Bali's 'trash heroes' are cleaning up paradise, one beach at a time

Participants in a rubbish-collecting campaign organised by Trash Hero picking up litter on a beach in Indonesia. Photos: Trash Hero Indonesia/dpa

The photos prompted an outpouring of horror around the world: Tonnes of plastic waste piled high on the beaches of Indonesia's otherwise paradise island of Bali. And that's despite the fact that tourists have all but disappeared due to the pandemic.

This tide of litter arrives on Bali's beaches every year, the result of monsoon-influenced ocean currents, growing pollution of the oceans, mass consumption and a broken global waste disposal system.