Indonesia’s Trash Hero leads Bali’s fight against plastic pollution, educating children and running clean-ups
- Plastic waste is piling up on the beaches of the holiday island, despite the absence of tourists due to Covid-19
- Wayan Aksara, chairman of Trash Hero Indonesia, organises weekly clean-ups and teaches fellow Balinese to care about the dangers of plastic waste
The photos prompted an outpouring of horror around the world: tons of plastic waste piled high on the beaches of Indonesia’s otherwise paradise island of Bali.
It may seem paradoxical given that tourists have all but disappeared in the pandemic, but they are not the primary source of the problem.
This tide of litter arrives on Bali’s beaches every year, the result of monsoon-influenced ocean currents, growing pollution of the oceans, mass consumption and a broken global waste disposal system. And the waste doesn’t just ruin the beaches. Plastic is also strewn around Bali’s forests, riverbanks, temple grounds and roadsides.
But there are efforts to rid the island of the rubbish. Enter Wayan Aksara, “trash hero” and role model for many fellow Balinese.
“I used to work as a tour guide, and like other friends I often got complaints from guests about scattered trash,” says the 50-year-old. “It made me feel compelled to do something so that Bali’s environment would become cleaner and better maintained. At that time there was only little awareness and concern,” explains Aksara.
