A sweeping new ban on small plastic water bottles in Bali has triggered backlash from Indonesia’s beverage and plastics industries, even as environmental advocates hail it as a bold step toward tackling the island’s growing waste crisis and microplastic contamination.
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Governor I Wayan Koster, who launched the Bali Clean Waste Movement last month, has framed the initiative as part of a broader campaign to make the island of 4.3 million people waste-free by 2027. The policy builds on a 2018 gubernatorial decree that banned plastic bags in supermarkets and restaurants – a move since adopted by cities like Jakarta.
The new regulation, the first of its kind in Indonesia, which took effect in April, prohibits the production, distribution and sale of single-use plastic water bottles smaller than one litre. It also mandates waste segregation at the source across government offices, private businesses, markets, schools and places of worship.
Speaking to reporters on April 6, Koster said that beverage producers should use glass bottles instead of plastic for their products.
He warned that villages failing to comply risk losing financial help and incentives, while errant businesses could face permit revocations and be publicly labelled “not environmentally friendly” on the provincial government’s social media channels.
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