Some of the waste is dragged for hundreds of kilometers, with the phenomenon intensifying between November and March, before reaching the coast on the beaches of Bali
Hundreds of volunteers participated today in a major clean-up operation on Bali’s beaches, after monsoon rains caused one of the largest accumulations of plastic waste on the Indonesian island.
Non-governmental organization (NGO) Sungai Watch described the phenomenon as the worst plastic pollution ever recorded on Bali’s beaches.
“We have never seen such an accumulation of plastic waste, one meter high, on the beach,” said the founder of the environmental NGO, Gary Bencheghib.
“In just six days of cleaning, we collected 25 tons, which is a record for us,” he added, quoted by the French agency AFP.
On Kedonganan beach, in the south of the island, empty plastic cups, straws, cutlery and coffee bags were scattered across the sand, mixed with plant and wood remains.
Around 600 volunteers, including local residents, hotel workers and tourists, braved a rainy morning to collect rubbish by hand, filling hundreds of large bags.
Tatiana Komelova, a Russian tourist who volunteered for the operation, said she was shocked by the sight of the trash and admitted she would reduce her daily plastic use.
“I knew this problem existed, but I didn’t realize it was so serious,” he lamented.
“I use a lot of plastic products in my daily life, but from now on, I will try to reduce them as much as possible,” he added.
According to one assessment, “the majority of this plastic waste generally comes from the cities of Java, the most populous island in Indonesia,” said Gary Bencheghib.
Indonesia is one of the world’s biggest contributors of plastic pollution and marine debris, especially when monsoon rains and winds carry mountains of waste from urban areas and rivers into the ocean.
Some of the waste is dragged for hundreds of kilometers, with the phenomenon increasing between November and March, before reaching the coast on the beaches of Bali.
The island is very popular with foreign tourists, especially during the year-end holidays.
With a population of more than 280 million people, according to the World Bank, the Southeast Asian archipelago is made up of more than 17,000 islands, of which more than 7,000 are permanently inhabited.
In early December, week-long negotiations in Busan, South Korea, to conclude a global treaty against plastic pollution collapsed in the face of opposition from a group of oil-producing countries.
Negotiations are expected to resume, but a date has not yet been announced.
