Leaders in Bali are coming together to create early mitigation plans for the tides of plastic waste that arrive on the island’s shores every rainy season.
There is scope for this monsoon season in Bali to be one of the worst in recent history, and leaders are keen to get ahead of the game.
The worst-affected areas for the tides of plastic waste are typically in the area known locally as Samigita Beach. This is the stretch of coastline that runs from Kuta, through Legian, and to the end of Seminyak.
Jimbaran is typically badly affected due to the location of the cove and the prevailing current. It just so happens that these areas also attract the highest concentration of tourists, especially over the Christmas and New Year holidays, known in Indonesia as Nataru.
The heaviest period of rainfall is forecast for January and February 2026, marking a notable moment for potential disaster.
Bali’s issues with waste management are no secret, and a series of major new policy changes have been brought into effect to help tackle this.
However, many feel that more needs to be done, as evidenced by the island’s largest open landfill still accepting waste despite being set to close years ago, and the tides of plastic waste that are washed up on the island’s shorelines every monsoon season.
The Acting Head of UPTD Kuta Tourist Rescue, I Wayan Somer, has spoken to reporters about early mitigation efforts that are being introduced this month to help reduce the impact of the worst of the season, which typically falls around January and February.
There are concerns that the tides of plastic waste threaten public safety, especially for those wishing to enter the water. The tides of plastic trash can be so dense that they are unsafe for swimming and surfing, and they also impact the enjoyment of those who wish to stay on the sand.
Somer told reporters, “We are intensely educating visitors, both domestic and foreign. For example, tourists can only swim in areas marked with red-yellow flags. If a red flag is installed, it means that swimming is prohibited.”
He confirmed that lifeguards are receiving more training every week to help them better serve tourists. Somer shared, “Quick response, technical skills according to SOP, and mental readiness are the key in carrying out humanitarian tasks, so we will routinely hold physical and mental coaching so that lifeguards are more resilient in the field.”
He noted that the main focus for lifeguards is the safety of tourists; lifeguards are also tasked with maintaining the tidiness and comfort of the beach area around the guard post. This is part of the effort to maintain the image of Samigita Beach as an international tourist destination crowded with tourists.
Lifeguards are not solely responsible for clearing up tides of plastic waste when they appear; it’s a whole community effort. Specialized teams for the Badung Regency Government are deployed to oversee the main clear-up operation, and there are often community-driven beach clean-ups, and both of these efforts are supported by local environmental NGOs too.
Somer concluded by reminding tourists to always obey the signs and directions of the officers, especially during the rainy season.
He shared, “The world-famous Samigita Beach needs extra attention. Just one incident can have an impact on the image of Bali and Badung tourism. Therefore, professionalism is the price of death. We want to show that Bali is safe and friendly for world tourists.
Not all beaches in Bali have lifeguards on duty, nor a flag system in place. For those who are unsure of where is and is not safe to swim, it is advisable to check in with accommodation providers or even beachfront surf schools and vendors to better understand where is and is not safe to enter the water.
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Harry
Sunday 19th of October 2025
Same old dont address where it all comes from or any management plans at all. Waist of space as an article.
Steve bm
Sunday 19th of October 2025
Who in there right mind would want to go near a beach with garbage
Shorty
Saturday 18th of October 2025
Get 2 or 3 front end loader tractors with raked buckets acting in tandem following trucks.
Ry
Saturday 18th of October 2025
This article says a whole lot of nothing? By the time a lifeguard sees rubbish in the water it's too late. What is the governments plan for educating motivating and providing means of rubbish disposal? Then it doesn't end up on the street washing into rivers and then into the ocean. What are the penalties for dumping rubbish on vacant lots? How are they enforced? Common in bali to see dump trucks dumping rubbish in secluded areas what are pelaties for this. What responsibility of land owners to keep there land free of trash? Unless the government get serious about the issue and people take responsibility for proper disposal at the source bali will continue to its way winning number 1 status in tourist trash islands
Micky Mouse
Saturday 18th of October 2025
Sometimes I can not believe how blind the officials are in Indonesia. The problem with the garbage washing up on the shores of Bali is very easily corrected. They need to make garbage collection free of charge for all of Bali.. go into each community and talk about recycling. If the locals do not recycle their garbage, the garbage collectors will not collect it. Plastics go in one container. Organic materials go in another container, etc. etc..
Each year they run around the beaches raking up all the garbage hauling it away in trucks costing a lot of money they do this twice a day. It’s completely insane. They need to have free garbage collection all over Bali. And pass very large fines and even prison sentences for those that are taking their garbage and throwing it in the waterways. I have seen countless times that people take their plastic bag full of garbage walk right out to the river and throw it down the valley. Not only rivers, but small streams. Then monsoon season comes and all that garbage goes right to the ocean. This is killing the fish, which is the food supply for this area. And it washes up on the shores and looks horrible. Each year the tourists go back to their hometown and they tell about how disgusting Bali is and how much garbage has been washed up on shore.
The wealthy tourist that visit Bali never come back. There’s too many other places in the world that might cost more but are clean and beautiful. Your troubled tourist that do not respect local religious sites. They will always come to Bali. They will continue to visit Bali go to the clubs drink fight piss on religious sites and personally they do not care about how much garbage gets washed up on the shores of Bali because they just come for the party and drinking. Likely the countries that they come from are much worse than Bali.
If Bali wants to attract the high spending wealthy tourist, they must get control of the pollution on the beaches. They also must get control of the noise pollution. That being said all these idiots taking their mufflers off of their motorcycles and racing around and there are 100 cc motorcycle with no muffler making noise pollution worse every day. Not only is it noisy, but it adds to very toxic fumes. They’re going into the environment and making people sick from breathing this. The other big problem is traffic. They just need to figure this out tourist tell me all the time I don’t like Bali because the traffic is so bad that I can’t get around and see all the beautiful sites. Bali faces a lot of problems. It’s being overbuilt and it’s time for the officials to wake up. Telling the lifeguards that they need to rake up, the garbage is not going to solve the problem. Noor is blaming all this garbage on Java. Yes they need to take control of their garbage as well but the majority of the garbage that washes up on the shores of Bali comes from Bali.
Harry
Sunday 19th of October 2025
They prefer throwing waste into green zone aress or burning to save money. But yes there is a lot of tax being paid in bali. So it should be used provide free waste collection @Micky Mouse,
Shorty
Sunday 19th of October 2025
@Micky Mouse, and Ry
Agree solving the problem at the source has to be a top priority. That will take long time.
Until then the beaches have to be cleaned.
Manual labour is slow and inefficient. As I posted use machinery
Steve bm
Sunday 19th of October 2025
@Micky Mouse, in the villages far away from tourist traps like I've been long term there is sorting by a degree of mainly old people going around collecting bottles and good plastics for money, but all other is discarded down banks, ravines etc or the neighbours block by military precision sneaky rubbish drops. Hence the flooding and the great rubbish collections on beaches
Exp
Sunday 19th of October 2025
@Micky Mouse, "They need to have free garbage collection all over Bali. And pass very large fines and even prison sentences for those that are taking their garbage and throwing it in the waterways."
Here is the thing.
1. My Balinese source told me that garbage collection is already free of charge for low income demographic.
2. Secondly there is already huge 50 juta fine / 3 month jail for throwing or burning garbage at least in Denpasar.
So obviously there must be other things motivating people to "manage" trash the way they do.