Lauren
No matter how much you love swimming I’m willing to bet the farm you wouldn’t dare do it here…unless you have a death wish!
This is the Citarum river, in Indonesia, possibly the most polluted river in the world, due to mankind’s greed and insensibility regarding environment. Once one of the most beautiful waters in Asia, now the Citarum is a graveyard of debris, where locals, who can no longer fish, risk their lives scavenging for bottles and anything else they might sell for a small profit.
Comments
103 comments
February 12, 2008
OMG .. it’s fuc*** bad
February 12, 2008
It looks almost think enough to walk on…
February 12, 2008
Why bother with the boat…just get out and walk. :/
February 12, 2008
The guy in the fourth picture has a cool hat!
February 12, 2008
Progress is seeing the Third World fucking up their environment so the West can enjoy cheap tacky merchandise.
February 12, 2008
Where are these photos from?
Also, it’s spelled Indonesia.
February 12, 2008
this is another idea for venture capital. throw all trash in a general body of water. let people go out and pick it up to be recycled. or just rape their lands
February 12, 2008
photoshopped
February 12, 2008
I bet you could find some real treasures in there!
February 12, 2008
Wow…..kirb do you really think it is photoshopped? then you need a reality check..
February 12, 2008
I love the statement “due to mankind’s greed and insensibility”. How about the ignorance of an impoverished and obviously uneducated and lazy society? It looks to me like people who are too lazy to take their trash to any kind of dump or landfill, if one even exists (which goes back to my first statement), just toss it in the water. Disgusting!!
February 12, 2008
How is this related to progress? This is mismanagement from a likely corrupted government that is not able or willing to develop a recycling system that people will use. Couple that with poor education and you have a recipe for environmental destruction. Regions like this would be better off for a better off nation moving in and taking over to manage their resources more wisely.
February 12, 2008
kirb … you stupid as hell… photoshopped LOL
February 12, 2008
@ kirb: your brain is photoshopped!
February 12, 2008
Thats just pathetic… There is no reason that should be that way. None at all. Maybe if they took the fuc***ng backhoe out of the river, they could use it to dig a big a*s hole and bury the sh**.
February 12, 2008
WTF dude….that’s my hat! I’ve never been to Indonesia!
February 12, 2008
I’ve said for years that the Human Race is a deadly virus that one day will destroy the Earth.
February 12, 2008
Ok,.. People have no logic in them anymore! Whatever- I’m done with this post.
February 12, 2008
[quote]mankind’s greed and insensibility regarding environment[/quote]
Why is it mankind’s fault and not the fault of the Indonesians that did it? I certainly didn’t do it, so why blame everyone else?
February 12, 2008
it reminds me of the garbage compactor in star wars.
February 12, 2008
[quote]mankind’s greed and insensibility regarding environment[/quote]
Why assign the blame to all of “mankind”. I certainly didn’t contribute to that disaster. I’m pretty sure no one from the Korea or say The Virgin Islands were directly responsible either.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to lay the blame on the responsible parties themselves? For example change the statement to read:
This is the Citarum river, in Indonezia, possibly the most polluted river in the world, due to the Indonesian’s greed and insensibility regarding environment.
February 12, 2008
I think I see my keys!!
February 12, 2008
Why is it that the world’s most socialist regimes are always brought up as examples of the evils of capitalism?
February 12, 2008
[...] most polluted river in the world, due to mankind’s greed and insensibility regarding environment. read more | digg [...]
February 12, 2008
Dear Aliens,
Please come take over our planet because we do not know how to take care of it. If you want to destroy us, well, we probably deserved it.
Thanks.
-DNA
February 12, 2008
This is what San Gabriel Canyon (a local canyon in the Los Angeles area) looks like after a Mexican holiday.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ANF_East_Fork01.jpg
February 12, 2008
it aint a photoshop,
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/worldnews.html?in_article_id=513820&in_page_id=1811
February 12, 2008
It’s because they’re poor that they have to throw garbage out here. In industrialized nations, there are waste management services. When you’re starving and have no employment, keeping your environment clean is not a high priority. To not allow Western companies into these countries is to condemn them to more “Seas of Garbage.”
