A Piece of Heaven Besieged by Plastic

“Indonesia is a piece of heaven brought down to earth (qit’atun min al-jannah),” said Sheikh Mahmud Shaltut (former Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar, Egypt) to Bung Karno. As a great speaker, Bung Karno often quoted this beautiful expression to share the beauty of Indonesia’s nature with the international world—short, solid, and clear.

But, is the piece of natural beauty in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, being taken care of properly? Nature is like humans: a man’s muscular body or a woman’s beauty will fade if not cared for. As humans grow older, that beauty fades little by little.

Trying to pull a long piece of plastic buried in the beach. Photo Source: Rumah Belajar Bersama

What about the nature where we live?

Recently, the writer joined a plastic waste cleanup activity at Marumasa Beach, Darubia Village, Bulukumba Regency, South Sulawesi. This was done with 28 students from Gadjah Mada University (UGM) doing their Student Community Service (KKN) Period II 2026. They went live on TikTok using the account Kareba Umba together with Dego-Dego Na Bira, Indo Ocean, and Rumah Belajar Bersama (RBB). The beauty of Marumasa Beach, with its crystal-clear water, is very similar to Bira Beach—Darubia Village was originally part of Bira Village before it was split into a new village. Its condition is very sad. It looks like there is no care at all there. The entire beach is full of plastic waste, pieces of wood washed up from the sea, bottles, and other things. Marumasa looks beautiful in advertisements, but terrible in real life.

Whose fault is it? The east or west wind cycles are blamed for bringing trash to the beach. The author, who often traveled back and forth from South Sulawesi to Java while studying at Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY), often saw large amounts of trash thrown directly into the sea from ships. That is what washes up and dirties various beaches in Indonesia. Some of it wraps around coral reefs, destroying underwater life, or is eaten by marine animals, which are then eaten by humans. Without realizing it, humans are eating sick animals or animals mixed with plastic.

Humans on land behave the same way. They choose a beautiful beach and, at the same time, turn that beach into a trash can by throwing away plastic as they please. The entire beach is full of plastic wrappers from drinks and food, bottles, sandals, and many more that cannot be counted. Is all of that sent from the sea? Plastic that looks new with food leftovers cannot possibly come from the sea and be left just like that. Surely all of that comes from the behavior of humans on land.

The beach cleanup movement by these environmental-loving youths is a moral call to preserve this nature. Their main job is not cleaning up trash, and it cannot be done every day. They are guests who do not stay permanently, but their presence leaves a mark: not just arguing or throwing criticism on social media—they take real action.

After weighing the plastic waste, which was more than 140 kg, Marumasa Beach looks beautiful again for a moment. According to a volunteer, the plastic waste they have managed to collect has reached more than one ton: the result of many visits to the beach. That number is quite shocking and often escapes our attention. This will continue to increase to numbers we never imagined.

Besides awareness campaigns, providing trash cans around the beach is very important to put in certain places. The village can also revive the spirit of gotong-royong (working together), inviting local people to do community work on certain days that match the habits of the local community.

Going a step further, Nur Anjas, a tourism player whose name is recorded in the Lonely Planet book—a world travel guide book, hopes that Indiz as an environmental activist and also a member of the Darubia Village Consultative Council (Badan Permusyawaratan Desa) can coordinate closely with the Village Head. This is to plan the best steps to start a cleanliness program from the road after Tana Beru to the Lahongka slope, which is filled with scattered trash on the roadside. Anjas’s concern comes from the guests staying at his lodge, Nusa Bira Indah, combined with his own field observations.

If those steps fail, business owners should make rules, or the village and local governments must strictly enforce the law against tourists who litter, at least in tourist areas. If this rule is considered impossible, why can Bali limit single-use plastics and Singapore enforce strict fines? Romi, an Indo Ocean volunteer from Germany who also picked up trash, explained that there is a fine of 200 Euros if you litter. That is equal to four million forty thousand Rupiah with an exchange rate of twenty thousand two hundred Rupiah.

Otherwise, who can guarantee that the various beaches that have been cleaned will not be dirty the following week? Unlike humans who definitely grow old, the beach and the universe with everything in it will remain beautiful for thousands of years if humans have the awareness to protect it.

Every one of us must be able to take care of nature—or at least feel responsible for the homeland of Indonesia—and at the very least, not throw plastic anywhere, especially on beaches and in the sea. If we make this nature our home, and then that home is destroyed, is there another home to live in? Do we want to turn a piece of heaven into a piece of hell?

Zulkarnain Patwa
Bira Beach in Bulukumba on Saturday, July 27, 2026