Why Bali’s beaches are buried in rubbish - Asia Specific podcast, BBC World Service

Bali is known as the island of the gods, but it's slowly turning into the island of rubbish. The government needs to do something about this. You know you have many rats here at night time. Yeah, it's going to kill the tourism. Tourists aren't happy. And Indonesia's president says it's starting to affect the island's reputation. For many years, the Balinese government wanted. people to stop dumping organic waste at landfills. But now that they are enforcing that rule, many people on the island don't know what to do with their rubbish.

So what role does tourism play in this waste crisis? And can the Balinese government fix this mess? As always, I'm Mariko Oi in Singapore. and this is Asia Specific from the BBC World Service. Twice a week we bring you Asia Pacific stories. unpacked by those who know them best. And today I have Ade Mardiyati, a journalist based in Bali. I also have a Gary Bencheghib, an environmental campaigner.

with a group called Sungai Watch. Welcome both to Asia Specific. Thanks for having me. Thank you so much for allowing us to have a discussion on plastic. So Ade, this waste or rubbish problem? It's not new, is it? We've heard about it for many, many years, especially trash washing up on beaches and so on. But what's actually changed at this landfill site, Suwung, can you just explain why this has become such a big problem now?

Suwung has been operating for more than 40 years, and then the central government has actually issued a mandate. for all these landfill, not only in Bali but, you know, in Indonesia to shut down. But then they gave like five years time. for provincial governments to transition. So the mandate is effective starting in 2013. After that, five years. But then, you know, 2013, and now it's 2026 and it's still around.

So what are people doing now if they can't take it to this landfill site? Um, well, the Bali governor has instructed, in November 2025, governor instructed Bali residents. to basically sort out your own, uh, waste, like manage your own waste, either to separate the waste from home and, uh, you know, uh, do something about your organic waste. Uh, but that doesn't seem to work because I didn't think, uh, you know,

everyone understands what sorting your waste means. Like well, there are some people who understand what they have to do, but a lot of people just turn to, uh, rivers, you know, just illegally dumping their rubbish. Gary, can you just tell us a bit about yourself? Because you're originally from France, but I understand you grew up in Bali, so if you can tell us about yourself, but also. whether you've personally noticed this rubbish waste problem getting worse.

Yeah. So originally French, but grew up in Bali for the last 21 years. and Bali is my adoptive home. I'm very grateful to be out in Bali every single day. And I think, you know, the trash problem is one. that we've seen really change over the years. We've been doing our work now for 16 years. since the age of 14 years old with my brother and sister. And I think we've just seen year after year the increase of consumption.

throughout Bali, you know, the beaches becoming plastic. filled every rainy season when you have onshore winds, um, you know, coming east, Bali becomes the island of plastics. And this is something that repeats every single year. Our team will clean, you know, roughly. 2 to 3000 kilos a single day will mobilise thousands. of people just for the next day for more plastics to come. And so Sungai Watch, we've been focused on Rivers, Sungai in Indonesian means river.

80% of plastics in the ocean come from rivers and streams. And so I think we, we really quickly, uh, you know, wanted to tackle the source where all of this plastics are washing down. And I feel this is the work that we've been doing, uh, nonstop now for six years with my watch, but only to realise that Bali is a fraction of the problem. So much of the problem is here in Java, where I'm currently at in, uh, with my brother and sister. We're currently running from Bali to Jakarta,

1200km, to bring this issue to the President. And even Indonesia's President, Prabowo Subianto, he even talked about it. He was talking about how when he spoke to, I think, South Korean ministers and generals who had just been to Bali. This was the reaction or the feedback that the president got. I just came from Bali. Oh, Bali is so dirty now. Bali not nice. So President Prabowo has gone on to say that.

if the local Balinese governments can't sort this out, he would order, in his words, school children, the military and police. to go down to those polluted beaches and help to clean them up. But Ade, what exactly has the Balinese government said or done about this? Because clearly there's quite a lot of pressure on them. I've got to be very honest, but. I'm going to be a little bit embarrassed to say this, but, uh, this is kind of like a habitual actions for a lot of Indonesians,

you know, with when it comes to cleanliness. Uh, not a lot of people are aware that, you know, that plastics, for example, is dangerous or littering, you know, or dumping rubbish on the river is just, uh, you know, harming or polluting the environment. I mean, a lot of people are aware of that, but there are also people that, you know, don't care about that thing. So I think what the Bali government has done has been great, but it could be more stricter as in,

you know, probably imposing sanctions, not only just on paper, but they have to really, uh, you know, enforce that. I was reading this analogy that it's like a doctor telling a patient. to change their diet without actually telling them what's actually healthy. or not and, you know, providing them with a possible solution. But I did see that they had banned plastic bags. And more recently, they banned plastic bottles under one litre.

