Once renowned for its pristine beaches, Untung Jawa Island, just an hour’s boat ride from Jakarta, is now known as “trash island.” With hundreds of tons of stryofoam, plastic and the occasional dead body washing ashore, the locals have had enough. Untung Jawa is part of the Thousand Islands, a string of 105 tropical islands in the bay of the Jakarta. Once a popular tourist destination, thirteen heavily polluted rivers that flow from Jakarta harbor out to the islands mean they are now being hit by daily waves of trash.
Indonesia's Trash Island
Indonesia's Trash Island
Indonesia's Trash Island
Once renowned for its pristine beaches, Untung Jawa Island, just an hour’s boat ride from Jakarta, is now known as “trash island.” With hundreds of tons of stryofoam, plastic and the occasional dead body washing ashore, the locals have had enough. Untung Jawa is part of the Thousand Islands, a string of 105 tropical islands in the bay of the Jakarta. Once a popular tourist destination, thirteen heavily polluted rivers that flow from Jakarta harbor out to the islands mean they are now being hit by daily waves of trash.