Bali: A Tropical "Paradise" Where Plastic Waste Covers Beaches And Smoke From Burning Plastic Fills The Air

[hatrack]

llegal dumping in Gianyar, Bali. Credit: Courtesy, Merah Putih Hijau (MPH)

Piles of trash line the roadsides, plastic floats in rivers and toxic fumes fill the air. Bali is in the midst of a severe waste crisis. Although the popular tourist destination has struggled with waste management for years, the crisis has escalated in recent months due to tightened restrictions on landfills.

The Indonesian government prohibited open dumping over 15 years ago, but enforcement remained weak. It was not until 2025 that the Ministry of Environment and Forestry ordered an end to open-dumping at the Suwung TPA, Bali’s biggest landfill. On April 1, the site stopped accepting organic waste, which accounts for 65 percent of all waste produced on the island. The landfill is set to close by November, but the facility meant to take its place is not yet complete. As a result, illegal dumping and open burning have soared, impacting Balinese residents, expatriates and tourists alike.

“When the government tightened restrictions on the Suwung landfill, they failed to provide a viable alternative system. Local communities were suddenly left scrambling — they didn’t know what to do,” said Dinda Prasetiyani, marketing and communication officer at the Merah Putih Hijau (MPH), a nonprofit organization that empowers Balinese villages to achieve a circular economy.

EDIT

An expatriate who has lived in Bali for 15 years and requested anonymity due to concerns about her visa status said she sees two very different realities on the island: one for tourists and one for locals. “There is really a clean side for the tourists,” she said. “The areas that are fully developed for tourism… don’t really see the waste crisis.” By comparison, she said the crisis is impossible to ignore in Dalung, a local village near the larger resort city of Canggu. “You can notice piles of trash on the sides of the road. At the corner of every neighborhood, you can see trash burning, and you can smell it when you pass,” she said. At night, the smoke forms a “gigantic haze” over the area, she added.

END

https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07072026/bali-is-still-choking-on-plastic/

[Phoenix61]

1. The last time I went to Bali I swore I'd never go back.

Swimming there was like swimming in a sea of floating plastic. I decided the best thing I could do to not contribute to the problem was not go. IMO one of the biggest drivers of plastic pollution there is the lack of potable water. Everyone drinks bottled water and there isn't anywhere to fill reusable water bottles. It was heart breaking to see what was happening.