And they're even talking about banning plastic sachets. So you were just talking about making sure to enforce it. Is the, is the key. So are they not actually putting this ban on as strictly as maybe they should? Unfortunately, no. I mean, I think that single use plastic ban, you know, only several parties comply to that. Like, for example, if you go to a convenience stores in Bali, they are no longer going to give you plastic bags.

They're going to make you buy if you don't bring your own reusable bags. But if you go to traditional markets or fish markets or small food stalls, there will be happily giving you plastic bags. Yeah, I don't think that's just a unique problem to Bali or even Indonesia. You know, I've been to other South East Asian countries. where you say no to a plastic bag, and they almost get kind of offended that you didn't accept it. And but Gary, as you were saying earlier, you.

and your siblings are currently running across Java to map river pollution. So this obviously isn't a problem unique to Bali. It's across the country. Bali has a real problem, but Java is a whole other level. And I think, you know, it's been really interesting to see. which regions of Indonesia has it figured out. And so you have some real positive stories that are happening. For example, the region of Banyumas in Central Java is seen. as one of the stepping stones when it comes down to waste management.

And so so you have models that are working. Now it's just about how to (implement) them. What makes Bali so difficult is its reliance on its cultural leadership. So every single village has. an administrative leader and a cultural leader. And at that level, sometimes they're in war against each other. So it's very difficult to (implement), no top down decisions. It is encouraging, though, to hear that some areas,

you know, local governments have actually got it right. And so your efforts, they are being kind of welcomed by some lawmakers, but maybe not by all. Is that, is that right, to the right way to describe how it's going? Every single leader is more than open for us to operate within the region. But when it comes down to funding, it's a whole other discussion. Um, you know, there's real big budget cuts in Indonesia. Yesterday we were sitting in with one of the leaders. of Batang Jawa Tengah, who was telling us.

that a lot of the waste management funding has now been, you know, delegated for the free meals that Indonesia is giving to students. And so you have a big gap when it comes down. to actual funding around waste management. So individual leadership have to take decisions. Um, are you feeding the kids for free or are you taking care of the trash? And, um, that's a real issue. Um, going on, I think just the lack of funding concerning waste management. Yeah, we did a whole episode on that, a free meal programme.

And it's obviously a very admirable cause, but it's costing quite a lot of money to the Indonesian government. I want to ask about the role of, I guess, tourism. So firstly, Ade, I mean, the number of tourist numbers. have roughly doubled in a decade. So is that part of this problem of this waste crisis? Because you said that you were a bit embarrassed about. local Indonesians not taking care of this waste problem very seriously?

Or maybe they were not educated, but what about foreigners who actually come. to Bali and other parts of Indonesia? The behaviour of most tourists, from my observation, I think they are all aware about, you know, uh, putting the rubbish in the bins and, uh, you know, not littering. I guess, I guess they're used to this habit, like in their own country separating, uh, you know, from plastic plastic from organic and yada yada.

But then, it's the industry itself, the like business owners in Bali, I don't think all business owners in Bali are comply to, uh, you know, uh, properly managing their waste. But also, you know, the numbers of villas around Bali. That's like, I don't know exactly how many, but there're like massive, development going on. in Bali these past few years because of, you know, it's a luring business.

You know, tourists keep coming to Bali, so everyone just wants to have a piece. of cake of this island. Early this year, I think, I interviewed a local resident of Canggu. He was born in Canggu. He was, uh, raised, grew up, basically spent almost his entire life in Canggu. And he, you know, he is the living witness of how much of a tourism,

uh, causes, uh, a lot of environmental issues in his area. Uh, after the interview, he took me for a drive to see the areas. where he used to spend, you know, his childhood with his friends. So while we were driving, he would show me, you know, we would stop and he'd say, this used to be rice field. This used to be where me and my friends stopped for, you know, uh, play, uh, flying the kites or, and then we ride bicycle. and then we would, you know, uh, go to the beach after this.

