Beach paradise that’s drowning in plastic
FOR years, holidaymakers have flocked to the tropical paradise of Bali to enjoy its golden beaches and palm-lined shores.
But as these shocking pictures reveal, the Indonesian island is drowning under the tide of plastic waste choking the world’s oceans. They show refuse collectors, aided by an earth mover, clearing plastic bottles, bags and other rubbish washed up on Kuta beach.
The clear-up was part of an operation launched after the country declared a ‘garbage emergency’. At its height, 35 trucks and 700 cleaners were removing almost 100 tons of rubbish a day along nearly four miles of coast.
Bali’s rubbish problem is at its worst during the wet monsoon season from October to April, when strong winds push marine flotsam on to the beach and swollen rivers inland wash rubbish to the coast, according to Putu Eka Merthawan, from the local environment agency.
He said: ‘This garbage does not come from people in Kuta. It would be suicidal if Kuta people were doing it.’
Discarded plastic is a significant threat to marine life, with birds and fish eating it as it breaks down into smaller particles. And when people eat contaminated fish, this ‘could cause health problems including cancer’, said researcher Gede Hendrawan of Bali’s Udayana University.
Indonesia, an archipelago of more than 17,000 islands, is the world’s second biggest contributor to marine debris after China, producing an estimated 1.3million tons a year.
However, with a global total of around eight million tons of plastic dumped into the oceans every year, some of the rubbish heaped along the sands could have come from anywhere in the world.
The Daily Mail has campaigned against plastics entering the world’s oceans, from carrier bags and needless packaging to tiny microbeads found in cosmetics. It is currently campaigning for a deposit and refund scheme to encourage more recycling of plastic bottles.
More than 100 nations have signed a pledge to eliminate plastic pollution from the oceans. Indonesia has pledged to reduce it by 70 per cent by 2025.