In Bali, the Indonesian tourist gem, the monsoon rains caused an unprecedented stranding of plastic waste. Nearly 600 volunteers participated in a massive cleanup. The environmental emergency intensifies in the face of global inaction.
On Saturday, the beaches of Bali, Indonesia’s tourist jewel, became the scene of an unprecedented mobilization. Over 600 volunteers, including locals, hotel workers, and tourists, braved the rain to collect 25 tons of plastic waste, a record according to the NGO Sungai Watch. « We’ve never seen such a pile of waste, a meter high, on the sand, » warns Gary Bencheghib, its founder, referring to pollution never before observed on the island.
On Kedonganan Beach, located south of Bali, cups, straws, and wrappers litter the sand, mixed with plant debris and wood, reflecting the extent of the ecological crisis.
This phenomenon is not new, however. For years, waste, mostly from the cities of Java, has been carried by the rains and monsoon winds, ending up on Bali’s beaches, with the phenomenon peaking between November and March. This is compounded by poor infrastructure management, exacerbated by overconsumption of single-use products. This destructive cycle continues, even as Indonesia is ranked among the world’s leading contributors to plastic pollution.
At the same time, the failure of recent international negotiations in Busan for a treaty to combat plastic pollution highlights global inaction in the face of this scourge. For some volunteers, like Tatiana Komelova, a Russian tourist, this experience is shocking and prompts change: « I knew this problem existed, but I didn’t realize how serious it was. I’m going to reduce my plastic usage. » An individual awakening in the face of a collective emergency?
Source : Le Figaro
