Trash in Bali is a problem that won’t go away-part II

A Jakarta Post article by a Bali resident talks about a 3 step plan to combat trash which has some good ideas. The standard Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle motto should also be given some thought. I was talking to an environmental planner in Ubud a while back and he said "Telling Balinese to recycle is one thing, but what do they do with their trash when there are no recycling operation?" My response was "Okay fair enough, but of all the options that are available, spreading the trash all over the island is the worst one. As a least-worst option how about digging a massive hole on the Bukit and chucking the stuff in until you figure out a recycling program."

When I first came to Bali in 1993, I met up with a friend I used to work with at the recycling center in Santa Barbara, CA. It had a research center and he was putting together a local recycling project right here in Kuta. We rode around one afternoon visiting pick up spot for bales of plastic bottles and cardboard (even back then some people were trying to make a difference). They would ship the stuff to Java and get a small payoff. My friend submitted his proposal to the Indonesian government, along with all the supporting data from the research center and was told he would get a grant of $50,000. There was only one snag, an Indonesian had to be in charge of it. He arranged with 2 local brothers that they would manage the operation and told them to fill out the paperwork. They didn't get it off in time and the grant was withdrawn, never to be seen again.

Using a plastic that is biodegradable sounds like an excellent idea and I really hope companies start going that route. Incidentally other parts of Indonesia are worse. One tourist told me she had been to Banjar Masin in Kalimantan. She said the city apparently had no garbage collection and she was walking though ankle deep trash. At the side of a river, which backed onto the jungle she told me about people who live there and who toss their garbage straight out into the river. The whole place was one big plastic garbage dump.

As visitors what can we do? I use a refillable water container at home, no more disposable bottles, I bring my stretchy knit bag (a bilum) from New Guinea to get the shopping so I don't need more bags. Apart from that I use bins provided and don't litter on the beach. Its in Indonesia's interest to keep the country clean.