JAKARTA: Indonesia’s Bali began banning plastic bottles on Monday, in a move aimed at tackling plastic pollution in one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations.
The island produces around 300,000 tons of plastic waste annually, more than half of which goes uncollected, including 33,000 tons that gets into Bali’s waterways.
Under the new policy, plastic bottles will be banned across all government offices and schools in Bali.
“We hope this policy will be implemented in full responsibility by all relevant parties for a green and sustainable Bali,” Dewa Made Indra, the province’s regional secretary, said in a statement.
The policy also requires “school principals and teachers to serve as role models for students by using tumblers to reduce or eliminate plastic waste from food and beverage packaging.”
In recent years, Bali’s plastic waste problem has made international headlines as iconic beaches were littered with trash during the peak of the monsoon season, when heavy winds and rain wash up pollution also from neighboring Java island.
Last month, clips of massive “trash waves” on the shoreline of Jimbaran beach went viral on social media, marking one of the year’s first instances of what has become an annual occurrence around the island.
The issue is also a concern for the central government, with Indonesia’s Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq taking part in Bali’s beach clean-up events twice last month.
“It is urgent for the sake of environmental sustainability, and also considering that Bali is a barometer for tourism in Indonesia, so we must show that our country is dedicated to find solutions to the plastic waste management problem,” Ratna Hendratmoko, who heads the Natural Resources Conservation Center in Bali, told Arab News.
Bali, an island known for its scenic natural beauty and rich traditional culture, draws millions of foreign tourists annually. In 2024, it welcomed more than 6.3 million international visitors — which is around half of the total number of such arrivals in Indonesia.
In 2019, the Bali provincial government banned single-use plastics in an effort to tackle marine pollution, becoming the first Indonesian province to do so.
The latest policy, which mandates government officials to bring their own reusable water bottles, may be the first step to implementing an islandwide ban.
“Our staff are committed to comply with this new policy,” I Made Rentin, head of the forestry and environment agency in Bali, told Arab News.
“For now, we will strengthen implementation internally at the government level.”
