Indonesia is home to 83 of the world’s 1,000 most polluted rivers, making it one of the top 3 most polluted countries in the world. When we heard about the amazing work of Sungai Watch, an environmental non-profit organization, headquartered in Bali, Indonesia, which is seeking to clean up the rivers of Indonesia, we were keen to get involved.
Sungai Watch is on a mission to stop plastic from going into the ocean by cleaning rivers. Since 2020, they have been designing and scaling simple barrier technologies and cleanup operations throughout polluted rivers, and implementing long-term solutions to the lack of waste management infrastructure through the power of community.
At the start of 2025, Sungai Watch with the help of Ozone expanded its cleanup operation to Indonesia’s second largest city, Surabaya, East Java; beginning in Sidoarjo. Surabaya, one of Indonesia’s largest urban centers (with a population of 10 million people), struggles with inadequate waste management systems, leading to significant pollution and deterioration of its vital river ecosystems.
Ozone is sponsoring 7 river barriers that will intercept trash before it reaches the ocean. Alongside removing waste, the project will also focus on creating awareness and implementing sustainable waste management practices within the community.
July 2025
The impact has been immediate – these images show the barriers in action which together have collected nearly 11,000kg of inorganic rubbish in the first 5 months of the year.
January 2026
Nearly a year after our first barriers were put in place, over 24 tonnes of inorganic waste has been collected from rivers, sorted and appropriately recycled. Ozone sponsor barriers to help stop the flow of waste, but also a group of amazing humans who clear and sort through every item that is collected. One of the people working on the Ozone barriers is Nabila. She first volunteered on a river cleanup while at university and joined Sungai after graduation. She told us that, “… even when the work is hot and heavy, it feels easier because we do it together.” Thank you Nabila.
