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View all search resultsDiving paradise Derawan Island faces mounting waste crisis
Covering just 44.6 hectares and home to around 2,000 residents, the island generates more than 46 tonnes of waste per day, more than double the national average waste production per capita.
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Berau Regent Sri Juniarsih Mas inspects plastic waste on Feb. 11 during the inauguration of a waste-sorting facility on Derawan Island, East Kalimantan. The popular diving and snorkeling destination is grappling with a mounting waste crisis fueled by tourism and marine debris, underscoring the growing waste management challenges faced by many small islands across Indonesia’s vast archipelago. (courtesy of/WWF Indonesia)
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opular diving and snorkeling destination Derawan Island in Berau regency, East Kalimantan, is grappling with a mounting waste crisis driven by tourism and marine debris, highlighting the growing waste management challenges faced by many small islands across Indonesia’s vast archipelago.
Covering just 44.6 hectares and home to around 2,000 residents, the island generates more than 46 tonnes of waste per day, more than double the national average waste production per capita.
Across the island, guesthouses, homestays, small restaurants and diving centers generate kitchen waste, food scraps and packaging on a daily basis. Small shops and other local businesses add to the mounting volume.
The waste burden, however, extends beyond local activity. Tourist boats ferrying visitors to dozens of nearby islets, many of which lack landfills or proper waste treatment facilities, often leave behind plastic bottles, plastic bags and food packaging on Derawan Island.
At the same time, ocean currents deposit a steady flow of marine debris along the coast. Washed ashore are plastic bottles, flip-flops, damaged fishing nets and fragments of styrofoam linked to fishing activities, adding to the island’s already overburdened waste system.
“The waste keeps coming. It doesn’t stop. Some comes from tourists, some from boats and some drifts in from the sea,” said Indra Mahardika, head of Derawan village recently.
Read also: Govt instructs cleanups to solve waste problem
