Video of a Bali beach clean-up has gone viral, exposing a sad reality

A video showing day 6 of the Kendonganan clean-up reveals a devastating amount of plastic engulfing a Bali beach.

Footage taken from a Bali beach has exposed another side of the beloved holiday spot.

A new video, posted to Instagram by environmental activist Gary Bencheghib, shows the devastating reality of plastic pollution on Kendonganan beach.

“Day 6 of the Kendonganan clean-up and it feels like more plastics is washing up day after day … We need all the help we can get for the next few days!” Bencheghib wrote in the caption of the video.

The viral video reveals the devastating reality of plastic pollution on a beach in Bali. Picture: Instagram

He added that they would be continuing their efforts on the last day of the year, hoping to gather as many volunteers as possible.

The video has gone viral, with many people expressing their shock and sadness at the state of the beach.

One said: “Unbelievable how much it is.”

Another said: “Oh God! What have humans done to our beautiful Earth?”

“Bali has to ban plastic bags and ban cruises,” another viewer said.

Bencheghib said locals have been cleaning up the beach for six days and that it feels like more plastic is washing up every day.

“There are literally waves of plastic behind me, and layers up to this thick that we are trying to clean with our bare hands,” he says.

”There’s literally waves of plastic behind me”. Picture: Instagram

Bencheghib also says that they have had hundreds of volunteers help them over the past few days, and the clean-up has inspired others to follow suit: “Your work inspired us to start cleaning up beaches here in Hawaii.”

“If you’re in Bali, we have a race against time,” he says. “We need to clean up as much of it up before it washes back into the ocean.”

More than 100 volunteers help clean-up at Kendonganan Beach. Picture: Instagram

Some commenters are calling to boycott of Bali until the government takes action. Picture: AFP

Kendonganan Beach and the clean-up efforts

Kendonganan beach is located on the southwestern coast of Bali, Indonesia, near the popular tourist area of Jimbaran.

It’s known for its black sand and fishing boats, and unfortunately, now for the overwhelming amount of plastic waste washing ashore.

This isn’t the first time this beach has faced such a crisis. Bali’s beaches, particularly during the monsoon season, are inundated with plastic waste carried by ocean currents and rivers.

Kedonganan is known for its black sand and fishing boats. Picture: AFP

The clean-up effort shown in the video is being led by Gary Bencheghib, a French-Indonesian environmental activist and filmmaker known for his work with the Make a Change World organisation and his Sungai Watch project, which focuses on tackling river plastic pollution in Indonesia.

He and a team of volunteers have been working tirelessly to remove the plastic debris from Kendonganan, highlighting the urgent need for action to address this environmental disaster.

Kendonganan beach is located near the popular tourist hot spot, Jimbaran Bay Picture: iStock

Bali’s tourism and waste management challenges

Bali is a hugely popular tourist destination, attracting millions of visitors each year. In 2019, before the pandemic, Bali welcomed over 6.2 million international tourists and an estimated 10 million domestic tourists.

Bali’s tourism puts a significant strain on the islands infrastructure. Picture: iStock

This influx of visitors puts a significant strain on the island’s infrastructure, including its waste management systems.

Bali produces an estimated 1.6 million tonnes of waste per year, with plastic accounting for a significant portion of this.

While efforts are being made to improve waste management and recycling on the island, the scale of the problem, coupled with limited resources and infrastructure, makes it a constant challenge. The situation is further exacerbated by the fact that a significant portion of Bali’s waste is mismanaged, ending up in landfills, rivers, or the ocean.