Bali Governor Wayan Koster has officially launched the Gerakan Bali Bersih Sampah (Bali Clean Waste Movement), a sweeping campaign aimed at tackling the island’s long-standing waste problem.
The initiative, outlined in Circular No. 9 of 2025, is set to begin on Saturday, 11 April 2025, with an inauguration ceremony expected to be led by Environment Minister Hanif Faisol Nurofiq.
Koster said the movement marks a consolidation of earlier efforts—including a 2019 ban on single-use plastics—that were hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic and limited enforcement during his first term. Now, with national backing and stronger momentum, the governor says Bali is entering a new phase of waste governance.
“This is the moment to move faster, with firm and decisive action against anyone who refuses to comply,” Koster said on 6 April.
Mandatory Waste Sorting and Plastic Restrictions
The regulation requires all sectors — from village governments to schools and tourism operators — to adopt source-based waste management. Businesses are specifically instructed to form internal waste units, sort trash into organic, inorganic, and residual categories, and provide temporary waste storage facilities.
Plastic restrictions are also back in force. Single-use plastics such as bags, straws, Styrofoam, and plastic-packaged drinks are banned from commercial use. Businesses are encouraged to switch to eco-friendly alternatives, reuse-and-refill systems, and composting or other waste processing methods.
Business Licenses at Risk for Non-Compliance
Koster has warned that tourism-related businesses — including hotels, restaurants, cafés, and shopping centers — that fail to meet these new standards will face serious consequences. These include license review or revocation, as well as public exposure across the province’s social media platforms.
“Any business that does not follow these environmental obligations will be considered unfriendly to the environment and unworthy of visits,” he said.
Implementation Deadline: 1 January 2026
All businesses are required to fully comply by 1 January 2026, with mandatory reporting and oversight by the provincial environmental agency. The regulation allows for partnerships with local TPS3R (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle Waste Processing Sites) and encourages reintegration of recyclable materials into the business’s operations.
Green Recognition for Compliant Businesses
Those that meet the requirements will be eligible for public recognition, with designations such as green hotel, green mall, or green restaurant. Koster said these awards are part of a broader incentive to shift Bali’s economy toward more sustainable tourism.
The policy marks one of the most assertive moves yet in Bali’s effort to clean up its waste problem — and for businesses, the message is clear: adapt or shut down.
Activists Push for Enforcement and Scaling Up
Environmental advocates have also been in close contact with the provincial government. Gary Benchegib, founder of Sungai Watch, recently met with Governor Koster to discuss the broader vision for waste management across the island.
In a post on social media, Benchegib said it was their first official meeting and centered around plans to implement mandatory waste sorting in every Balinese village by 2027. “The national government has given Bali two years to severely improve Bali’s waste problem,” he wrote.
Benchegib emphasized the need for stronger enforcement of existing rules, including the plastic bag ban and the prohibition on open dumping, and called for simple, scalable solutions to be implemented at the household level.
“We can truly hope that this new administration can properly enforce real change for Bali,” he said.
