Known as one of the main tourist destinations in Indonesia, Bali has more than four million citizens. As the number of residents and visiting tourists grow Bali, the amount of rubbish is also increasing.
Since 2007, Coca-Cola Amatil Indonesia (CCAI) and Quiksilver Indonesia (QS) have worked together on a programme called Bali Beach Clean Up (BBCU), spurred by the concerning amount of rubbish on the beautiful island. The programme aims to raise awareness and minimize the impact of rubbish on the tropical beaches of Bali. In addition, BBCU also supports the tourism industry, the surf lifesaving industry, and the Kuta Beach Sea Turtle Conservation.
CCAI and QS have both been passionately involved in the programmes for two reasons; caring for the environment and also, apart from being an iconic gateway for both international and domestic tourism, Bali’s beaches are the key areas which they are commercially operate in.
CCAI and QS currently run their BBCU, daily clean up of 9,7 km of shoreline in Bali’s five iconic beaches: Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Jimbaran, and Kedonganan. In total, the programme has 78 cleaning crews, 150 new bins per year, 4 beach tractors, 2 barbersurf rake, and 3 garbage trucks. As of this year, BBCU has collected more than 29 million kilograms worth of rubbish from Bali’s five major beaches.
Bali’s Big Eco Weekend (BBEW) is an annual campaign of the regular BBCU, aim to bring more attention to Bali’s environmental state and drive more support for Bali’s government’s programme in creating a ‘Clean and Green Bali’. While the regular beach cleaning has been contributing some impacts, BBEW is an outlet to raise more awareness from everyone in Bali, including both the growing citizens and tourists.
During the BBEW there will be exhibition about the progress of BBCU and many other eco-friendly activities to inspire others to have fun while still keeping the beaches clean such as Coke Kicks, lifeguard race, CSR exhibition, pledge wall, Kecak dance performance, sea turtle release, and the renowned beach clean-up.
The story behind the sea turtle release, one of the most awaited activities in BBEW, started in 2010 when CCAI strengthens their commitment to support safe environment by building Kuta Beach Sea Turtles Conservation (KBSTC) together with Quiksilver. Since then, the number of eggs collected has significantly increased from 6,397 eggs in 6 years (2002-2009), to 122,230 eggs in the next 6 years (2009-2015)
These initiatives not only show CCAI and QS’ commitment to preserving Indonesia’s beaches, but also their commitment to grow together with communities surrounding the areas where they operate. Millions of local residents and tourists have participated and enjoyed the programmes, particularly BBEW that will take place again this year on July 30, 2016. See you there!
