Holman Fenwick Willan Singapore staff celebrated the law firm’s 30th anniversary in the city state by cleaning its beaches.

Although Singapore has a reputation for being about as spotless as a city can get, its beaches face an endless onslaught of plastic and other rubbish that washes up with each tide.

Visitors to its popular East Coast Park are often confronted by a hotchpotch of plastic items, such as cups, bottles and styrofoam containers, strewn across its beaches. The mess ofen includes medical waste such as surgical masks and syringes.

The litter has been traced to be neighbouring islands in Indonesia as well as passing ships.

Monsoon mess

The problem is especially acute between June and September when the south-west monsoon winds blow, bringing an increasing amounts of floating waste from the immediate region.

The country’s National Environment Agency estimates it collects on average 1,000 tonnes of plastic rubbish from Singapore’s shoreline every year. Community-organised clean-up efforts collect a significant amount as well.

HFW Singapore told TradeWinds that the anniversary clean-up was organised as a “demonstration of our ongoing commitment to the community and environment here”.

To meet social distancing requirements staff volunteers were split into teams of no more than five people and were spread out along different sections of the beach.

Together, the teams collected almost 30 bags of litter.

Plastic pollution in the oceans is a serious global problem. Not only do fouled beaches and seas look unsightly, the plastic is often consumed by fish or mammals, whose bodies are unable to break down it down. The plastic remains in their stomachs and eventually causes them to starve to death.

Campaigns highlighting the impact of waste on the environment have led to a growing shift away from single-use plastic items.