Fight against plastic waste: from bottle kayak to waste savings book

In Indonesia, clean drinking water is almost only available in plastic bottles – they end up in the rivers and oceans. But residents are increasingly realizing that collected plastic waste can be turned into a resource.

Two brothers paddle along a river on Java – in kayaks made of plastic bottles, on the dirtiest river in Indonesia. “When we paddled down the river, most people thought it was funny that we were walking around on garbage. Our guides who accompanied us thought the plastic bottle kayak was a great idea,” says Gary Bencheghib. They have turned the rubbish that pollutes the river into a resource – a valuable material that can be used for many things.

Gary and his brother Sam Bencheghib paddled the Citarum in 2017. The river on West Java is among the ten most polluted rivers in the world. It is located a little east of the capital Jakarta and is 270 kilometers long. 27 million people live on and from its water – some of which you can’t even see under the floating plastic waste. According to Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo, it should be the cleanest river in the world by 2025. But a lot of work has to be done before then.

“The garbage has value”

Gary Bencheghib tells of a rubbish collection initiative: “This is a cooperative that collects rubbish with 58 people on the river – in wooden kayaks. They cost 120 euros each. You could save that by building boats out of rubbish.” Together with the initiative, the two brothers want to build an entire fleet of plastic bottle kayaks that will be used to clean up the Citarum. This saves resources: the river cleaners do not use any other raw materials to build boats and have to spend less money.

“After seeing Sam and Gary’s kayaks, we were full of inspiration to build a boat that could be easily navigated on the Citarum, a boat that was specially designed for garbage collectors,” says Indra Darmawan, one of the founders of the garbage collection initiative. “So we can bring the river back to its old shape.”

This is not an easy undertaking. Because tons and tons of new waste end up in the water every day, textile factories discharge their untreated wastewater. The fact that many residents of the river also use it as a garbage dump has a lot to do with a lack of knowledge about the interrelationships of the ecosystem. But more and more residents want to change that – also with plastic bottle kayaks.

That’s the great thing – with garbage you can change people’s lives for the better. The garbage has value, it doesn’t have to be thrown away, but can be used creatively.

Bus tickets against plastic

The value of bottle garbage is growing: In the city of Surabaya, residents can exchange plastic bottles for bus tickets. The program is well received: In the city of 2.9 million people, 16,000 people get free rides every week – just for collecting their empty water bottles and bringing them with them instead of throwing them away.

Another initiative called “Garbage Clinical Insurance” finances medical treatments through recycling: The participants in the program promise to collect a certain minimum amount of recyclable garbage per month – mainly plastic bottles. The cost that is missing for more expensive treatment complements either government programs or sponsorships. This promotes responsibility for one another and for the environment.

Because not only are the rivers dirty, they continue to flush the plastic into the sea. Indonesia is the world’s second largest plastic polluter in the ocean. This is also visible around the idyllic Thousand Islands, a popular excursion area off Jakarta: turquoise sea, light sand, colorful fishing boats, the best snorkeling area – and plastic swims everywhere. Cola, soda, water bottles.

It looks a little different around Pulau Pramukan: Maharia Sandri runs a garbage bank here. “I told the islanders that they should separate their garbage, organic and non-organic garbage. Then they bring it to us and get a credit in their garbage savings account for it,” she says. “That improves the situation around the island considerably.”

A garbage savings book for medical bills

The waste savings book can be used for medical bills, electricity bills and other necessary items. In the garden of the rubbish bank, upside down plastic bottles frame the beds, here papaya, spinach, pak choy and chilli grow; because Sandri also teaches the islanders how to grow vegetables and how to turn organic waste into compost. There is a cutting machine next to a sheepfold; Here plastic bottles are sorted, shredded and later sold to plastic recyclers.

The basic problem remains, however: this rubbish should actually be avoided. Recycled plastic bottles are still worse than no plastic bottles at all. But Maharia Sandri also has an idea for this.

“People used to collect rainwater and drink it; I want to reintroduce that,” she says. “At the same time, we are trying to improve the quality of the groundwater – and in the end nobody has to buy water in plastic bottles.”