Instead of the sand and palm trees of the famous Kuta Beach in Indonesia, tourists were shocked by an apocalyptic view. Polyethylene bags, bottles, plastic cups – the beaches are flooded with mountains of garbage. At the same time, as stated in the Indonesian mass media by volunteer environmentalists who come to clean up garbage, the primary source of it is residents and irresponsible tourists.
This was stated by Suzuki Hiromasa, a Japanese environmental activist who has been traveling to Bali twice a year to clean up garbage for several years. He is also known in social networks, primarily for his costume of “Ultraman” – a Japanese superhero. Thus, the environmentalist expects to attract the attention of the public and to agitate others to fight against garbage.
As for the situation in Bali, a Japanese activist presented a video of dozens of volunteers cleaning the beach on December 25, even a small forklift is involved in the work, which scoops up garbage along the shore. “Kuta Beach in Badung Regency, Bali, is once again engulfed by mountains of garbage at the end of 2022. The waste littering the Kuta beach consists mainly of plastic waste, ranging from plastic drink cups to plastic packaging,” said the Japanese.
Badung Regency Environment and Sanitation Service’s official Bali marine debris detection coordinator, Mad Gede Dwipayana, confirmed that the entire coast, which is divided into 10 coastal zones, was littered with debris. From October to December, volunteers collected 600 tons of garbage, and only on the coast of Badung, and the peak of the problem with garbage is expected in January because the high season with the influx of tourists and the rainy season will “come together”.
“Due to strong winds, plastic is easily scattered all over the island. During the rainy season, water flows carry garbage to the rivers, as a result, it ends up on the coast,” explained Mr. Dwipayana. According to him, his team alone has about 400 people working – 100 of them have been sent to Kuta Beach with four tractors, and in total they are working in 10 coastal areas.
“Garbage in Bali is becoming an increasingly serious problem, with a whopping 68.5 million tonnes of waste recorded in Indonesia in 2021. At the same time, 17% of garbage in Indonesia is made up of plastic waste and only 9% is recyclable,” the experts added.