This spring, A New Earth Project is proud to support Run for Rivers 2026, an ambitious campaign led by Sungai Watch that brings together endurance, grassroots action, and real-time accountability to address plastic pollution where it starts: in rivers and communities.
From March 28 to May 24, 2026, Sungai Watch founders Gary, Kelly, and Sam Bencheghib will run more than 1,200 kilometers across Java, the most populated island in the world. But this is far more than an endurance feat. It’s a moving platform for awareness, cleanup, community engagement, and systems-level change, one kilometer at a time.
Why Rivers, and Why Now
Plastic production is projected to nearly triple by 2060, placing unprecedented strain on ecosystems that were never designed to absorb this volume of waste. In Indonesia alone, an estimated 64–70 million tons of waste are generated each year, with a significant portion left unmanaged. Much of it flows downstream into rivers, mangroves, beaches, and ultimately the ocean.
Rivers are the connective tissue of communities. When they’re polluted, the impacts ripple outward: public health, livelihoods, biodiversity, and climate resilience all suffer.
That’s why Run for Rivers focuses upstream - on interception, cleanup, and local engagement - before plastic becomes a global problem.
From Movement to Measurable Impact
Sungai Watch’s approach aligns closely with our own values: practical action, transparent metrics, and community-first solutions.
Since 2020, Sungai Watch has:
- Installed 380 river barriers across Bali and East Java
- Removed 4.2 million kilograms of non-organic waste
- Organized 2,461 cleanups with more than 29,000 volunteers
Run for Rivers builds on this foundation with a clear, tangible goal: remove 1 million kilograms of plastic from Indonesia’s rivers, funded through a simple equation—$1 donated equals 1 kilogram of trash removed.
For A New Earth Project, this kind of clarity matters. Environmental action must be measurable, scalable, and accountable. This campaign raises awareness while also directly funding cleanup, infrastructure, and long-term waste management improvements.
A Campaign Designed to Activate
Over 57 days, the Run for Rivers team will stop daily in villages and cities across Java, meeting with local leaders, schools, and governments. Cleanups and community runs will take place in major hubs including Surabaya, Semarang, Cirebon, Bekasi, and Jakarta, creating moments of shared action and dialogue around plastic waste.
Equally important is how they're sharing this story. The campaign prioritizes real-time, social-first documentation. Sungai Watch has proven before that this kind of storytelling can spark real-world change, even prompting government-level mobilization when pollution hotspots are exposed.
Follow Along
We’re proud to support Run for Rivers 2026, and we invite our community to follow along, share the story, and be part of what comes next—for rivers in Indonesia, and for the planet we all share.
Follow @Sungaiwatch and @garybencheghib to support this journey.