Indonesia is one of the world’s largest contributors to plastic pollution and marine debris.
Published on 04/01/2025 13:20
Updated on 04/01/2025 13:37
Reading time: 1min
Hundreds of volunteers took part in a major beach clean-up in Bali on Saturday January 4. On this Indonesian island, very popular with tourists, the monsoon rains caused one of the “pires” strandings of plastic waste never before known, alarmed the environmental NGO Sungai Watch. “We have never seen such an accumulation of plastic waste, one meter high, on the sand. In just six days of cleaning, we collected 25 tonnes, which is a record for us”noted Gary Bencheghib, founder of this NGO.
On Kedonganan beach in the south of the island, plastic cups, straws, cutlery and empty coffee bags were scattered on the sand, mixed with plant and wood debris. According to an audit, the majority of this plastic waste generally comes from cities in Java, Indonesia’s most populated island, said Gary Bencheghib.
Indonesia is one of the world’s largest contributors of plastic pollution and marine debris, especially when monsoon rains and winds carry mountains of trash from urban areas and rivers into the ocean.
