| James Kon |
MEMBERS of the diplomatic corps in Brunei Darussalam took part in a cleaning campaign at the Brunei River and Kampong Ayer yesterday to mark Earth Day 2018 and in support of an initiative to expose the problem of indiscriminate dumping of rubbish in the seas and rivers spearheaded by the Ministry of Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, and Ministry of Health.
Commenting on the problem, British High Commissioner to Brunei Darussalam Richard Lindsay said, “This is a fantastic initiative to bring people together to expose the problem of waste and in particular plastic where the rubbish is being thrown in the sea and rivers and have accumulated in the river of Kampong Ayer.”
He continued, “When I went to Kampong Ayer, I saw a lot of areas where the waste has gathered. There is a need for a change in behaviour among the people, they need to understand that they can’t just throw their waste into the water because there is already a daily rubbish collection service at Kampong Ayer.”
The initiative, the British high commissioner said, “Also falls in line with the goals of the Commonwealth Summit last week where Commonwealth leaders including His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam agreed to reduce plastic waste in the ocean. This process starts here at our home in Brunei… we need to improve the health of the natural environment and [live in a manner that we can create for ourselves] a sustainability future.”
On the new initiative the UK has taken, Lindsay highlighted, “We’ve committed to eliminating single-use plastic products like plastic bottles and plastic bags. The Ministry of Development in Brunei is already paving the way toward a goal of ‘no plastic day’ every day. Our prime minister recently announced the elimination of plastic straws, plastic cups, plastic stirrers and cotton buds. People need to start doing this at home.
“We are removing all single plastics for all our embassies around the world. We also encourage people to buy coffee in reusable cups and use reusable bottles to hold their water,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ambassador of Japan to Brunei Darussalam Motohiko Kato commended the initiative as a wonderful effort to help the people of this country realise the importance of preserving the beautiful natural environment.
“Japan,” the ambassador re-called, “also suffered environ-mental problems 30 years ago. Thanks to the efforts of the Japanese government and the people of Japan as well as the introduction of eco-friendly technologies, we managed to overcome the environmental issues.”
Kato explained further, “At present, people in Japan widely understand and share the importance of preserving the environment, while young children in schools learn about the importance of the environment. Parents teach their children not to throw rubbish anywhere. Japan’s recycling rate is very high – the recycling rate for plastic bottles is more than 80 per cent in Japan.”
With valuable experience in overcoming its waste management issue, the Japanese ambassador noted that his country is willing to share its expertise in this area with Brunei.
“Japan would like to share its expertise with Brunei. We have a lot of waste management experience and our experts can come to Brunei to discuss and share our knowhow,” he said.
“It is important to preserve the beautiful natural environment of Brunei for the future generations.”
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