2.6 Million Tons of Trash Pulled From Indonesian Rivers by Three Inspiring Siblings

Photo from Sungai Watch

The growing plastic pollution in Indonesia’s rivers has inspired Sam Benchegijb to co-found the company, Sungai Watch, with his two siblings, Kelly and Gary Benchegijb. Despite its beautiful islands and many natural wonders, Indonesia has been suffering from poor air quality and pollution issues, as its capital, Jakarta, remains the most polluted city in the world.

However, the Benchegijbs have found a solution to help tackle this issue: creating barriers in polluted rivers to prevent rubbish and plastic from entering the oceans. Through Sungai Watch’s determination and grit to keep Indonesia’s rivers clean by creating barriers, they have managed to pull 2.6 million tons of rubbish - preventing it from reaching the oceans.

Photo from Sam Benchegjib

This is an extremely positive event for Indonesia - in 2019, Indonesia was ranked second in contributing towards plastic waste globally. This allows for more awareness among citizens and the government in Indonesia to help combat this issue so that small communities can learn how to control their waste and prohibit clueless biodiversity from consuming it. 

Sungai Watch was founded in October of 2020, making it a relatively new company. From three siblings, they have managed to build a team of over 75 “River Warriors”, who all assist the Benchegijbs in numerous different areas, such as manually collecting plastic in the rivers and sorting through the plastic after it has been collected.

Through challenges such as teaching their staff how to properly install the barriers and educating Indonesian villages on how to manage their plastic waste, Sungai Watch claims to be continuously improving and learning for even more plastic to be removed - and free all of Indonesia’s rivers from all pollution. 

Photo from Sungai Watch

Bibliography

Chen, H. (2023, August 16). Jakarta is the world's most polluted city. And Indonesia's leader may have the cough to prove it. CNN. Retrieved September 19, 2023, from https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/16/asia/indonesia-pollution-jokowi-cough-intl-hnk/index.html

Corbley, A., Abulu, L., & Sutherland, L. (2023, September 11). Inspired Youth Pulls 2.6 Million Pounds of Trash from Indonesian Rivers. Good News Network. Retrieved September 19, 2023, from https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/inspired-indonesian-youth-pulls-2-6-million-pounds-of-trash-from-nations-rivers-in-just-3-years/

Gary, K., & Bencheghib, S. (n.d.). About us – Sungai Watch. Sungai Watch. Retrieved September 19, 2023, from https://sungai.watch/pages/about-us

Lotulung, G. (2023, August 21). Indonesia is drowning in plastic. But with action comes hope. FairPlanet. Retrieved September 19, 2023, from https://www.fairplanet.org/story/indonesia-plastic-crisis-river-jakarta/