As of: March 22, 2024, 10:50 p.m
By: Kilian Bäuml
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The island of Bali is a dream destination for many travelers, but it is drowning in garbage.
There is hardly anything left of the beaches, as can be seen in the pictures.
Denpasar – So far, many people have known the island of Bali primarily for pictures of dream beaches and as a popular tourist magnet.
The island in Indonesia is so popular with holidaymakers that certain rules have been introduced for tourists.
Anyone entering the island must also pay an entry fee.
At the moment, however, holidaymakers hardly recognize the island because it is literally flooded with rubbish.
This problem is not new, but it is becoming increasingly serious.
On social media, people are showing frightening pictures and videos of the rubbish beaches in Bali.
Bali's dream beaches: From holiday paradise to garbage dump
Pollution on Bali's beaches has been a known problem for years, but recent developments are alarming.
Since Wednesday, garbage collectors and volunteers have already collected 100 tons of waste, especially plastic waste.
“And there's plenty more.” Strong westerly winds regularly blow patches of rubbish from the sea and ships onto Bali's shores, much to the disappointment of many tourists who had dreamed of pristine beaches.
There are numerous pictures and videos of littered beaches on social media platforms.
Complaints about the island's pollution are not only increasing on social media platforms.
“I'm in Bali right now and there's plastic everywhere on the beach and in the sea, from Jimbaran to Uluwatu,” wrote one disappointed vacationer on a Bali travel forum on Facebook.
“Is there currently still a beach without plastic?” According to Bali Sun, many holidaymakers are taking part in the clean-up operations on particularly polluted beaches.
Plastic also recently washed up on Spanish beaches, sparking an environmental scandal.
Bali is facing an environmental crisis: residents do not have a strong environmental awareness
But it's not just ocean currents and wind that are responsible for polluting beaches.
According to environmentalists, many locals do not have a strong environmental awareness and simply throw their garbage behind their houses, into embankments and rivers.
“We hope that the government will be more consistent in waste management and improve knowledge about it among school children,” says Giri Mariani, who organizes garbage collection campaigns.
Indonesia, with a population of 274 million, is the world's second-largest plastic polluter after China, UN reports show.
“The country produces 3.2 million tons of uncontrolled plastic waste annually, of which about 1.29 million tons end up in the sea,” according to a 2020 report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Another innovation, the entertainment tax, could also contribute to making a holiday in Bali more expensive.
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