5 MIN READ
06-24-2025
More Than Waves: A Mission to Protect What We Love
Ucik, 4ocean Indonesia Content Correspondent
Mornings here usually mean crashing surf, cool air, and a view that makes you pause. But not today.
Instead of clean sand and rolling waves, the shoreline was dotted with bottle caps, plastic cutlery, snack wrappers, and the leftovers of someone else’s day out. Some of the waste clung to rocks. Some had been pulled in and out by the tide. All of it didn’t belong.
The 4ocean crew gathered early: Dika, Ketut, Made, Wiradana, Wayan, Putu, Gung Wawan, Bagas, Arsi, and Nurul. Everyone knew what needed to be done—and no one hesitated. Together, they fanned out along the coast. Bottles were pulled from bushes, glass shards swept up from the sand. Tires, packaging, and broken plastic spoons filled sack after sack.
“If we don’t start, who will?” Made asked. The words stayed with the team the rest of the day.
By the time the cleanup wrapped, the team had removed a total of 620.45 pounds of waste from the shoreline. This included 231.10 pounds of plastic waste—mostly bottles, wrappers, and single-use items—and 389.35 pounds of mixed debris, from old tires to food packaging and other discarded materials tangled with sand and seawater.
Among the most common finds were discarded bottles, old tires, and food wrappers—traces of convenience that had no place near the sea. The visual change was immediate, but the emotional impact ran deeper. One local, watching quietly from the shade, remarked, “This beach used to be so clean. Sometimes I feel ashamed when people visit and see it like this.”
The work wasn’t easy. Sharp nails hid inside bits of washed-up wood. Broken glass was scattered in places, easy to miss and dangerous to bare hands and feet. Still, the crew pushed on, staying careful and coordinated as they moved from one section of beach to the next.
This wasn’t just a cleanup—it was a reminder that beautiful places deserve better, that the ocean doesn’t need more trash, and that real ownership begins the moment we show up.
Every piece of plastic removed was one less threat to the waves, to the wildlife, to the memory of what this shoreline should be. For those who call this place home—and for those just passing through—it’s a shared responsibility. Because the ocean isn’t a dumping ground. It’s life.
