Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

[Adam]

This is something thats been dealt with before (from memory??) but recent events have got me thinking about this and talking about 'sustainabilty' in Froggy's "Crabs" posting has ignited a bit of a green flame inside me. It's not meant to be inflammatory, just hopefully a little bit humorous and hopefully thought provoking to those that get to spend a little bit more time with locals in Bali.

Recently, when travelling back to Bali on the bus from East Java I saw, honestly, one of the most revolting sites of my life. In a village just to north of Tabanan, I was truly amazed at how creatively the locals had used the cutaway/cliff on the western side of the road as an effective rubbish tip. Even more uplifting was the fact that some poor suckers had their houses underneath and the pile of filth, which would have been the best part of 50 feet wide and in parts 20 feet deep had piled all the way to their back wall and with the wonderful assistance of gravity was slowly swallowing the roof. I sure wish I'd taken a photo and certainly hope to in 7 weeks time when were lucky enough to revisit the scenic vista. Now sure, this is an extreme example but sadly Bali seems to be being swallowed up by an ever increasing plastic tide. Littering seems to be the number 1 pastime, (just ahead of gossiping and sleeping ) and sadly Indonesians don't seem to be at all worried about the fact that plastic isn't biodegradable. It's slowly clogging the rivers and drainage canals, the ocean, empty land and even residential areas. Even at kampung level (and my wifes village is no exception) the way to deal with rubbish seems to be walk about 10 paces out the back door and chuck it or alternatively if it is just a small item just drop it where you stand. Are the locals in any way concerned about what things might be like in 10 years time? Or 50 years?

And yes, my home country is far from the bastion of environmental good practice, but my wifes shock at the contrast between her country and her new home here in Oz has been amazing. I'm guessing when we return to Bali and our kampung in East Java in 7 weeks time the way things operate might change for the better. What are peoples thoughts because it really is a blight on one of the most beautiful places in the world?

Adam

[BaliLife]

Hi Adam,

Like I've previously suggested, I believe this type of thing to be a product of three factors:

- Education
- Culture
- Economic means

For the situation to improve, positive changes in the above three categories will need to be observed, as such pertains to waste management.

Ct

[Sanurian]

I agree with both of you.
I think the most important things that need to be addressed are education and apathy.

And hi, Adam:

...I'm guessing when we return to Bali and our kampung in East Java in 7 weeks time the way things operate might change for the better...

Possibly, if you get stuck into the issues involved there and do something about them, with the full involvement of the locals, of course.
Nobody likes to be told what to do. Or that they're stupid for not having done anything so far.

Many Indonesians I know still don't understand that some plastics take 500+ years to degrade, (if at all). Some still think dropping it in the nearest river to get swept away elsewhere solves the problem. A kind of "out-of-sight-out-of-mind" mentality. Others understand the problem very well and are trying to do something about it, with varying degrees of success. Time will tell.

[Adam]

Hi Phil,

GDay to you and Reni too, hope all is well. Ani got her visa as you've probably picked up. Apologies for not catching up again after that original visit, Bali trips seem to have only been about compiling this bloody visa of late and spending time with the in-laws in Java and now thats sorted hopefully the next trip will solely a HOLIDAY!! Maybe next trip (in 7 weeks) we can catch up for a beer again.

Now back on topic, and maybe I just have shit on the liver, but littering, especially at kampung level, its something that really gets my panties in a bunch. For sure they don't have the infrastructure and waste management education that we have here in Western countries but at the very least they could consider confining the crap to say, 1 or 2 locations per village and most definately refrain from using the river as a rubbish tip. Where I live here in West Oz we have a group of islands about 80 km offshore called the Abrolhos which lie in the path of the Leeuwin current, a current that brings warm water from Indonesia. Even some 3000km away the amount of Indo junk that washes up has to bee seen to believed and I can't help but chuckle whenever I see the ubiquitous black and white striped bags or Aqua bottles wash up there.

In our village at least, plastics are the only problem as we have a dude who comes every week to pick up cardboard, glass and metals for recycling. But in the 'jungle' beyond the border of the last houses is a sea of plastic that stretches as far as one can throw their bag of junk. Funnily enough, we have a big rubbish pit some 70m into said jungle but alas the only items in the bottom of it is that which I've trown in there. When I walk around the village picking up lolly wrappers, chip packets, ciggy butts etc on a daily basis a lot of the locals look at me like I've got 2 heads! The saddest part of all is from my observation, 90% of time spent awake in most villages throughout Bali and Java is spent sitting on ones arse. I'm just praying that the change of behavior that Ani's picked up in just 1 month of being here might rub off when we get back. We shall see.........

