Sand, Plastic, and the Struggle: Blibis Needs Us

     Blibis Beach may look calm on the surface, but beneath the sand lies a tougher story.On a windswept morning, the 4ocean Java beach team set out to clean one of the region’s most trash-prone coastlines. Seasonal winds push ocean plastic toward the shore, burying it under layers of sand and making it nearly invisible to the untrained eye. But Team Captain Ari Surya Prayoga, better known as Yoga, knew better—and so did the crew.

     What followed was slow, methodical, and physically demanding work. Each step involved digging through compacted sand to unearth plastic bags, bottles, straws, and even discarded sandals. The crew collected 1,126 lbs. of plastic waste by the end of the day—trash that would have stayed hidden, leaching toxins into the environment.

The crew worked as a tight unit—separating organic and inorganic materials, shaking off the sand, then packing the waste into super sacks. These were then loaded onto a truck and brought back to the 4ocean Java base. It was a long day, but every minute counted.

Beyond the physical work, there’s a larger battle being fought: public awareness. Too many people still throw trash into waterways without thinking of the consequences. Not just inorganic waste—organic too. This careless disposal clogs rivers, poisons marine ecosystems, and transforms coastlines into dumps.