Keeping Gili Air Clean
At first glance, Gili Air looks like a postcard-perfect island—turquoise waters, white sandy beaches, and charming village paths. What most visitors don’t realise is that this beauty doesn’t just happen naturally. Every day, before the first coffee is brewed and long before most holidaymakers wake up, a dedicated network of people and organisations is already at work keeping the island clean.
A Small Island, Big Responsibility
As Gili Air has developed over the years, the amount of rubbish generated by its growing number of businesses has inevitably increased. Long ago, the island made an important decision: rubbish would not be stored or disposed of on Gili Air itself. Instead, it would be sent to Lombok, where it is sorted and, ultimately, sent to an incinerator.
This decision has played a major role in protecting Gili Air’s environment, preventing landfills from spoiling the island’s limited space and safeguarding the health of its residents and surrounding marine life.
The Daily Rubbish Collection
The smooth operation of rubbish collection on Gili Air is largely thanks to Gili Cares, a local organisation that coordinates the pick-up and transport of waste every single day—regardless of Indonesian holidays, pouring rain, or strong winds.
The collection isn’t done by large trucks like you might see in Western cities. Instead, the work is handled by electric and gasoline-powered carts. These carts are surprisingly efficient, capable of carrying several loads of rubbish each day. They weave through the island’s narrow sandy paths, stopping at businesses to collect waste and transporting it to the harbour.
From there, between 8:00 and 10:00 in the morning, a boat from Lombok arrives to collect the rubbish and take it to the mainland for sorting and disposal. It’s a well-coordinated routine that happens quietly in the background while most visitors are still enjoying their breakfast.
How It’s Funded
This essential service is funded through the contributions of local businesses, who pay a collection fee for their rubbish to be picked up. It’s a community-driven system that works because both the business owners and residents understand that keeping the island clean benefits everyone—from preserving the natural beauty that draws visitors to protecting the health of the community.
The success of the system also depends heavily on the dedication of the local community. Gili Air has a long tradition of working together to solve challenges, and waste management is no exception.
Turning Glass Waste into Bricks
In addition to daily rubbish collection, Gili Cares has recently added another sustainable initiative to its efforts—a glass bottle crusher. This machine turns glass waste into fine glass sand, which is then used to make construction bricks.
This innovation has two big benefits:
- Fewer discarded bottles end up piling up on the island, especially those that cannot be reused.
- Local production of building materials reduces reliance on importing bricks, making construction more sustainable.
It’s an excellent example of how waste can be transformed into a useful resource, and it’s helping to reduce the environmental footprint of development on Gili Air.
The Heart of the Island
When it comes to rubbish collection and waste management, Gili Cares is truly the heart of Gili Air. Their consistent, behind-the-scenes work allows the island to remain clean, welcoming, and environmentally healthy. Visitors may never see the early morning collections or the boats hauling waste to Lombok, but without these efforts, the island’s charm and beauty would quickly fade.
So, the next time you stroll along Gili Air’s spotless beaches or wander its tidy paths, remember—paradise doesn’t stay perfect on its own. It takes dedication, community effort, and organisations like Gili Cares to keep Gili Air the beautiful island that so many love to visit.