debris found within the area were separated based on types, weighed and recorded.

3 Seberang Takir Batu Burok Teluk Kemang Pasir Panjang Figure 1 Map of selected beaches on Malaysia map Public perception study Public surveys were conducted during each sampling event. A total of 120 questionnaires were distributed to the beach users. Questionnaires were prepared based on earlier studies by Marin et al. (2009), and Roca and Villares (2008). The questions covered four sub-sections; (i) background information (8 questions), (ii) information on beach users (5 questions), (iii) awareness and responsibility (11 questions), (iv) preferences in beach holiday aspects (3 questions), and (v) users knowledge on marine pollution issues (3 questions). RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Abundance (density) and composition of debris on selected beaches The highest number of debris was recorded in Pasir Panjang beach (0.884 item/ m 2 ). Debris collected from the beach was also the highest in terms of weight (32.351g/ m 2 ). This is due to the presence of abandoned fishing nets on the beach. The main activity conducted on Pasir Panjang beach is fishing. This is agreeable with findings by Claereboudt (2004) that fishing often contributes to the high amount of debris on beach especially in terms of weight. A relatively high amount of debris was also recorded in Seberang Takir beach (0.733 item/ m 2, g/ m 2 ). The main activity in Seberang Takir is also fishing. However, the high density of debris on this beach is not contributed from fishing gears but more of household wastes that were washed onshore after flood events. This illustrates natural event as one of the factor that may contribute to the presence of debris. It is in accordance with another study where more debris can be found after periods of rough weather such as storms and rain (Ribic et al., 2010). The density of debris found on Teluk Kemang and Batu Burok are relatively lower (0.211 item/ m 2, g/ m 2, and item/ m 2, g/ m 2, respectively). These are recreational beaches which receive higher number of visitors as compared to Pasir Panjang and Seberang Takir beaches. The low

4 density of debris in these recreational beaches is due to the regular beach cleaning activities since it plays a role in attracting tourist to the areas. Regular clean-ups and facilities such as dustbins are common only in recreational beaches. This illustrates the importance of beach management to ensure the cleanliness of beaches. Table 1 shows the density of debris found on the four selected beaches. Table 1 Abundance of debris on selected beaches Number of item (item/ m 2 ) Weight (g/ m 2 ) Type of debris Teluk Kemang Pasir Panjang Batu Burok Seberang Takir Teluk Kemang Pasir Panjang Batu Burok Seberang Takir Food waste Plastics Paper Textile Rubber Wood Glass Metal Aluminium Others Total Among all debris types, plastics are the most abundant on all the beaches. It contributes 36 94% of all debris types. This is due to the presence of plastic bags, bottles, polystyrene and food wrappers on recreational beaches, and abandoned fishing nets and other plastics on fishing beaches. The high abundance of plastic debris was also recorded in many other studies worldwide (Bravo et al., 2009, Claereboudt, 2004; Derraik, 2002). Besides plastics, paper was also found in relatively higher density especially in Teluk Kemang. This is contributed by the used newspaper found, believed to be reused as alternative picnic mats by beachgoers. Figure 2 and Figure 3 illustrate the composition of debris in terms of number and weight. Figure 2 Composition of debris on four selected beaches based on number of item (From left: Teluk Kemang, Pasir Panjang, Batu Burok, and Seberang Takir)

5 Figure 3 Composition of debris on four selected beaches based on weight (From left: Teluk Kemang, Pasir Panjang, Batu Burok, and SeberangTakir) Types of debris in Batu Burok and Seberang Takir were more diversified as compared to Teluk Kemang and Pasir Panjang. In Batu Burok and Seberang Takir, the variety is because the waste also consists of household wastes including kitchen utensils, detergent bottles, used light bulbs, and others. This was mainly due to the presence of fishing villages along the beaches. Correlation of public perception with the presence of beach debris Respondents from different beaches have different opinion on the level of cleanliness of respective beaches. Approximately 17.5% of the respondents in this study described that the beaches studied are dirty. About 33.3% respondents in Seberang Takir gave negative evaluation followed by 23.3% respondents from Pasir Panjang. This is because both beaches recorded highest number of debris items found. The correlation between the amount of debris and number of negative responses is Figure 4 illustrates the relationship between amounts of debris and the number of respondent who have negative opinion on the quality of beach. (no. of item/ m2) Teluk Kemang Pasir Panjang Batu Burok Seberang Takir 0 No. of negative response Amount of debris Number of -ve response Figure 4 Correlation between amount of debris (number of item/ m 2 ) and number of respondent with negative opinion on beach cleanliness Figure 5 illustrate beach cleanliness as one of the factors considered in beach selection while Figure 6 shows the beach users willingness to pay for the beach cleaning. Most of the public are also

6 not willing to pay for additional fees to improve the waste management system for the beaches. About 57% of the respondents feel that additional fees to visit beach is unfair. It shows that although beach cleanliness is one aspect of concern in selecting which beach to visit, the majority of the public feel no obligation to assist in maintaining the cleanliness. Easy access Beauty & cleanliness Beach Criteria Not crowded Activities available Abundant facilities Percentages (%) Figure 5 Respondents view on the preferred criteria in beach selection Percentage (%) Fair Unfair Depend on the amount Public view Figure 6 Public perceptions on imposing fees to improve beach cleanliness Repeated visitor is assumed as satisfied user. Batu Burok and Seberang Takir recorded higher differences between 1 st time and repeated visitor. Figure 7 shows the number of repeated visitors to the selected beaches.

7 Number of respondent Teluk Kemang Pasir Panjang Batu Burok Seberang Takir Number of item 1st time visitor Repeated visitor Cleanliness level Figure 7 Relationship of visitor s type and number of debris on selected beaches The high number of satisfied visitor on Batu Burok beach is believed to be high due to the cleanliness of the beach. However, high number of repeated user on Seberang Takir beach is due to the nature of the user which is mostly fishermen working on the beach. The correlation between number of visited user and cleanliness level on beaches is recorded as It can be concluded that beaches that received higher number of repeated visitors are the beaches with lower amount of debris. CONCLUSION Many factors contribute to the abundance of debris on beaches. Among all, man-generated debris was found to be the major contributor to the problem. Plastic is obviously the most abundant types of debris found on Malaysian beaches. Although fishing beaches are of lesser value for the tourism industry, it should not be a factor to neglect its cleanliness. From this study, effective waste management system practiced by the local authorities evidently ensured the cleanliness of the tourist beaches. Yet, awareness of the public in general and beach users in particular proved to be very important in maintaining the cleanliness of the beaches. Therefore, more campaigns need to be conducted in promoting public consciousness on marine debris issues in Malaysia. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This project was funded by the Postgraduate Research Fund (P C) from University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur.

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