February 12, 2008
Maybe it’s like that because as a region they make a choice to live like pigs. There are people all over the world who live in their own filth next to people with clean homes. When you have a whole region of filthy people this is what happens.
February 12, 2008
[...] bookmarks tagged pics Sea of Garbage view! saved by 5 others NeilCicierega bookmarked on 02/12/08 | [...]
February 12, 2008
it looks like the trash compactor room on the death star.
February 12, 2008
munky, what do people dumping their garbage in the river have to do with the West? Believe it or not, other countries have the ability to screw themselves over without our help.
February 12, 2008
What good is talking about this? We need to do something about it.
February 12, 2008
I don’t see how it’s the West’s fault that they throw their trash in the river?
February 12, 2008
Need to teach them how to make nets.
February 12, 2008
Note that there are lots of branches with leaves on them in the river, obviously freshly stripped from trees. This scene is most likely the aftermath of a storm/flood that washed all this junk in the river. I doubt it looks like this on a continuous basis.
Also note that the debris is mostly domestic garbage, not industrial wastes. The cause of this is not industrial, but rather the result of the local government failing to dispose of garbage securely enough that the rains preceding this event couldn’t wash it into the river.
February 12, 2008
I bet you an find so much sh1t there..
February 12, 2008
If you don’t think you contribute to this, you’re wrong. The United States and other industrialized, first-world countries actually CONTRACT with 3rd world contries such as IndoneSia, (not Indonezia), the Philippines and elsewhere to take our garbage.
Globalization is the root of our problem, and yes, we DID contribute to this mess, if only indirectly.
February 12, 2008
I bet most of the packaging and solid waste was produced, assembled, or manufactured right in the area or in a country close by.
February 12, 2008
What a way to make a living. Mom, I found lunch!
February 12, 2008
Anon, that is BS. Go see the people in Guyana who have resisted having their environment destroyed. These lazy bastards in Indonesia just have no pride and dont give a shit about their environment. It has nothing to with western companies, money or waste management services.
February 12, 2008
well … this may be how some people reclaim land …
in here in maldives … an artificial island was build a few years ago …
the first thing they did was to dump a lot of garbage there …
then they pumped a layer of sand on top …
and sprinkled some fertilizers to top it off …
new island is ready …
February 12, 2008
@ Bob:
I have to agree, there seems to be a large amount of “trash” in that picture.
February 12, 2008
a neighboring country should help out and bring a big boat then drag a wide net behind it. then pull in the net with a powerful motor and send it to a dump site.
February 12, 2008
Very sad pictures.
I mean life in this garbage mess is awefull.
There have to be a way to make it go away.
February 12, 2008
“If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment…”
Yea, I really enjoyed this post. It was wonderful. Much better than cats.
February 12, 2008
I THINK I PARK THERE SOME WERE!!!
February 12, 2008
This is a typical example of Government Failure. If the local populus/fishermen had a sense of ownership over this river, they would’ve treasured it. Instead, since noone cares, everyone uses it and abuses it. Some of the worse environmental disasters are from central goverment controlled socialist states, such as the soviet union, iraq, and others.
February 12, 2008
Drain most rivers in the world and you’ll see the
same thing.
February 12, 2008
That is fucking awful. Why is nothing being done to clean up the garbage? Perhaps the river could be cleaned up and authorities could drag the bottom and get all the shit outta there. Maybe over a period of time, it could return to it’s original state and life can flourish.
What a fucking pathetic example of man-kind. So embarrassing.
February 12, 2008
This article is quite apropos: http://bitsandpieces1.blogspot.com/2007/06/too-many-fish-in-sea.html
The river is covered downstream with dead fish. (And a disgusting sludge…)
February 12, 2008
[...] I don’t consider myself a ‘hardcore environmentalist,’ but I’m not sure there’s anyone on the planet who wouldn’t agree that this is absurd. [...]
February 12, 2008
[...] sea of garbage, citarum indonesia [...]
