Polluted Sea Becomes Children's Playground in Cilincing, ISPA-Hormonal Disorders Loom
JAKARTA – The expansive sea at Kalibaru, Cilincing, North Jakarta, no longer displays its characteristic blue hue. The waters off Jakarta’s coast have instead turned turbid, decorated with a variety of waste materials, both liquid and solid.
Solid waste including discarded food and beverage packaging, wood, shellfish shells, sanitary products, nappies, and other debris adorn the Kalibaru Cilincing sea on a daily basis. Despite these alarming conditions, the sea at Kalibaru Cilincing remains a popular swimming spot for children from marginal socioeconomic backgrounds.
One child named Aris, aged 11, admitted enjoying swimming in the sea because his family cannot afford swimming pool entry fees. “My mother doesn’t have money to buy swimming pool tickets, so swimming in that sea is better,” Aris said when interviewed by Kompas.com at the location on Friday (27 February 2026).
However, Aris acknowledged that swimming in the rubbish-filled sea is not as comfortable as using a paid swimming pool, as his body frequently itches. In addition to itching, his feet are often injured because the seabed contains many sharp objects such as nails, broken glass, shellfish shells, and other debris. “I’ve been injured before from sharp shells, but I haven’t stopped swimming in the sea because it’s fun,” said Rafa on Friday.
Dr Dwinanda Aidina, a Paediatric Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine Specialist at Pondok Indah – Puri Indah Hospital, stated that using a sea polluted with rubbish or waste as a swimming location for children is highly inadvisable because it is dangerous.
“First, children can swallow floating waste in the sea and suffer from choking,” Dr Dwinanda explained in a written statement received by Kompas.com on Friday (27 February 2026).
Additionally, waste can contain sharp objects such as broken glass and tins that can injure children whilst swimming. Plastic waste can contain hazardous chemicals and microplastics that can be ingested or enter through skin pores. Microplastics can bind chemical pollutants and heavy metals in the sea. If ingested, these substances have the potential to disrupt children’s hormonal systems over the long term.