Hanoi, January 5 (VNA) - Around 600 volunteers, including locals, hotel staff and tourists, gathered on beaches in Bali to clean up massive plastic waste washed ashore by monsoon rains.
At Kedonganan Beach in southern Bali, plastic cups, straws, cutlery, and empty coffee sachets were scattered across the sand, mixed with plant debris and wood. Braving the rain, volunteers collected trash by hand, filling hundreds of large sacks.
Environmental NGO Sungai Watch described the event as Bali’s worst plastic pollution incident.
According to founder Gary Bencheghib, they collected a 25 tonnes of waste in just six days, a record for them. Most of the plastic waste originates from Java, the country’s most populous island.
Indonesia is among the world’s largest contributors to plastic and marine pollution, with annual monsoons sweeping plastic waste from cities and rivers into the ocean. Much of this debris travels hundreds of kilometres before landing on Bali’s popular beaches, particularly from November to March./.
Australia, Indonesia team up to tackle ocean pollution
Australia's national science agency - the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) - and the Australian government have formed a partnership with Indonesia to address plastic pollution in the Indo-Pacific.