February 12, 2008
For those too ignorant to understand the situation I would like to help you take your first step away from delusion. These products in the water are not simply a direct result of any Indonesian usage and irresponsible discarding, but rather trash-mainly plastic-from all over the world that is carried about the ocean surface by the various currents. A simple google search can yield many results on the topic. Check out the trash accumulated by the North American Gyre that lay in the middle of the Pacific, far from any nation we could more easily blame it on. You must use your brains. The vast majority of the Indonesian population are far too poor to purchase the products contained in this waste in the first place. For those who blame it on the ignorance of a population I would agree, just not the Indonesian population. As far as the claim that this is a result of a corrupt government, I would like you to pick up a book or two and learn about the relationship between the Indonesian government and the US. Maybe another book on the history of Indonesia and their current degenerative situation brought on by the globalist policies of world powers. The fact is that no country on this planet can produce any successful policy or lack of, without the full support of the US and other world powers. For those who are angry that their ignorant rants were disposed of (I’m sure a few arrogant individuals are still holding fast to delusion), try turning that anger into embarrassment, then into a yearning to learn the truth so as to not make stupid ass comments in a public forum again.
Know before you speak.
February 12, 2008
Don’t blame the first world. And if you do, notice all the packaging in that clutter. If we sold products without boxes and bags, maybe they could find “treasures” in that soup easier. I’m just saying . . . and the guy in the fourth picture DOES has a cool hat.
February 12, 2008
Mmmmm smelly garbage.
Imagine how much money you could make by recycling this? I wonder if the fish evolve to eat it? Maybe they are forcing rapid evolution!!! Cool
February 12, 2008
This is quite sad…
However, I can guarantee that this is not the most polluted river in the world.
There are things that are worse than that. I have seen them.
Two years ago there was some issue with trash in Bandung, Indonesia. And trash were piled everywhere on the street side in the whole city.
Many places in many developing countries have similar issues too..
February 12, 2008
Well, In Chennai, India (The third largest city in India) has a river where the city drainage is dumped into directly and which drains into the beach. The river runs right in middle of the city. Reference : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooum_River . I always thought how beautiful Chennai would be if it were kept clean ( maybe like Venice or something) . PS: I am from Chennai.
February 12, 2008
where the hell does all that garbage come from?
February 12, 2008
Hey! There’s some good stuff there!
February 12, 2008
thats horrible and indonesia is spelled with an S unless I’m thinking of a different country that looks/sounds similar (at least phonetically)
February 12, 2008
When I first saw these pictures, I was so sad.
I’m think that we are all one.
I’d like to challenge anyone on this post to say that they didn’t contribute to this. Do YOU know where your garbage goes? Do you really? Do you know, without a doubt, that that garbage is not having an effect on the earth or any of its inhabitants? What about your wifi, cell phone, portable phone and other radio waves passing through all the people and you every day? How about your car? What about your plastic you didn’t get to recycle? That styrofoam cup you grab every day for coffee?
how can we speak of “lazy people” when we idly sit here in our cozy livingrooms in a country that can afford to hide its trash? Do you really know where YOUR trash goes and its effects?
There are some people out there who recycle “everything,” compost all of their organic waste, and throw out into landfills a fraction of the average westerner. There are so many ways to avoid this. Do you? I think before we lay blame elsewhere, we can take a good look at ourselves and see how we contribute to these matters, if not these in particular, perhaps the area the size of Texas in the ocean which is a dead zone due to plastic just sitting there out of currents. So, incredibly, sad.
But it’s so much fun to point the finger at someone else, isn’t it!?
February 12, 2008
It’s similar (though not nearly as bad) in the poor neighborhoods of the Dominican Republic and many other poor slums in developing countries; the garbage just falls down the hillsides near the tin box shanties, and washes up on the beaches around Santo Domingo. I noticed a large amount of clear plastic water bottles in the beach trash, a result of life, not greed - as the water isn’t good to drink. The comments about how people need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps are completely ignorant to the realities these people face because they do not have public services and utilities to manage these problems.
Exactly how much work would you do to get rid of your garbage, if you were not given access to waste services? Would you walk 7 miles each week, carrying your trash?