But a lot of these rice fields have been turned into boutiques, restaurants, cafes, villas. So during that 30 minute drive, um, he was, you know, it was very obvious that he was devastated to see these changes. And I guess it's important to emphasise that. not all those tourists are from abroad. There are other Indonesian nationals coming to Bali for a holiday as well.

Gary, you were saying earlier how there's quite a lot. of spotlight pressure on Bali because of its popularity. compared to other parts of Indonesia. As you travel across the country, do you think tourism plays a big role. in this waste problem of Bali and other parts of Indonesia? Absolutely. I think I think you named it, you know, so much of it is the tour buses, the domestic tourism that are buying the cheap packages. A few years ago we saw it with a lot of the Chinese buses.

and Chinese tourism that were coming in the hundreds of thousands, um, you know, just from the meals that they consume is wrapped in plastic styrofoam, um, or single use plastics, all with a single use plastic bottle. And a lot of these tour buses do not have. any conscience of where to dump. So you see this all around the archipelago, obviously, you know, Bali. The true question that we see pop up is really, is Bali done? You know, like now that rice fields are literally becoming concrete villas.

and mushroom development is happening everywhere around the island. On top of that, you have crazy traffic. and waste dumps at every corner of every street. But I think, you know, the Bali that I do remember 21 years ago, um, is one that I hold so cherished in my mind. And there's still so many little pockets of that magic on the island. So it's, I think it's worth preserving for generations to come.

What happened to, I think the Indonesian government had this plan. of creating ten new Balis like alternative tourist destinations, I guess, in order to ease the pressure that's on the island. And I think they were talking about places like Mount Bromo. in East Java, Lake Toba in Sumatra, also Komodo Islands, and so on. Do you think those plans are still going ahead, or is Bali so special that regardless of all these challenges, it's still going to be in the spotlight of many tourists.

Yeah. That ten new Bali uh, is, I think initiated by President Jokowi back in 2016. Now it's 2026 and I, I haven't been able to say. that this new Bali has gained, uh, even, you know, anywhere near the success that Bali has gained as a tourism destination. I think it's also, uh, due to the lack of infrastructures,

like there are hardly any direct flights to these destinations. for international visitors. So that's another that's one problem. And also, um, I think a lot of investors are probably not keen on investing. in these places, they are popular, uh, among Indonesians especially, but I think, uh, Bali for them is still the most, uh, you know, uh, luring destination in terms of making money, I think.

So in terms of, you know, family resorts, Bali has most. of the infrastructure to accommodate, you know, family trips. But What I love to see with a lot of young travelers, a lot of more adventurous travelers that I see along our travels is that, you know, they do come to Bali as the main international port, but then they get out into Indonesia and see so much more. of this incredible country. You know, we have 17,000 islands. Um, and there's so much to explore. Um, and, you know, the idea of going back in 2015 was really to sort of show.

that there's not just Bali and there's just so much more to see, but the problem stands, you know, we do not want the next Bali, in a sense, by creating the next ten locations. Are we really just stepping backwards. and destroying this incredible archipelago? So I think. that's what we have to prevent. Um, again, for generations to come. Bali can be the center of, you know, solutions.

and it can really be that island example to solve the waste crisis. I'm still very optimistic. I wouldn't be doing the work that we do if we weren't. We wouldn't be jumping in rivers every day. Um, so I think there's an end to this, but. we really need to, you know, take it a whole lot seriously. I'm going to let you go back to jogging all the way to Jakarta. Gary and I have a I have an idea. Maybe you can suggest that while they are providing those free meals. to the children, maybe they can insert a little education clip.

of how to recycle and how not to use single use plastic. But thank you so much for sharing your insights, Gary and Ade. Thank you. Thank you so much. You've been watching Asia Specific from the BBC World Service. with me, Mariko Oi in Singapore. If you have any questions or thoughts on what we covered in this episode. or any other story from the region, please leave us a comment below. You can also get in touch with us on email: AsiaSpecific@bbc.co.uk.

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