Sungai Watch is on a mission to clean every river in Indonesia—and beyond
Image credit: Photo by Sungai Watch; medal by Sunish from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0)
Imagine taking a stroll in Bali, but instead of traipsing along a beautiful beach, you're wading waste deep through a sludgy stew of rotten food, chicken intestines, dead animals, and soiled diapers. And plastic. So much plastic. Such is the life of the river warriors of Sungai Watch.
The densely populated country of Indonesia is the second largest plastic polluter to the oceans, following China in first place. The lack of proper waste management and recycling infrastructure has led to illegal dumping and burning of trash, and open-air landfills are poorly managed. These issues are amplified by increased plastic consumption and waste generation. No thanks to the corporate brands that fuel these problems.
In 2009, three teen siblings living on the island of Bali recognized the impact that plastic pollution was having on their home. They organized a weekly volunteer cleanup and turned to social media, posting photos and videos to draw attention to the problem. Their grassroots efforts paved the way for the siblings—Kelly, Gary, and Sam Bencheghib—to found Sungai Watch in 2020.
“Sungai” is the Indonesian word for water, and the mission of Sungai Watch is “to protect and restore our world’s rivers by developing and designing simple technologies to stop the flow of plastic pollution from going into the ocean.”
The Sungai Watch strategy is working:
Install barriers in waterways to collect waste and prevent it from entering the ocean. The barriers, custom fitted to each problem, are funded by donations, and the organization doesn’t accept money from plastic producers. To date, 268 barriers have been installed, mostly in Bali and also in East Java.
Host cleanup events six days a week. Cleanup crews (aka “river warriors”) don protective gear and plunge into the polluted waters to gather the collected waste into bags. (Staff are provided with health insurance and regular medical checkups.)
Sort the collected waste. Waste is sorted into 30 categories. While most waste is sent to landfills, remaining reusable waste is sorted for recycling or up-cycling. Plastic bags are one of the most common types of waste collected, despite a regional ban that’s been in place for years.
Audit the collected waste. Brand audits are done on collected waste to hold major polluters accountable. This data is shared with governments, other NGOs, media, and lawmakers to incent action toward package redesign, plastic reduction, refill/reuse systems, deposit return, and legislation.
Prep and recycle waste. Reusable waste is washed and shredded for upcycling in-house, where it’s pressed by machines and converted into second-life goods, such as furniture, or it’s sent to aggregators for mechanical recycling.
Host emergency cleanups at illegal dumps and along riverbanks. These actions prevent waste from entering rivers and help enforce proper waste management at the local level.
Publish an annual impact report. The report seals the credibility, showing that 868,582 kg (1,914896 pounds) of trash have been collected to date. The report also highlights the top 10 plastic polluting companies for 2022: Danone, Orang Tua, Wings Group, Unilever, Mayora, Indofood, Budi Djaya, Garuda Food, PT Santos Jaya Abadi, and Ultra Jaya.
After only a few years, the organization has already received numerous honors, including the Forbes “30 Under 30 – Asia – Social Impact” list in 2023 , the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the 2023 Terre de Femme Award, and the 2022 Iris Prize. Impressive and inspiring results for what started out as a few teens collecting trash.
For more information about Sungai Watch, or to make a donation, visit their website. (Donations in the US are managed by their US based 501(c)3 non-profit, Make a Change World Inc, and 100% of the funds are sent to Sungai Watch.)
Watch this video to see these warriors in action:
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