Most of the commenters need only shuttle the garbage across the threshold and I’m willing to bet some of them have complained about doing that chore before. They should feel lucky that the 2+ bags of trash they put out each week aren’t building up in their own backyards, because it’s definitely going somewhere. Out of sight, out of mind.
February 12, 2008
I hate people who say humans are a virus and such… If you hate life so much just go put a bullet in your head, your wasting everyones time with your need for attention.
I don’t give a shit that it was cold. It’s true, get over it, people are very different in this world, and circumstances makes for the bulk of your person. Go out there and make a difference instead of sitting home drinking wine and talking about your last trip to france.
Your the ones who point that shit out. And in my opinion shows your ignorance about the balance that each person has between the animal within and the conscious descision makers we are to be. Without that beast we are nothing but cold robotic beings that only think of effeciency, but that the beast with all of its passion can rapidly turn against all that we believe right.
Last point is you cannot expect that sending money or showing a select few how such machine works or anything of the like will resolve anything. People need to stand up for what they believe in and fight day in day out for these things. If a people as a whole do not stand together, than no matter how much money or how many engineers you will send, it will enevitably end in failure.
If they want these things to change, they will need to stop wanting to please the US by selling themselves and such. It’s not our fault some people can be bought, business is business period… No i’m not defending companies but i’m just against ignorance and greediness.
p.s.
Odd thing people tend to forget, the idea of nation as country and people with common goals are not part of most cultures.
February 12, 2008
I’m french btw, and just noticed some grammatical errors…
February 12, 2008
I have to agree that the Western culture is responsible for this because we want everything as cheap as possible. We were the countries who went from glass bottles to plastic and we propagated that all over the world. Everyone sees the life we have on TV and how easy we have it. Our entire culture is based upon disposable items such as swiffers, electronics, cars and anything else that can be put into our minds as a WANT (not need).
These Indonesians would have been better off not hearing of Coke, Pepsi or Hershey. The US doesn’t look too much different than that in some places I’ve been so don’t be too condescending when you look at those pics because I don’t think you’ve seen some of the stuff we have done to our backyards. Based on some of the comments I’ve read here, these words are falling on deaf ears though - xenophobic attitudes seem to prevail in the US these days.
February 12, 2008
haha, that’s really bad.. it’s actually in the citarum river, not citarium.. also, it’s spelled indonesia anyway… haha..
February 12, 2008
Should bring up some interesting life forms in the future.
February 13, 2008
I am a die hard capitalist enviro pig
and this disgusts even me
how did this all get there?
February 13, 2008
Wait, am I supposed to feel sad? All I see is a river where a bunch of lazy people dumped their garbage in.
February 13, 2008
…and that’s just the trash that floats! I bet the intrepid divers over there make a killing!
February 13, 2008
For the people who are saying this is their fault and can’t understand how a 3rd world country could do this to their own land, etc, don’t be so quick to judge…
My favorite comment was something to the effect that they’re lazy and need to do something like landiflls or something—that is all another industrialized nation’s trash! Are you kidding me?! Does anyone think an impoverished country could possibly produce that much trash!? Where would they get the money to be good little consumers like you and me? They’re scavaging for F**k’s sake!
Wake up people, this is likely YOUR trash and if anyone needs to stop being lazy it’s us… otherwise we just keep adding to the problem…
“Modern” societies sell trash to 3rd world countries ALL THE TIME. Stop blaming these poor saps and take a hard look in the mirror—are you doing all you can to reduce your carbon imprint? Next time you just toss out an empty water bottle stop for a tic and ask yourself if you can refill it, use it someother way, and if not you damn sure better put it in an appropriate recycling bin…
RECYCLE
REDUCE
REUSE
And to the idiot who said this is photoshoped… do you huff paint? Do the world a favor and remove yourself from the gene pool.
February 13, 2008
I find it hilarious the way half of these comments shrug off the responsibility like it’s not their fault because they live on the other side of the planet.
The truth is, everyone who has commented on this blog has contributed to the illegal dumping of E-Waste into Africa and other third world countries.
