Jaap (50) from Steensel could not leave Bali after a holiday, the fight against litter is now his life

STEENSEL - After a holiday, Jaap Venhovens from Steensel got stuck in Bali last year due to corona. He just stayed there and turned his life around. The former roadie now fights the growing mountains of waste on the paradise island of Nusa Penida, near Bali.

Judith Evertse 11-02-21, 16:30 Bron: Eindhovens Dagblad

Pictures of an azure blue sea, dazzlingly beautiful, rocky bays and a sea full of tropical fish (large manta rays) that many a snorkeler marvels at. Jaap Venhovens (50) immediately fell in love with the 'bounty island' Nusa Penida when he went on holiday there last spring.

But his eye also quickly fell on the other side of the island, which the many tourists and Instagrammers on Nusa Penida prefer not to capture in their pictures. The large mountains of litter on the beaches and in the greenery that (literally) form a blemish on the idyll. “Because it is so beautiful there, it is even more confrontational. When I went diving, plastic floated all around me.”

‘Hectic life as a stage builder'

The sight of all that junk was enough reason for Venhovens to drastically change his life last spring, something he had been playing with in his head for some time. The corona crisis acted as a catalyst in this.

For years, Venhovens earned his living as a stage builder for major concerts and festivals in the Netherlands. But that work came to a complete standstill, forcing him to think about his future. ,,I have built stages for Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, Coldplay, Metallica etc. and at festivals such as Tomorrowland. A great profession, but it is also a very hectic life. and although I loved my job, I didn't know if I wanted to keep doing that until I died."

Returning to the Netherlands turned out to be impossible for a long time anyway, because his return flight was cancelled. “And I had no family or relationship to get back on the plane for, so I decided to stay on Nusa Penida.”

‘Trash thrown on beach”

It was also a great opportunity to do something about the waste problem on the island. A worldwide problem (think of the plastic soup), which is particularly striking in developing areas. “People here on the island often have no money to pay for collection services, or such a service does not exist at all in certain areas. The waste is thrown on the beach here, in the hope that the tide will take all the plastic bottles, cans and paper with it.”

The fact that more and more tourists, divers and influencers find their way to the paradisiacal little island indirectly contributes to the waste issue. A few years ago there were only a handful of hotels, now there are hundreds. “It is not necessarily the case that tourists themselves leave more rubbish lying around. But local residents have also become more prosperous due to the income from tourism. As a result, they consume more and also produce more waste. But there is still little awareness when it comes to processing it responsibly.”

Sorting and shipping of waste

De guy from Steensel sat down with two local entrepreneurs to set up their own waste collection service on Nusa Penida. To this end, they founded the CleanPenida Foundation in 2020. He also set up a workshop where the waste could be sorted and processed for shipment to Bali, where the waste is shredded. From there it ends up with the large recycling companies on Java.

But the prices that Venhovens receives from these companies for its collected waste are barely enough to cover the costs of shipping and processing alone. “We get most of our income from the pick-up service for hotels. Those entrepreneurs are happy to pay for our collection service.”

Situation harrowing due to corona crisis

But here the corona crisis has mercilessly hindered his plans. “Most hotels no longer have any income, because the corona restrictions are also strict here. There has recently been another peak of infection in Indonesia. As a result, we hardly have any fat on our bones financially. The situation is distressing for many entrepreneurs and residents, because they have become so dependent on tourism.”

And that while Venhovens had just got the hang of it and wanted to go ahead with his waste project. “We want to become self-sufficient within a few years, and therefore also recycle more on the island. For example, by processing plastic packaging materials into building materials for hotels and houses

Lots of savings invested

To gain knowledge for this, Venhovens is temporarily in the Netherlands for a few months. He talks to companies and knowledge institutes about recycling techniques. Meanwhile, CleanPenida's cleanups continue. He will return to Nusa Penida in March. “We employ about 16 people full-time for this, and we pay them per kilo of waste. We also collect waste from small communities on the island. We try to motivate people to separate their household waste and we pay them for recyclable material.”

Until now, Venhovens has been able to continue the work by investing a lot of his own savings. “Unfortunately, that will eventually stop. But to continue we need outside help. There are also quite a few investments that we have to make in order to expand and to be able to recycle more materials ourselves. A cleaning station with shredder, for example, with which we can even further reduce the volume of plastics and/or use it ourseves as a component in asphalt or buidling blocks.

Venhovens hopes to raise money with a crowdfunding campaign to keep the Foundation afloat. "I don't want this project to die an early death because of the hopelessness of the Covid19 crisis."