Bali’s Beach Clean Up at Batu Bolong

Tourists and expatriates currently living in Bali have the opportunity to show care for the island. A beach cleanup at Batu Bolong is scheduled for Friday morning.

Dress code: Wear comfortable attire suitable for a beach walk: sturdy shoes, headgear, raincoat (depending on the weather). Also, bring sunscreen and a water container (there will be refilling stations available for free).

Organizers haven't mentioned gloves, so they might be provided, but it's wise to ensure hand protection yourself. Wet wipes and hand sanitizer might also be useful since there is indeed a lot of trash on the beach, and picking it up with bare hands might not be pleasant.

The timing for this eco-walk isn't accidental. During the rainy season, the garbage issue in Bali becomes particularly acute. All the plastic accumulated along the banks of local rivers flows into the ocean as the water level rises. Moreover, a lot of trash already floats in the ocean due to maritime activities. With the tide, the plastic washes ashore. This not only spoils the beauty of Bali's beaches but also harms the animal world.

Dead whales and tiger sharks are regularly washed ashore. Among the official reasons for their deaths, plastic poisoning is not mentioned, but experts don't exclude this possibility. Especially since plastic cups and straws are found in the animals' bodies during autopsies.

But even without that, the amount of trash washing up on Bali's shores is shocking. After the storm that hit the island in early March, the beaches of Denpasar, Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak were covered with such a layer of debris that in some places it reached 10 centimeters.

Yes, there are services on the island that deal with garbage collection, and people and equipment were immediately sent to the aforementioned beaches. Therefore, many tourists didn't even notice that the problem was so serious. But still, cleaning up the trash once is not enough. The ocean returns plastic to us again and again. That's why concerned Balinese, expats, and tourists are uniting and participating in eco-actions to help keep the coastline clean.

For those joining the walk, it's a great opportunity not only to contribute to preserving the natural beauty of the beach but also to make new acquaintances. The meeting will be international.

Organizers:

Bali Water - a local producer of alcoholic beverages

4ocean - a large community of eco-activists dreaming of overcoming the plastic crisis in the ocean.