Since first surfed in the 1970s, Uluwatu becomes more and more popular, receiving tons and tons of tourist each year. It  is awesome for the community economy, but tourism also means the generation of waste. Uluwatu didn't have the necessary infrastructure to manage it so all the garbage ended up in the Uluwatu cave. The beach and sea life was being destroyed. Project Clean Uluwatu, GUS, and a few local residents decided to join forces and do something about it. They removed 30 tons of rubbish from the ravine.

Next, they found a long term solution for the sewage: it not only wouldn't end up into the sea, but also would create plant life. How is that!? Thanks to the Waste Water Gardens. Here you are, another great example of how we can transform the waste into something actually useful.

BUT, WHAT ARE WASTE WATER GARDENS?

Basically they are gardens designed to repurpose the treated water from the septic tanks. They transform and use the waste into their own benefit and grow thanks to all the nutrients in the treated water. They get the chemical fertilizers' main components in a natural way.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Every single bathroom and kitchen sink  of Uluwatu is connected to Project Clean Uluwatu’s STP tank.*  

*-From November 2013 to January 2014 the plumbing was completed and connected and the system began operation. 

The STP tank is collocated in the east side of Uluwatu cliff. It liberates the waste  from the most harmful compounds. After that the half purified sewage can be used to water the gardens.

 

The first water gardens were built in April 2014, and the new gardens were are  still under construction.  This work is an anticipation to be ready for the prediction of all the new hotels that will be built in the next years in Uluwatu. Because the Uluwatu geography -it is mainly a village in a cliff- , the gardens couldn't grow up in a big piece of land so they were distributed in boxes in different levels.  The tank is at  the bottom so the water has to be pumped.  Once at the top, the water will be carried down through each bed, by gravity.  After pass through the 21 different boxes of gardens, the water that reach the bottom will be ready and clean enough to end up into the sea don't being harmful for it.

While the sewage is flowing through the gardens, the plants take advantage of all the natural nutrients that the black water offers working as a perfect natural fertilizer. The water is never in contact with the air to prevent bad smells, mosquito breeding and human contact.

WHY WASTE WATER GARDENS IS THE BEST SOLUTION?

Because it creates life from waste: and the vegetation, a part of do Uluwatu more beautiful, will produce the oxygen that we breathe, destroy the carbon dioxide and host more live.

Because the results are more than satisfactory improving drastically the water quality:

    90-95% BOD reduction (Biological Oxygen Demand).  If the water has been altered by human     influence  it might carries excess of residue. These need oxygen for the decomposition      process that is robed from other aquatic organisms who need it to live: this means less waste            means more oxygen for living beings.

  90-95 % TSS reduction (Total Suspended Solid reduction). It means reduction of non-filterable   residue, the dry-weight of particles trapped by a filter.

  45-80% Nitrogen reduction. Even if it's a vital component of life, too much nitrogen can be           harmful. It can consume the oxygen that the aquatic life need to flourish.

   30-60% Phosphorus reduction. A modest increase in phosphorus will begin a whole chain of       undesirable misfortunes as accelerated plant growth, algae bloom or  the death of aquatic   animals. 




                Over 98% Coliform bacteria reduction. It is a bacteria founded in the waste that comes from the               digestive tracts of animals and humans. Its presence in the water means fecal contamination        and can cause diseases.

(Data taken from wastewatergardens.com)

 

It is a long term ecological solution. The creation of this new green zones and its infrastructure are expected to live more than 20 years. All this time without creating pollution nor using harmful additives for the process.

Even the installation of the wetlands may be more expensive than a conventional waste water manage system, the maintenance costs are 95% lower. The design may be more primitive but, ironically, it works better and it carry less technical problems than the standards waste water systems. There is not yearly expenses in harmful chemical additives. As it has been already explained, the nutrients from the black water work as a great sustainable, natural and free fertilizer. Also a minimal machinery is needed and the only electricity used is for one of the gardens to pump up the sewage along the cliff. 

And you just have to see the difference between the Uluwatu cave 5 years ago and nowadays.  And it looks really cool.

Hey! I'm Paula, the new intern from Spain. I'll be working on the blog and letting you know what's going on here with Project Clean Uluwatu.  So to get started, I'm going to explain to you what it is being a volunteer with PCU - pretty awesome!

