For quite some time now the once pristine Kuta Beach has suffered from an ongoing bad case of pollution. Although the Balinese Government has been relatively diligent in attending to this problem by using front-end loaders to scoop up the rubbish, it still leaves a scar. Even worse, any change in the weather or sea current will inevitably see more crap being washed up along the shoreline. I took a long walk from Kuta up to Seminyak one morning in an attempt to analyse the crap being washed up and, I was frightfully surprised. The majority of this coastal pollution is man-made – ie. plastic bottles, wrappers, plastic, straws and the list goes on. More rubbish bins are needed along the length of the coastal tourist strip. Not only that, but, around the streets of the tourist strip would be ideal. And a lot more than what is already there.
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{ 11 comments }
So busy on that beach!
Sad to see all that waste in such an exotic place.
The government should fine those people who are caught polluting the beaches as well as the streets. The fine should be heavy enough for them to stop doing it.
Take an example from Singapore.
My wife & I arrive back in Bali come May 03 would like to tee up meeting re some ideas for extra garbage bins for Kuta Beach etc.Cheers Geoffrey
Is it locals or tourists who are to blame though?
I think someone walking along the beach with a megaphone shouting and educating people about how to use bins on the beach would help to stop the pullution!
I don’t think you should blame tourists for this. Most westerners are educated enough to know the harm that is done by irresponsible behaviour when it comes to littering. I don’t think you can say the same about Indonesians, unfortunately. Generally speaking, many of them do not understand that when they drop their garbage, their cigarette buts, etc wherever they stand, then they are harming their environment. They have to clean up their own back yard!
We have just arrived back from Bali. I was disgusted at the amount of litter on the beaches and the colour and smell from the streams running into the sea. With 2 young children to think of, we actaully did not swim whilst there, preferring the clean, chlorinated swimming pool instead! Rather sad when there is such a beautiful natural resource directly there. Whilst there, we got to know some locals who were staff at our accomodation and they invited us to the beach on Galungan (one of their festivals). The beach was littered – with wrappers, chicken bones etc! We bought ice creams from a stall for the group and whilst my husband and I were gathering up our wrappers, the locals told us to leave them all on the beach. I said that in Europe we collect all rubbish and take it home with us, and they said ‘in Bali it is different’.. so basically to educate the locals is the first major step..
My friends and I just arrived from Bali, stayed in Seminyak. We loved it there, although were shocked by the pollution on the beaches and in the water, such a shame. We were told it is due to the canels overflowing during the rainy season which just ended. We are going back end of Dec for NYE with a bunch of friends and their small children, do you know if the water is less polluted during this time?
The streams carry a lot of natural material and of course, the residents litter down from the mountains. The rainy season is from November to March (give or take), so there will still be flow onto the beaches at that time. This pollution is such a pity as the country has so much to offer in its natural beauty and the kind friendly nature of the Balinese people.
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Yes I can say it is also polluted in the winter. We were also quite shocked at the stink and garbage coming out of the rivers. At Seminyak nobody cleaned the beach in the morning, so the guys renting out the mattresses on the beach had to to it themselves every day. We did swim just after arrival when we somehow hadn*t noticed it and my son had his knee slit open by a dead fish floating in the sea. This is the only place ever in my life where I was on a beach holiday and refused to swim in the sea. Luckily, the more remote beaches in East Bali, where we had spent most of the time, are much cleaner.
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