R.O.L.E. Foundation organized this month’s beach cleanup at Sawangan Beach, one of the closest beaches to the ZeroWaste Center. The team with 23 people collected 129.02 kg of non organic waste. 

The beach condition

The beach has a short shore with white sand, clear blue water and there are a lot of bay-hops plants growing there. Majority of the waste was found under the bay-hops plants and between the seaweeds. Interestingly enough, the biggest contributor of the waste on the Sawangan beach cleanup was slippers, making up almost 35% of the total waste.  

Waste collection and separation

In an hour, the team with 23 participants collected 129.02 kg of non organic waste. After the clean up, the environmental educators supervised the Bali WISE students to separate the waste. The biggest share of the waste was slippers and some rubber (34.6%), followed by residue (19.5%), and mixed hard plastic (10.6%).

The microplastics waste

In this beach clean up, the team cleaned both macro and micro types of waste. The microplastics belong to the residue, from 20.8 kg of residue, 5.9 kg is microplastics. Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to aquatic life, microplastics can block digestive tracts, decreasing the urge to eat, and reduce growth. 

By doing beach cleanup we raise public awareness to manage waste more properly. Bali WISE students intake 46 said that after their first beach they become more aware on how they consume and throw the waste. R.O.L.E. Foundation wants to thank all who participated in the Sawangan Beach cleanup and B1G1 for supporting this cleanup. Stay tuned for our next month’s beach cleanup.