Transforming 1000 Lives through Waste

22,394.2kg - this number may mean little to us but it means a lot to the growth of the Mantanani Island community.

From January to April 2021, the Daily Waste Management team on the Island had successfully collected and sorted 20 tons worth of waste from an average of 167 household each month.

This is 20 tons of waste diverted from entering our ocean or scattered across the island in just four months.

We are truly proud of our team on Mantanani for putting so much effort to the amazing work that they do for the island community.

Maintaining the Waste Management system is still a long and arduos battle.

We have met with the local district council recently to discuss about the waste management issue in Mantanani. While they couldn't provide us with any support on this initiative at the moment, we will continue the work, provide this essential need to the community, and seek for alternative ways to fund the Waste Management programme long-term.

Without a long-term support for the progamme, the beautiful coastal village of Mantanani will once again be surrounded by waste on land and sea. Impacts from these outcomes is unimaginable as it not only would affect the health of the people living on the island but also the marine life.

More resources are needed now for the Mantanani community.

Your donation to this fund will profoundly change their lives. Their livelihood would improve instantly when waste in their homes and on the island is being managed properly and safely.

After the inception of Waste Management Programme on Mantanani Island, the programme has created job opportunity to Mantanani locals. As of today, 10 locals are working under this programme as Daily Waste Collection Team. While some joined the programme as their source of income, there are a few who joined to gain more experience and knowledge.

Working on the ground, they witnessed what the programme has done for their village. They hope that the communities will continue to give their supports and be more discipline in segregating their wastes. They also hope that the programme will be continued for the cleanliness and future of their beloved island.

In an effort to encourage the locals on Mantanani Island to continue participating in our Waste Management Programme, we organised “Best Performance Award” to instil healthy competition amongst our participants to do better in managing their wastes.  

Participants efforts were evaluated daily by our waste collection team. Criteria evaluated were waste generated, level of waste segregation and participation. Analysis of the evaluation data is conducted annually and the award is given out yearly.

A total of 11 households were awarded the “Best Performance in Year 2020”, for being in top 7 and with score above 90% for their efforts.

We hope the locals will continue to manage their wastes and become natural to them.

In order to track the efficiency of Waste Management Programme which was introduced to Mantanani Island in April 2020, we conducted an interview survey with our participants recently. Out of 164 households, we managed to interview 137 of them.

The results are as below:

• 99% understand the purpose of Waste Management Programme.
• 91% think the cleanliness of their environment has improved.
• 26% believe that there are still people in the community who throw their trash into the sea or on the beach.
• 100% agree that the Waste Management Programme has improve their quality of life and should be continued.
• 100% agree that the implementation of Waste Management Programme is easy.
• 90% face no difficulties in participating in the Waste Management Programme.

Through the interview, we also learn of our shortcomings which are:

• Insufficient bins
• Inappropriate bin size for bigger household
• Inappropriate bin for food waste

Nevertheless, the result of the interview survey is very encouraging and we will work on our shortcomings.

Thank you once again for your donation and making this programme possible.

Plastic waste is a nagging problem on Mantanani Island and every year we collected an average of 22 tonnes of plastic waste. In our bid to reduce plastic waste on Mantanai Island, Reef Check Malaysia is working together with Mantanani communities to turn some of these plastic wastes into handicrafts, while the rest are being recycled.

Mantanani locals were given workshops and taught how to turn used plastic bottle caps into fridge magnets handicrafts. What is more encouraging is the locals taught themselves how to turn used single-use-plastic into wallets and bracelets.

These handicrafts are gaining popularity and they are now being sold as souvenirs to tourists who visit Mantanani and even to buyers from around Malaysia.

Thank you for your donations. Without your support and generosity, this effort would not have been possible.