Beach Clean: Gili Air

One thing you can't help but notice the abundance of marine debris and plastic in Indonesia. 

When we were here last over Dec/Jan it was unbelievable. In the little Gili's, South Lombok there was more plastic than anything else in the water. We spent 30mins collecting bags of the stuff which seemed to be a futile attempt. The locals said it wasn't that bad all year and the currents and tides had brought most of it there but that means its in the water somewhere all year round. 

On Gili Air it hasn't been so bad, you still see more plastic bags floating or rubbish on the ocean floor than you would like to but compared to South Lomboc it's minimal. However, one morning after the full moon, the highest tides of the month brought an array of debris onto the beach. 

There was so much including drift wood, glass bottles and lots of plastic. In 10 minutes of plastic picking we collected 2 big piles. All the plastic was coated in black oil making more dangerous for the environment.

The worst part was the level of micro-plastics which covered the tide line. This is more likely to be eaten and enter the food chain making it even more deadly. The locals were in force helping to clean which was great to see. However I did see one guy pick up a 5 litre jerry can full of black oil. He checked in a couple of times and then swung his arm back to launch it into the ocean. I yelled hold on and stopped it from potential polluting but it showed the level uneducation or inability to deal with the problem of marine debris on the island.



Where does it all come from? Just Indonesia or have the currents brought it from far flung oceans? The next thing, once we collected some plastic, is where will it end up now. We bagged it up which in theory was to be sent to Lomboc to a recycling facility. Its hard to say whether it will ever make it or just end up back in the ocean to start the cycle again...