  1. The project.
When I started to travel I discovered a reality that no ones told me about: Damn… the Planet is getting really dirty. I didn't see it living in my clean European city or neither watching the endless travel Instagram accounts that I follow. Sure, who wants to show garbage on their profiles? But I found myself using a mask every day in South Korea and swimming around a bunch of cans on a deserted island in the Philippines.

 If I wanted to keep traveling and enjoying the Earth it was definitely time to do something about it.


And Project Clean Uluwatu seemed to be the perfect place to do it: a group of motivated and involved people who strive to create a clean beach. The team works with locals and tourists in order to spread the philosophy and ethic outside of Uluwatu.

2. Working  barefoot

This point should definitely convince you. But if not, keep reading.

 3. In front of the ocean
It takes wxactly 46 seconds to walk from the office to the water.
PCU is located right at the Uluwatu cliff, focusing their work solely on this beach.

 4. Enjoying the best surf in the world
Uluwatu beach is one of the best surfing spots in the world. "When there are waves you surf, when there are not you come here and do something useful for the environment giving something back to the ocean", explains Nick, a surfer and volunteer in PCU --I have actually never seen him working in clothes but always wearing a wetsuit.

 But also there are many other things to do here in Bali. For example: learn how to surf. Kidding!!! (not). But seriously, there are so many places to visit, hidden beaches, temples, parties, food to try… you won't get bored for sure!

 5. You will meet new people every day.
And once you finish your internship here you will have good friends and homes to stay all over the world.

 6. Discovering a new culture from inside
The other day a local woman came asking for the American intern, " She is sick today", her friend answered. "Oh! tell her to drink warm Coke with this and this and this", the woman replied worriedly.

PCU is a great way to learn and experience Bali. It is easy to become  part of the community and understand the culture better.

 7. With such a chill atmosphere.
When I arrived for the first time to PCU I found a guy with wet and salty hair wearing a wetsuit and all his face covered by 80+ sun cream smiling: "Hey whats up?". He was Timm, the intern coordinator. "I don't really work with set schedules, here is you keys, I leave it up to you to come here and work", he explained to me. “You just have to come down here, discover for yourself how you can best apply your time and skills”.

 8. Monkeys visit the office every day.
And monkeys are always fun

 9.Learn about WWG
For me it's so interesting to learn and work with the waste water management system that Project Clean Uluwatu has created. They built Waste Water Gardens -WWG- so all the dirty water from the toilets and kitchens is kept out of the ocean, purified, and used to water the beautiful gardens that are growing all around the cliff.

 It makes me think how many creative solutions we can find to manage our waste and even use it for our own benefit.

 10. And  all of this getting credits for the University!

The Gerry Lopez Yoga and Talk Story at the Uluwatu Surf Villas raised over 124 million rupiah for Project Clean Uluwatu.

A key figure of the history of Uluwatu, Gerry Lopez reflected upon the past and had these insightful words on the current waves of change approaching Bali:

“In 1974, the first time I came to Bali, I found very few surfers at Uluwatu and waves of a quality and consistency that I had never experienced before. The surf combined with the languid lifestyle of Kuta Beach plus the genuine and enviable contentment of the Balinese people kept me returning year after year on a regular basis. What attracted me also brought more and more people and as the surfing world grew so did the crowds at Uluwatu.

In the beginning, there were no plastic containers; water, drinks and food came in glass bottles, on plates or maybe banana leaves that would be reused or easily disposed of. Trash was dumped in the ravines, rain washed it out to sea and once again man used the ocean to clean up his mess. This worked, more or less, if the waste was organic but then came plastic containers and more people. Without the infrastructure to support the rapidly escalating usage, the raw sewage and garbage issues reached critical mass in a short time.

Project Clean Uluwatu is the initial effort directed toward dealing with this ever growing problem and for the moment it has the edge. The attractiveness of the waves, the lifestyle and the Balinese people is still as great as it ever was. It does, however, continue to bring visitors in increasing numbers and the wake they leave as they pass is not small. Please support the continuing undertakings of PCU as they tackle this monumental task. We all have a responsibility to protect our natural resources for future generations to enjoy as we have and Uluwatu is an extraordinary treasure that deserves our best efforts.“