Four Ministers Clean Up Delivery Garbage On Kuta Beach Bali

ANTARA/Dewa Ketut Sudiarta Wiguna

Four ministries of the Red and White Cabinet were involved in cleaning up the garbage that had piled up on the coast of Kuta Beach, Badung Regency, Bali.

The four state officials, namely the Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq, Minister of Tourism Widiyanti Putri Wardhana, and Minister of Basic and Secondary Education (Mendikdasmen), Abdul Mu'ti.

"Imagine that for decades there is more garbage than fish in the sea, especially plastic that is difficult to decompose," said Coordinating Minister for Food Zulkifli Hasan as reported by ANTARA, Saturday, January 4.

According to him, if not handled immediately, waste in the sea, including plastic, could threaten food security, especially the fisheries sector, because it is estimated that the amount reaches around 600 thousand tons per day.

Meanwhile, Minister of Environment Hanif Faisol Nurofiq explained that the handling of shipments of waste that occurred in Bali, including Kuta Beach, is a priority for the central and regional governments, because it brings Indonesia's reputation to the international eye.

The shipping waste occurs during the west wind season which takes place in the October-March period every year.

Hanif estimates that the number of shipments of waste on the coast of Bali in 2024-2025 will be higher than in 2020-2021, reaching around 6,000 tons and in 2023 around 2,900 tons.

"This Kuta 'track' is a priority, because this is our international reputation here. We will finish it optimally," he said.

He considered the clean action of marine debris as one of the concrete steps taken by the government by cooperating across sectors to tackle shipping waste as well as educating the public.

A total of 2,115 participants ranging from the TNI, Polri, students, Poltekpar Bali tourism campuses, community community, cleaning staff, Kuta Task Force, traditional villages, non-governmental organizations, mass media to social media activists were involved in the clean-up action.

The activity of cleaning up the shipment was temporarily suspended due to heavy rain and a few minutes later resumed after the rain subsided.

The waste sent in the form of plastic, rubber to wood, and garbage was then collected and accommodated in sacks with the help of at least four heavy equipment and a number of trucks.

They then sorted the plastic waste and weighed it to be brought back to the waste processing site in collaboration with a third partner.