Bali is a rather small island with a population of 3 million. One of the problems associated with that high density is trash and as anyone who has been to Bali can tell you, the local idea to trash seems to be to spread it as far and wide as possible. When I ask visitors to Bali what the highlights and the lowlights were, the lowlights are the vendors on Kuta Beach and the trash in the water and around the streets.
Of course we go on about how this situation came to being and look back 50 years when there wasn't so much plastic around. Local people would eat off of a banana leaf then chuck it down the stream to be carried to the ocean. Not really a big problem for leaves, but supermarket bags are a different story. I remember once in the highlands observing a rice field that had been drained of water. It was covered in plastic bags, 1 every 3 feet. One of the problems is with village economy. When I ride around Bali and stop into small local shacks for a cup of coffee I always see strips of shampoo, conditioner, coffee with milk, etc. hanging up. Locals who do not have a large cash flow can pick up a sachet and chuck it somewhere after use. Logically sachets are the most expensive way to produce and consume, much better to buy a 2-gallon jug of shampoo.
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G’Day Nick,
Unfortunately this is a world-wide problem. However, the authorities in Java seemed to have a handle on things to some degree. Prisoners are taken out in a gang system and made to clean up rivers and other polluted areas.
Somehow I couldn’t see this happening in Bali!.