Meet Mohammed Imam and support his beach clean-up efforts

Teachers and students alike should be taught by experts concerned with explaining the different types of plastic and how to segment them according to the level of the degradable or non-degradable content. First of all we should know what plastic is made of and that it consists of petroleum. This would stop the indiscriminate burning of plastic resulting in pollution of the earth and causing health hazards. We should eliminate the ignorance that exists in Sri Lanka pertaining to plastic

Among the integral themes of the Harmony page is environment protection and conservation as well as contribution to activism on encouraging civic responsibility. Where possible we integrate the key themes which are within the framework of the Harmony page such as promoting all forms of arts and intangible cultural heritage, traditional knowledge, peacebuilding, creating respect for mother earth and integrating these areas where relevant for ushering in awareness for a more holistic and meaningful life. We today feature the work of 33-year-old Mohammed Imam who has been engaged in several activities to preserve the environment in and around Pottuvil and has since his teenage years been organising regular beach clean-up activities in the Arugambay area. 

Q: Please introduce yourself and your work.

A: I was born in the Arugambay area in Pottuvil. From my childhood years I have been very interested in keeping the environment clean and safe so that it could be enjoyed by children of every generation.

I have developed different environment protection initiatives with my friends over the years and have created volunteer teams from around the Pottuvil area. We mainly engage in regular cleaning of the Arugambay beach which we consider our extended home as we grew up enjoying the ocean and its pristine surrounding. 

For the last 10 years I have been running tourism and travel related businesses based in Arugambay. I have learnt from my foreign guests how to engage in ocean related activities such as ridding it of the plastic menace. The tourists who come to Arugambay are those such as surfers who love the sea and the beaches and some of them travel around the world and engage in cleaning up the beaches which are destroyed by humans. I have learnt from them how they engage in responsible tourism.

Q: Is your beach clean up efforts limited to Arugambay?

A: Because I am based in this part of Sri Lanka and because it is my home, I focus on this territory. However for the year 2025 we are planning joint clean up operations in other areas which are both coastal as well as mountain based. We have started discussions on this. 

Q: Do you now engage in ridding Arugambay beaches from garbage in a formal manner?

A: Yes. I have started an organisation called ‘Sustainable clean Lanka.’ We registered as a Limited Liability Company, under the Company Law in Sri Lanka. 

We work on small projects, especially at school level where we create awareness on plastic pollution and engage children and youth in beach cleaning endeavours. We have so far carried out several education programs in and around schools in Pottuvil and Arugambay. 

Q:How have you seen the beaches of Arugambay change over the years?

A: When I was a child I could not find plastic waste in the ocean rim or the shores of Arugambay. It was the opposite of what I see now where the beaches are cluttered with plastic waste and the waves bring in diverse kinds of non-bio degradable litter which is the usage from our daily lives. I can clearly say that plastic has increased more than 200%. There is an accumulation of over 20,000+ plastic water bottles per day during the season used by tourists who come to Arugambay. There are between 800 and 10,000 foreigners visiting Arugambay every season. If they drink two to three bottles it exceeds 20,000 bottles per day. We have to set up a formal national policy to recycle these items into usable use. When I was a child we did not have the proliferation of portable water as a commercial commodity. My organisation and I are also focusing on these aspects and we link up with others across the country doing similar work. 

Q: What is your personal approach to sustainability?

A: As much as possible I avoid using non-biodegradable waste products. I have found that when we simplify life, we save both money and the environment. During my shopping I carry my own bags. Together with others across Sri Lanka who do similar work I am creating more holistic ideas on how we can eliminate the non sustainable chaos from the body of this earth, streams and oceans and thereby from our own anatomy as well. We may not be surprised if some study is done one day and finds that we consume our own plastic waste which is absorbed into the earth where our cultivation is done and where animals such as cows and fish in the sea end up consuming.

Q:What are your suggestions to the Government to address this issue?

A: Sri Lanka should ban all one time use of plastic and include plastic pollution education in schools. Teachers and students alike should be taught by experts concerned with explaining the different types of plastic and how to segment them according to the level of the degradable or non-degradable content. First of all we should know what plastic is made of and that it consists of petroleum. This would stop the indiscriminate burning of plastic resulting in pollution of the earth and causing health hazards. We should eliminate the ignorance that exists in Sri Lanka pertaining to plastic. 

Q: How do you see the need for a garbage clearance policy in Sri Lanka?

A: We need to use advanced technology for a proper waste management system. Our municipal councils should be thoroughly upgraded and the taxpayer should be taught to be responsible in eliminating their trash, how to minimise trash and how to convert trash into money. Sri Lanka needs to learn from countries where it is not normal for people to calmly ignore roadside litter or to contribute to the mess. There should be awareness creation as well as strict regulation for every citizen to separate their garbage content. The municipality staff should be given advanced training on this and the Government should ensure that Sri Lanka free itself from mountains of garbage such as Meethotamulla. 

Every citizen should be taught to feel responsible for their actions and every child should be trained in this as part of their education. As an environmental activist and someone earning from the tourism industry, I feel strongly that we should ensure that environment crimes in Sri Lanka are punished and carry heavy fines. Without this we will fail to control the public dumping their waste into roadside and environmentally scenic areas. We should make our citizenry aware that haphazard strewn garbage is very dangerous for the wildlife and overall biodiversity of the country. 

We should all open our eyes that this is what is happening around Sri Lanka. 

Q: How do you see the linking of environmental sensitisation with other important aspects for a community such as community and ethnic integration, multi religious respect and promoting environment conservation through diverse forms of art and artistic endeavours?

A: We definitely need to have a collective and innovative approach to getting the public to become responsible and educative on the fact that we are killing ourselves when we throttle the earth and seas with our plastic. All forms of art are inspired by nature and its beauty. Therefore I think we can bring people together by using art and culture to make them see that keeping our planet beautiful is the beginning of all poetic inspiration. We are planning this type of programs in more schools in Pottuvil for the coming year and we are also discussing working with other districts on creating a chain of activists and educationists across Sri Lanka to see that at least 2025 will be a year when State and non-State sectors will find a solution to the garbage headache of the nation.

https://www.ft.lk/harmony_page/Meet-Mohammed-Imam-and-support-his-beach-clean-up-efforts/10523-770494