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| Thirty Students of Al Huda-Islam Elementary School carried sacks filled with plastic waste on Lebak Beach, Bawean Island, Gresik Regency Monday (December, 15, 2025) |
“This activity aims to instill environmental awareness from an early age through concrete actions. We want students not only to learn in the classroom, but also to directly understand the impacts of waste on coastal areas, while encouraging shared responsibility among schools, communities, and village governments in protecting coastal environments,” said Rissky Wahyu Saputra, Principal of SDIT Al Huda Bawean. During the activity, a total of 945 kilograms of waste was collected, consisting of 70 sacks of organic waste and 80 sacks of inorganic waste. Field findings showed that the waste was dominated by single-use plastics, particularly food sachet packaging. Some packaging was estimated to date back to 1989, and residues of medicines were also found, posing potential risks to both human health and the environment.
Gallery “Photos of the beach clean-up activities in Lebak, carried out by SDIT Al Huda Bawean on Monday (15/12), show efforts to protect the coast from the threat of plastic waste. The activity successfully collected 1 ton of waste, most of which consisted of single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws, plastic cups, and sachets.”
Rissky Wahyu Saputra emphasized that the results of this activity provided an important learning experience for all parties involved. “After our assessment, around 60-70 percent of the waste came from local community activities, while the rest was carried in from elsewhere. Most concerning, we found food sachet packaging that is estimated to have been present since 1989, as well as leftover medicines. This shows that plastic waste can persist for a very long time in coastal environments,” he explained. He also highlighted the importance of protecting children’s health in coastal areas.
“This beach is a place where children play and swim. Without proper management and monitoring, we are concerned that harmful substances could repeatedly come into contact with their skin or even be ingested. Going forward, we hope that every village with a coastline can establish a routine beach cleanliness monitoring system,” he added.
Lebak Village Head, Fadal, acknowledged that coastal waste issues cannot be addressed by the village alone. “We recognize that waste management in coastal areas cannot be handled independently. We still need support and assistance, particularly in the provision and improvement of waste management facilities and services, so that village-level waste management can be more effective and sustainable,” he said.
Meanwhile, Alaika Rahmatullah, Advocacy and Policy Division Manager at Ecoton, stated, “The discovery of sachet waste along the Bawean coastline reflects a systemic failure in single-use plastic management. Under the principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), producers must take full responsibility for the entire life cycle of the packaging they distribute, including take-back and collection. Without active corporate involvement, the burden of plastic waste will continue to fall on communities and village governments.”
Through the Children’s Environmental Action: Beach Clean-Up Activity, all parties hope that this initiative will foster environmental awareness from an early age, strengthen the role of children as agents of change, and encourage active participation from communities and village governments in safeguarding the cleanliness and health of Bawean Island’s coastal ecosystems.
Contact Information:
Alaika Rahmatullah (083114966417)
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