About 80 kilogrammes of rubbish were collected from Bagan Lalang Beach in Sepang during a clean-up organised by the University of Hertfordshire (UH) Club at INTI International College Subang.
Participants of the beach clean-up at Bagan Lalang Beach posed with bags of collected waste, which totalled about 80 kilogrammes.
The activity brought together 40 students, along with their Head of Programmes and the Dean of the Centre for University of Hertfordshire Programmes, who worked across different sections of the shoreline to clear items left behind by visitors or washed up along the beach.
The clean-up was supported by Lions Club, Decathlon, Paradigm Global, and BilaBila Mart, with students and community partners working together throughout the day.
Plastic bottles, balloons, food packaging, and other items were collected from the sand and shoreline. Some were easy to spot, while others were partly buried. As the bags filled, the amount gathered from a single stretch of beach became more apparent.
Lai Mun Loon, Dean of the Centre for University of Hertfordshire Programmes at INTI International College Subang, said activities like this give students a practical way to understand sustainability.
For Organising Chairperson Nadra Aliya Akhtar Sulaiman, a second-year student from the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Mass Communications 3+0 in collaboration with University of Hertfordshire, UK, the clean-up showed how small individual actions can add up when done collectively.
“It wasn’t just about picking up trash. It was about coming together and recognising that even small actions matter. When everyone contributes, the impact becomes something you can actually see,” she said.
Students worked in small groups, moving along different parts of the beach. Some picked up larger items, while others focused on smaller pieces lodged in the sand. Handling the items directly made the issue more immediate for many of them.
UH Club President Siew Kok Ming, a student from the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) Business Administration 3+0 in collaboration with University of Hertfordshire, UK, said seeing the amount collected changed how participants viewed the problem.
“When you see the amount of waste collected, it really puts things into perspective,” he said. “It shows that the problem is real, but also that we are not powerless in addressing it.”
Lai Mun Loon, Dean of the Centre for University of Hertfordshire Programmes at INTI International College Subang, said activities like this give students a practical way to understand their role in addressing environmental issues.
“Activities like this allow students to connect what they learn with real-world issues. It encourages them to take ownership and understand that sustainability is not just a concept, but a responsibility,” he said.
UH Club Advisor and Senior Lecturer at the Centre for University of Hertfordshire Programmes, Raagavendra Rao, said the initiative also showed how students could take the lead in planning and carrying out activities that require coordination, teamwork, and responsibility.
Students worked in small groups throughout the clean-up, covering different sections of the shoreline and collecting both visible waste and smaller items embedded in the sand.
The beach clean-up is part of the UH Club’s efforts to encourage students to take part in activities outside the classroom. For those involved, the 80 kilogrammes collected offered a clear reminder of how much can be done when many hands work on the same problem