Capturing the Impact: 4ocean’s Environmental Mission in Bali

I blocked out a week this year in my wedding photography calendar to go on a special trip to Indonesia.

First, I was in Bali, working for an eco-friendly hotel company (Guldsmeden) to showcase their jaw-dropping luxury resort, Chapung Sebali.

I extended the trip to volunteer to document some of the great work an environmental nonprofit is doing to clean up Bali’s beaches.

You may have heard of 4ocean, or seen their famous bracelets for sale. The sale of each bracelet (made of recycled plastic picked up off the beaches) will fund the work to pull 5 more pounds of trash from the ocean.

Arriving to meet the first crew on a southwestern coast, I was surprised and saddened by the scope of the plastic pollution.

I witnessed the incredible efforts of 4ocean to combat plastic pollution. We followed two different crews for the day, working under the scorching sun and through rain showers to clean beaches.

From beaches to rivers, their dedicated crews work tirelessly to remove tons of trash daily. They use special river boats and berms in the rivers, to catch trash before it makes it down to the ocean.

As a photographer, it was powerful to document the contrast between Bali’s natural beauty and the pollution threat. Through my lens, I aimed to showcase the importance of 4ocean’s work and the need for global environmental responsibility.

I also enjoyed seeing the everyday activities going on along the shores and meeting people both working on 4oceans project and living in the villages.

I also got to witness the innovations 4ocean has made, since the company’s founding in 2017. Both their river and beach cleanup teams have become more efficient, and their sorting facility is impressive.

The crew sorts all of the junk collected into different piles. The plastics are cleaned, shredded, and bundled to be shipped overseas for processing. The bundles in the warehouse during our visit were from one single month! Even my wide-angle lens wasn’t wide enough to capture it all at once!

We also got to meet some of the 200 artisans 4ocean hired to weave the recycled plastic from giant spools into the bracelets that are sold to fund the ongoing mission.

It’s daunting to think about the task ahead of 4ocean. Even if new conservation and environmental measures are put into place on the island, Bali’s beaches and rivers face a severe plastic pollution crisis, based on the water currents. Especially during the monsoon seasn (fall through spring) the ocean currents gather debris from across southeast Asia and deposit it on Bali’s western shores.

Despite the challenges, it was truly inspiring to see the work underway to preserve this island paradise!