Mabul Island

Pulau Mabul is a small island off the coast of Semporna, Sabah, with a population of roughly 5,000. With no centralised waste management services, it falls on the individual household or resorts to responsibly deal with their own plastic waste. Some resorts take their waste back to the mainland, but the majority of waste is dumped directly into the ocean, buried or burnt. People do not have the resources to dispose of it correctly. The lack of recycling facilities in eastern Sabah means most rubbish that is taken back to the mainland is simply sent to landfill.

SJ SEAS aims to develop an island resource recovery program in partnership with Plastic Collective, through Mabul Community Market (MCM). This alternative livelihood project will enable the locals to sell handcrafted souvenirs to tourists, substituting unsustainable trade based on ocean exploitation (corals, shells and shark tooth necklaces). The MCM will use the Shruder program to upcycle plastic waste on the island and create sustainable micro-enterprises, develop economic opportunities and livelihoods and address the major problem of plastic waste.