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Businesses grapple with Bali's single-use plastics ban
In April, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster issued a circular banning the use of plastic bags, cups, straws and styrofoam in businesses, government offices, schools, hotels, restaurants, markets and places of worship, as part of broader efforts to tackle the island’s growing waste problem.
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A man stands on Jan. 3 amid plastic waste and other garbage washed ashore that has amassed at a beach in Kedonganan Badung regency, Bali. (AFP/Sonny Tumbelaka)
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usinesses in Bali are struggling to adapt to the recent ban on single-use plastics on the holiday island, with many resorting to less sustainable alternatives or expressing frustration over the lack of support and guidance from local authorities.
In April, Bali Governor I Wayan Koster issued a circular banning the use of plastic bags, cups, straws and styrofoam in businesses, government offices, schools, hotels, restaurants, markets and places of worship, as part of broader efforts to tackle the island’s growing waste problem.
Businesses that fail to comply may face permit revocation, while villages that do not enforce the policy risk losing government assistance.
Since the regulation took effect, many cafés, coffee shops and restaurants in Bali have begun replacing single-use plastic cups with paper alternatives.
However, Catur Yuda Hariyani, director of the Bali Environmental Education Center (PPLH), argued that the shift to paper cups does little to address the island’s mounting waste problem.
“We’re simply replacing one type of waste with another,” Catur said on Monday as reported by Kompas.com.
“What’s worse is that paper cups are even harder to recycle because they contain a plastic lining to make them waterproof. This lining must be separated during the recycling process, but it's extremely difficult to do. As a result, many recyclers won’t accept them,” he added.
