Bali’s Tourist Beaches Get A ‘Glow Up’ Thanks To Huge Community Effort

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Intensive efforts are underway in the south of Bali to clean up the island’s most severely impacted beaches as tides of plastic waste and ocean debris continue to barrage the coast.

Efforts reach a new level of intensity over the weekend as major political figures from the central and provincial governments join local communities and NGOs to get a handle on the situation. 

Here at The Bali Sun, we have been keeping a close eye on what has been happening on Kuta Beach, Jimbaran Beach, Kedonganan Beach, and the whole Badung Regency coastline since the first tides of plastic trash arrived this rainy season, back in November.

Typically, the tide of trash does not arrive until December. This season, the tides arrived early and more intensely.

Over the last few years, even more trash has been washed ashore in Bali’s most popular coastal resort area, prompting political leaders to implement rapid solutions. More than 300 Environmental Agency staff have been on standby for months, but last week Bali Governor Wayan Koster announced the creation of the Beach Waste Management Task Force.

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From Friday, 6th February, through Sunday, 8th February, and into this week, clean-up teams will be working around the clock to give Bali’s beaches a ‘Glow Up’. On Friday, 6th February, the community action group Jasa Raharja held a national campaign event called “Glow Up the Environment: Clean is Cool!”

Speaking to reporters, Jasa Raharja’s Director of Human Resources and General Affairs, Rubi Handojo, shared, “Through the National Action ‘Glow Up the Environment: Clean is Cool!’, Jasa Raharja wants to encourage all elements of society to view environmental cleanliness as a shared responsibility. This is not just a ceremonial activity, but a concrete action that can improve the quality of public spaces and foster collective awareness. We are committed to continuing to provide benefits to the community with a spirit of wholehearted service.”

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The event brought together community members and tourists in Bali and Yogyakarta to clean up the local environment and raise social awareness of environmental cleanliness. 

A separate beach clean-up event was hosted at Kedonganan and Jimbaran Beach, attended by the Indonesian Minister of the Environment/Head of the Environmental Management Agency (BPLH), Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, the Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, the Governor of Bali Wayan Koster, and the Regent of Badung I Wayan Adi Arnawa.

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The high-profile beach clean-up was also supported by representatives from the central and regional governments, the Indonesian National Armed Forces (TNI) and the Indonesian National Police (Polri), students, environmental groups, and the local community.

Minister Nurofiq told reporters, “Indonesia is currently in a state of waste emergency. This is not just a technical issue, but also a cultural one that we must change. President Prabowo reminded us that Bali is a national showcase, so its cleanliness and environmental sustainability must be seriously maintained.”

Tourism Minister Widiyanti Wardhana told reporters that the Ministry will put greater pressure on the tourism and hospitality sector in Bali to take greater accountability for waste generation and subsequent waste management.

She told reporters. “We have received a letter from the Deputy Minister of Environment urging hospitality and tourism to manage their own waste. Therefore, we have written to the hospitality and tourism industry to process their waste in accordance with the applicable regulations from the Minister of Environment. Hopefully, they can be orderly.”

Adding “We will also coordinate with local governments to ensure timely waste collection. There will definitely be an impact on tourists, especially now that it has been widely circulated on social media, and it could even have an impact of up to 30 percent.”

Bali has just passed the peak of the rainy season. Typically, the rains start to slow up around early March, though massive downpours are not uncommon into April.

For tourists traveling to Bali between now and the end of April, the risk of encountering tides of plastic trash along the coast between Jimbaran Beach and Double Six Beach in Seminyak is starting to reduce.

However, for those who do not want to run the risk of encountering the tides of trash, the solution is to arrange beach days in areas that are typically less affected, and there are many! Areas like Sanur, Nusa Dua, and the entire stretch of Bali’s southeast coast are typically unaffected.

For those visiting the Jimbaran, Kuta, Legian, and Seminyak areas, rest assured that intensive cleanup efforts will continue, and teams will work to clear the beaches by mid-morning as best they can to ensure the community and tourists can enjoy the world-famous coastline.