Malaysia has a known problem with plastic pollution. On the tiny island of Pulau Perhentian, ProjekWaste is taking matters into its own hands. It is a youth-led, community-driven organisation working at the intersection of environmental action and community engagement to tackle single-use plastic and waste pollution.
A key part of the organisation’s work centres on hands-on experiences. These include beach cleanups, conservation workshops and upcycling projects that give a second life to plastic waste.
The beach cleanups are more than just keeping the island clean. It serves the purpose of helping regular folk draw the connection between their daily consumption habits and the challenge of managing convenience plastics on a small island. For people that are scuba certified, ProjekWaste also conducts underwater cleanups removing ghost nets and any plastic debris.
Plastic pollution is too huge an issue to work on it alone. Many of ProjekWaste’s events are run in partnership with local businesses that share the same values of protecting the environment. Underwater cleanups, for instance, are carried out with local Green Fins-certified dive shops. Every piece of trash collected from cleanups is sorted, weighed and recorded. This helps build a clearer picture of what exactly is ending up on the island’s waters.
Most cleanups are followed by frustration, confusion and a conversation. Participants become curious. Who threw the plastic into the ocean? What human habits are feeding this? How do we prevent trash from entering our oceans? They usually end up with a stronger sense of protection and more awareness over their actions. For more in-depth discussions, ProjekWaste runs Climate Cafes. These are guided, interactive sessions where participants can raise questions, share their experiences and explore their environmental concerns with other likeminded people.
Annually, ProjekWaste organises the For the Ocean Tour, a three-day youth programme that brings together dive and beach cleanups, workshops, wellness activities and peer-to-peer learning. Education and community building are central to ProjekWaste’s work. A recent island programme for Grade 8 international students combined cleanup activities, snorkelling, educational site visits and trash art. Students are left with a personal connection to the ocean and a new perspective on how their daily habits around convenience plastics can ripple into marine ecosystems. They also installed two cigarette-butt bins in the local fishing village to encourage responsible disposal habits in the community.
Beyond in-person events, ProjekWaste maintains a blog where contributors share reflections and practical guidance for more intentional and conscious living around single-use plastic consumption.