Rubbish collected from the Brunei River ready to be sent to a proper dumpsite.

Despite constant clean-up campaigns, floating household wastes continue to choke the Brunei River especially in the capital.

“This is mainly due to the indifferent attitude of the water village community,” said a concern member of the public yesterday.

He added that government agencies and private sectors had been working hard to solve the problem by organising various clean-up campaigns to keep the river clean and, at the same time, maintain the pristine image of the water village, which is one of the popular tourist attractions in the country.

A contractor, who has been appointed to carry out the cleaning work in the Brunei River explained that everyday tonnes of household rubbish have been collected from the river. The floating garbage comprises wooden chairs, planks, wood, bottles and plastics and all sorts of other household items.

Normally the floating rubbish can be seen floating during the high tide where it drifts down to the Temburong Jetty along Jalan Residency in the capital.

The jetty is popular not only among locals but also foreign tourists who wait for passenger speedboats to the Temburong district.

Another concerned member of the public expressed his dismay over the amount of rubbish washed to the edge of the riverbanks. He said all the good efforts and initiative by the authorities are being wasted without the cooperation of the community.

“We have since managed to reduce the amount of rubbish that is floating in the river,” said a worker. All the collected rubbish was disposed off at proper dumpsites.

They pointed out that the problem might be overcome slowly if there were help from the villages concerned not to thrown their household rubbish into the river.

The clean environment, especially at Brunei River, and other places of interest should be maintained as the country navigates its way in promoting the country through the local tourism campaign.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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