5 MIN READ
02-05-2026
Clearing the Blambangan Canal with Easy Foods
Dika, 4ocean Jembrana Content Correspondent
The morning of January 13, 2026 began the way many cleanups do for the 4ocean Java Riverboom Team, with engines starting before the heat settles and the sound of moving water already carrying the day’s work toward them. Supported by our partner Easy Foods, we returned to the Blambangan Canal just minutes from our base, where the trash net once again stood as a quiet barrier between upstream pollution and the open sea. From a distance, the water looked ordinary, but as we approached, the net told a different story, thick with plastic bottles, bags, styrofoam, and worn sandals piled together like a slow-moving tide that never reaches shore.
Stepping onto the riverbank, the team moved with practiced rhythm. Gloves on, tools in hand, they leaned over the water to loosen debris trapped in the mesh, pulling it up piece by piece and feeding it into waiting sacks. The work was repetitive but purposeful, every lift lightening the weight pressing against the canal’s flow. As the hours passed, the water beneath the net began to move freely again, a small but meaningful shift that rippled downstream.
Sack by sack, the pile of collected waste grew along the bank. Once the net was fully cleared, we consolidated everything in one place for documentation and weighing before loading it onto a pickup bound for the 4ocean Java base. By the end of the operation, we had removed 156.6 pounds of waste across eight sacks, mostly single-use plastics and mixed debris. The cleanup ran smoothly, but the sheer amount captured in a single cycle was a sobering reminder of how much pollution continues to travel through this canal every day.
For our Riverboom crew, led by Ach. Hasan Izzudin, Dwi Agus Saputra, and Moh. Febri Santoso, this site is more than just a routine stop. It is a frontline where upstream habits meet downstream consequences. As Dwi put it, “We will continue to make every effort to maintain the cleanliness of the canal and other waterways. With this net technology, we are confident that we can reduce pollution in ditches, rivers, and the ocean. We also hope that our actions will inspire the surrounding community to take part in keeping plastic waste, especially in waterways, out of the environment.”
Standing beside the cleared net, the team could see both progress and the scale of the challenge ahead. The Blambangan trash trap makes one thing unmistakable, single-use plastic is still deeply woven into local waste streams. Yet by showing up again and again, maintaining the net, and removing what it captures, we are steadily breaking the path that carries this pollution toward the ocean. With the support of partners like Easy Foods, these routine cleanups become more than maintenance. They become a daily commitment to cleaner waterways, healthier rivers, and a future where less plastic flows toward the sea.
Learn more about 4ocean's partnership with Easy Foods here.
