The Ciliwung River became the backdrop for an unusual boat parade during the 2025 Ciliwung Festival, held on Sunday, September 28, in South Jakarta.
Organised by the Jakarta Provincial Government, the festival coincided with World Rivers Day and aimed to highlight the importance of maintaining river cleanliness.
The festival, known locally as Cilung (Love the Environment Festival), adopted the theme “From Waste to Work, From Work to Hope”. The slogan reflected the organisers’ intention to show that waste can be turned into something useful and valuable.
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Forty-five boats constructed entirely from plastic bottles sailed along the Ciliwung River near Jalan MT Haryono, Pancoran. Each vessel required between 700 and 1,000 bottles, collected and assembled by sub-district representatives, government units, environmental groups and residents.
Designs ranged from dragon and shark replicas to models inspired by Jakarta’s landmarks. All of these turning the river into a creative exhibition space.
Participants also wore costumes made from recycled materials, reinforcing the festival’s environmental message.
Affan Andriansyah Idris, Assistant for Development and Environment of the Jakarta Regional Secretary, said the event was more than just a spectacle.
“Rivers are the cornerstone of Jakarta’s development. Geographically, Jakarta is crossed by 13 rivers and streams. There used to be a tradition of Ngobak, bathing or soaking together in large rivers like the Ciliwung,” he explained.
He added that Jakarta’s rivers were now in poor condition, making education on waste management essential.
“This festival is expected to educate the public about maintaining river cleanliness. If river quality improves, rivers could become tourist destinations in the future.”
Governor Pramono Anung and Deputy Governor Rano Karno have prioritised river rehabilitation as part of the city’s environmental strategy. That is including stricter measures to address waste.
The festival, officials said, served as both a cultural celebration and a reminder of the rivers’ central role in Jakarta’s history and community life.
Creativity, Recycling and Community Education
The Head of the Jakarta Environmental Agency, Asep Kuswanto, highlighted the role of the festival in promoting recycling practices.
“The parade involved boats from 44 sub-districts in Jakarta. Each boat required 700 to 1,000 used plastic bottles to build. This is a form of education that waste can be empowered into something useful, even having a selling value,” he said, as quoted by Kompas.com.
He added that the event also featured an exhibition of recycled products made by local communities.
According to Asep, his agency has set up 120 water quality monitoring points across Jakarta’s rivers. These are checked four times a year to evaluate environmental programmes and ensure compliance.
He said initiatives like the festival could complement technical measures by encouraging public engagement.
The Jakarta Provincial Government hopes the Ciliwung Festival will foster new traditions of river preservation. In a statement on its official website, the administration described the event as an attempt to connect cultural memory with environmental action.
Videos and photographs from the parade were widely shared on social media, where they attracted positive responses and inspired discussions among young people about creative approaches to waste management.
By combining art, performance and public education, the Ciliwung Festival sought to change perceptions of single-use plastics.
Instead of being seen purely as waste, the bottles were transformed into boats that could float down one of Jakarta’s rivers.
