The plastic problem. Working towards “Mentawai plastic free” with the Mentawai Ministry of Tourism.

Anyone who has visited Indonesia is confronted by the ever-present sight of rubbish.  Plastic water bottles, Mie Goreng packets, biscuit wrappers litter the beaches, line the road edges and float in the ocean.  It’s a heartbreaking reality in many places of this strikingly beautiful kaleidoscopic archipelago.

Lack of infrastructure, no disposal or removal facilities or services provided by local governments in many of the outlying island groups and lack of knowledge regarding the dangers of rubbish to human health and that of the environment are the main reasons underlying the current situation.