120 volunteers turned up for the Clean-Up on Kayak activity organised by Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) at Sembawang PA Water Venture, on September 30.
Held in conjunction with International Coastal Clean-up Day (ICC Day), 100 volunteers were on kayaks to collect marine debris in Singapore waters, while 20 remained on land to sort and record the marine litter for data analysis.
Clean-Up on Kayak is an initiative started by MPA last year to raise greater awareness on the importance of protecting Singapore’s marine environment to young Singaporeans.
“To keep our port waters clean and ensure that vessels are able to navigate safety, MPA deploys garbage collection and flotsam retrieval craft to collect garbage from ships anchored in our port and to retrieve flotsam and debris along the common channels, fairways and anchorages. Since February this year, MPA increased the number of craft deployed daily from four to five with the twin results of covering a wider area and clearing these marine debris at a faster pace,” MPA said.
MPA also works with other government agencies, such as NEA and NParks as well as the maritime community to keep Singapore waters and the beaches clean.
Mr Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of MPA, said: “Keeping our waters clean is a shared responsibility and we would like to support more ground-up efforts from the community to encourage fellow Singaporeans to do their part for marine environment sustainability.”
