Thetraveljunkie.org – What’s the first thing about Karimunjawa that comes to mind? Likely its beautiful, pristine beaches. But beaches in Karimunjawa increasingly feature not shells, but rather, plastic trash.
Plastic waste has been piling up on Karimunjawa, fueled by a lack of infrastructure—or an official plan—to deal with it. Also contributing to bottle- and bag-strewn beaches are growing tourism, ingrained cultural practices, and a lack of awareness about the lifecycle of plastic from disposal, to sea, to washing up on beaches as trash.
One study predicts that by 2050, in the oceans will be, by weight, more plastic than fish.
In the last 5 years Karimunjawa, has seen a large increase in local and international tourists. Tons to tons of plastic waste end up at sea every year and most plastic trash isn’t managed well in Karimunjawa.
As a sample, in late 2018 Balinese Governor announced a ban on plastic bags, polystyrene, and plastic straws. Bans and awareness campaigns aren’t going to single-handedly solve the problem, but they help citizens and tourists become more aware of their own plastic footprint and could lead to people taking action.
We hope that Central Java and/or Jepara governments offers such a solution. We have to turn off the tap of single-use plastic. We need to have systems.
With this blog post, we want to help our readers understand the importance of why you must to say no to plastic. Plastic are killing our oceans!
Stay tuned for more of our adventures in Karimunjawa.
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Happy Sustainable Travels!
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