BALI'S 'GARBAGE EMERGENCY

'KUTA : Bali's palm fringed Kuta beach has long been a favourite with tourists seeking sun and surf, but nowadays its golden shoreline is disappearing under a mountain of garbage.

Plastic straws and food packaging are strewn between sunbathers, while surfers hobbing behind the  waves dodge waste flushed out from rivers or brought in by swirling currents.

''When I want to swim, it is not really nice, a see a lot garbage here every day, every time.'' Australian traveler Vanessa Moonshine said.

''It's always coming from the ocean. It's really horrible.''

Often dubbed a paradise on earth, the Indonesian holiday resort has become an embarrassing poster child for the country's trash problem.   

The problem grew so bad that officials in Bali last month declared a ''garbage emergency'' across a 6 KM stretch of coast that included popular beaches Limbraan, Kuta and Seminyak.

Officials deployed 700 cleaners and 35 trucks to remove roughly 100 tons of debris each day to a nearby landfill.

Bali's rubbish problem is at its worst during the annual monsoon season when strong winds push  marine flotsam onto the beach and swollen rivers wash rubbish from riverbanks to the coast,  according to  Putu Eka Merthawan from the local environment agency.

''This garbage does not come from people living in Kuta and nearby areas.'' he said.

''It would be suicidal if Kuta people were doing it.''

- AFP