Adam

[BaliLife]

Hi adam,

As kids, we used to spend holidays out on west wallaby.. Day times go out on the cray boats and throw in an 80lb handline and pull up bluebones, pink snapper and dhufish one after the other.. It was pretty common to see our friends who owned the cray boats and had camps on the islands to toss bags of rubbish over the side of the boat.. It shows that financial means alone won't work - without education (and culture, though I don't think in australia culture could be identified as an excuse for littering)..

I always remember being told as a kid, right before lights went out there, the stories of the ghost of ???? Hayes?? (Forget the name - but the mutaneer that was excecuted).. And I remember seeing a pair of amazing breasts baking in the sun for the first time, that night, my mom's friend's son asked me over a game of truth or dare, "were you staring at mi sister's tit's today?".. I gulped, turned red and said, "mmm.. yes I was".. I was 11..

0h the abrohlos days, where did they go?

Ct

[Adam]

Ct,

It was pretty common to see our friends who owned the cray boats and had camps on the islands to toss bags of rubbish over the side of the boat

They wouldn't dare nowdays. Far too much public scrutiny regarding the Abrolhos, EVERYTHING comes back to mainland, no exceptions. Busy bees cleaning up the islands are common now, thats why the crap coming from Indo is noticeable.

???? Hayes??

That would be Wiebbe Hayes from the Batavia I'm guessing. Actually, this is the first time I've twigged Gero has quite a long history with Indo, in an abstract and pointless kind of way....How bizarre.....

Day times go out on the cray boats and throw in an 80lb handline and pull up bluebones, pink snapper and dhufish one after the other

Bluebone are protected out there nowdays dammit . But not for much longer

0h the abrohlos days, where did they go?

They haven't moved, still anchored firmly in place, I spend 3 days a month out there, Still a whole lotta fun too.

Cheer up cobber,

Adam

[Sanurian]

Sounds good, Adam
Look forward to it.

...Maybe next trip (in 7 weeks) we can catch up for a beer again...

PM or send me an e-mail if you think you'll have time.

[froggy]

Im really surprised there are not crews out cleaning the rivers etc,,, labor is cheap,cheap,cheap!!!,,, it down right filthy in parts, especially heading to the harbor by that large store ( my memoery sucks , forgot the name!)

[Adam]

Sure, labours cheap, cheap, cheap, but who's gunna pay for it? Moneys tight as it is and it is unlikely bureaucracies would spend much on this sort of thing (not when it washes downstream and becomes somebody elses problem ).

My point is theres heaps of people sittin' around not doing much of anything, why not devote 10 or 20 minutes a day to cleaning some of this stuff up and confining it to devoted areas.

[FreoGirl]

When my husband first moved to Perth he worked for a gardening company that did a fair bit of council (local government) contracts. Much of his day was spent on the roadside 'picking up the rubbish'. True, plenty of people don't litter in the west, but plenty do and don't care that they do. It was an eye-opener to me to see that our roadsides would look very much like Indonesian roadsides but for leagues of people paid to keep them clean.

That being said, I also believe littering in Indonesia is very much an issue with education and the lack of means of disposing of litter and rubbish. Putting it in a single pile doesn't solve the problem, as that pile gets bigger, and the wind and rain scatters it around.

People need to be educated to put rubbish into bins or piles, but also those piles need to be removed and dealt with in an appropriate manner. The issue has to be attacked from all angles, and until it is, it will not improve. It has to be driven from the government, and they have to have the will to do it. It also needs to be driven from the Banjar or Village heads, and instilled into the children who will be the adults of tomorrow and the ones buried under the plastic pile.

[Roy]

In our village, we have garbage pick up twice a week and the folks are happy to use garbage cans to dispose of waste that the pig would rather not eat. It all goes to Gianyar to a waste re-cycling and processing plant, and that’s that.

Less than ten years ago, whenever there was that usual “burning time” the awful smell of burning plastic used to permeate the air....but no more.