February 13, 2008
I find it enormously humorous and a bit sad to see all the comments about how it is entirely the Western world’s fault that there is trash floating in this body of water in Indonesia. I also think it’s hilarious to see the number of arrogant, self-righteous people telling others to “use their brains” and to “educate yourself” by reading lots of books about the history of Indonesia and how it was blindly pawned into the evil capitalistic scheme of multi-national corporations and the Western world.
Give the Indonesians some credit for their own problems and messes… they’re not quite as daft, stupid, and clueless as you indirectly suggest that they are. Folks like you have one response to any environmental disaster here on this earth… “it’s the Western world’s fault” and “how dare we sit in our cozy McMansions and drive our gas-powered SUV’s and not feel guilty and awful about ourselves.” If you want to do something about the garbage in 3rd world countries, do us all a favor and go ahead, move there, and do something about it. That way, maybe something will get done about these messes and we won’t have to hear your ridiculous incessant screeching and whining about how we need to live like monks or grow our own vegetables or recycle our poop and food in steaming compost piles.
February 13, 2008
It’s everybody’s responsibility… just as it’s everybody’s responsibility when the Chinese need to open a new multi-megawatt coal-fired power plant every month.
The fact is that we all enjoy our Nike shoes, consumer electronics, low cost clothing, random promotional tat, and everything else which comes out of the cheap labour in Indonesia and the Far-East. It’s sad, but the consumer society of the west, and with it our economic strength, would not be sustainable unless people in other parts of the world were willing to turn a blind eye to this rape of the environment.
That doesn’t make these people “ignorant” of what they’re doing… but they have no other resources to live on, and by providing an economic driving force for them to ignore their better judgement, the responsibility lies with us.
February 13, 2008
This sickens me and saddens me.
February 13, 2008
@john
You arrogant asshole. Fuck you. Who do you think you are to talk to everyone like that?
@cHuk
And fuck you too. I did NOT contribute to the “dumping of E-Waste into Africa”. By that logic I’ve also contributed to the killings in Darfur, North Korea, and Iraq and the raping of women in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, Seoul, Mexico City, etc.
You’re a fool.
February 13, 2008
So, whose work shooting and/or collecting these photos are you stealing to generate AdSense money this time?
February 13, 2008
Such passion in some of the comments. It does make me have hope, for the world.
February 13, 2008
I live in Indonezia [sic], and can testify to the accuracy of the photos above. It is unfortunately common throughout the vast archipelago, once a beautiful place but no longer. Someone above commented that the plastic in the river is the least concern, and it is. Rivers, and I use the word in the ‘loosest’ possible sense, are open sewers, contaminated with shit and dumped chemicals. The poor fuckers above are recyclers, who save this sorry nation from being totally submerged in crap. The vast majority of the waste is generated from local manufacturing and consumption. What the picture doesn’t show is that only a small amount of plastic makes it into the river system – the bulk is simply burnt, adding to the perpetual haze already generated from burning rainforests.
Who is to blame? Indonesia and its corrupt government of course. However, the West, particularly the original colonialists the Dutch, and most recently the USA started it all. In 1965 the CIA overthrew the government and installed a pro-business regime led by Suharto (Soeharto). This dictator and mass murderer ruled the country with an iron fist for 32 years and his lasting legacy has been one of corruption, weak government institutions, little infrastructure and poverty. Multinationals and the ruling Indonesian elite, meanwhile, have bled the country dry. Sad but true.
February 13, 2008
[...] I’d think twice before going for a swim [...]
February 13, 2008
Wow. A whole lot of ignorance in these comments. Some posters have already addressed some misconceptions, but here’s a complete, one-stop-shopping rebuttal to the idiocy that has been spewed onto this thread:
1) These pictures aren’t photoshopped.
2) This isn’t the result of lazy people dumping their garbage. 20 years ago, the Citarum River provided a living for hundreds of fishermen. What happened between then and now is that more than 500 factories were built along the banks of the river.
3) The people there don’t choose to live in filth. Most of those factories were built back when environmental activists i