Thousands of Muslims took to South Bali’s beaches on Sunday in an organized effort to clean up the island’s trash-filled coastline.
Rainy season has brought literal tons of garbage to Bali’s beaches, flushing rubbish down Bali’s river channels and streams right on to the beach.
While the local government has been making an effort to stay on top of the trash flows, having thousands of pairs of hands this weekend no doubt helped speed things up on Sunday.
An estimated 6,200 Muslims including students, religious leaders, and Islamic community organizations joined in on the Muslim Caring Community clean-up, picking up rubbish along the beach from Kuta to Legian to Seminyak, up to Petitenget.
While Bali is predominantly Hindu, the island’s population is roughly 13 percent Muslim.
Bali’s iconic beaches have become littered by rubbish, which is not great for Bali’s already hurting economy, explained one of the community service organizers, Ismoyo Soemarlan, who is chairman of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) tourism commission for Bali.
“This activity is a form of direct participation of the Muslim community in maintaining a positive image for Bali tourism,” Soemarlan said on Sunday, as quoted by Kabar24.
Garbage picked up during the community event was handed over to trucks from Badung regency, so it could be transported to landfills, reports said.
Soemarlan said this won’t just be a one-off activity and that the Muslim community looks forward to making this a tradition and expanding their reach to other others.
Badung Deputy Regent I Ketut Suiasa said he was thrilled by the enthusiasm of Bali’s Muslim community.
“Unsolicited by the government, our Muslim residents have such awareness to help the environment by cleaning beaches in Badung regency,” Suiasa said at the event.
