Waste and Plastic — The Suwung Landfill Crisis
Bali generates 4,000 tons of waste a day and Suwung landfill is at capacity. River and beach plastic pollution. The Bye Bye Plastic Bags movement; the 2019 plastic-bag ban. The peak of the environmental crisis.
Bali's most urgent environmental crisis — waste and plastic. About 4,000 tons / day (tourists + residents); 1.5 million tons / year. Suwung landfill (South Denpasar) — 30+ ha, at capacity. Plastic circulation from rivers → beaches → ocean. Bali youth movement — Bye Bye Plastic Bags (Melati and Isabel Wijsen sisters, 2013) — drove the 2019 plastic-bag ban. Foreign residents and tourists also burden the environment. A direct threat to Balinese identity and tourism appeal.
A. Waste Statistics
Daily generation (2024):
- Bali total — about 4,000 tons / day
- Sarbagita megacity — about 2,500 tons
- Rest — 1,500 tons
Annual total:
- About 1.5 million tons / year
- 2× the 2010 level
- 2030 forecast — 2 million tons
Composition:
- Organic — 50% (food, plant)
- Plastic — 20%
- Paper — 10%
- Glass / metal — 5%
- Other — 15%
Sources:
- Households — 50%
- Tourism (hotels, restaurants) — 30%
- Markets, commerce — 15%
- Public / other — 5%
Treatment rates:
- Landfill (Suwung) — 60%
- Informal dumping (rivers, paddies, beaches) — 25%
- Recycling — 5%
- Incineration — 10%
Sources: BPS Bali — waste statistics · The Jakarta Post — Bali waste coverage
B. Suwung Landfill — Bali's Grave
Location:
- South Denpasar, near south coast
- Adjacent to mangrove-protection area
- 30+ ha (landfill area)
History:
- Started in the 1980s
- 2000s — Bali-wide landfilling
- 2010s — at capacity
- 2020–24 — peak crisis
Problems:
- Pile height 50+ m (mountain-like)
- Methane gas — 5+ fires a year
- Leachate — contaminates groundwater / ocean
- Stench, birds, rats
Expansion limits:
- Mangrove-protection area — no expansion
- Alternative sites — Banjar opposition, political difficulty
- Bali government — new-landfill plan (2025–30)
SDP (Sampah Dari Pulau) — "Trash from the Island":
- 2024 Bali government — considering external waste treatment
- Java / overseas export
- Costly
Eco Bali, Bali environmental groups:
- Citizen protest of Suwung
- Demand strengthened recycling
- Foreigner donations / sponsorship
Sources: Tempo — Suwung landfill series · Reuters — Bali waste crisis
C. Plastic — The River–Beach–Ocean Circulation
Plastic stats (2024):
- Bali — 800 tons / day plastic
- Informal disposal — 50%+
- Ocean → currents → other islands / countries
River pollution:
- Tukad Mati (Kuta) — Bali's most polluted river
- Tukad Yeh Poh (Canggu), Tukad Petanu (Gianyar)
- Wet season — rivers carry plastic
- Ocean entry → beach pollution
Beach pollution:
- Kuta, Seminyak, Jimbaran — wet-season peak
- Jan–Mar — beaches piled with plastic
- 2017 / 2020 — international shock coverage
- Foreigner volunteers — beach cleanups
Marine microplastics:
- Bali seafood — microplastic detected (2020 study)
- Concerns about fish, shrimp safety
- Subak aquaculture also affected
Mangrove damage:
- Suwung / Sanur / Benoa mangroves
- Plastic fishing nets, environmental damage
- UN Environment Programme — Bali mangrove protection recommended
Sources: The Jakarta Post — Bali plastic coverage · Nature — Indonesia ocean-plastic studies
D. Policy and Movements
Bye Bye Plastic Bags (BBPB) — started 2013:
- Melati and Isabel Wijsen sisters (ages 10, 12)
- Bali youth environmental movement
- International acclaim (TED Talk, UN, Time)
- Drove the 2019 Bali plastic-bag ban
2019 Peraturan Gubernur — plastic-bag ban:
- Bali-wide ban on single-use plastic bags, styrofoam, plastic straws
- Applies to hotels, restaurants, supermarkets
- Some Pasar exemptions
- Bali was first — influencing Indonesia
2024 outcomes:
- Formal sector (hotels / chain supers) — 80% compliance
- Informal (Warung / Pasar) — partial
- Plastic generation — about –30% (vs 2018)
- Reusable bags / tumblers in daily life
Bali Spirit / foreigner movements:
- Bali Eco Stay, Green School Bali (Ubud)
- Foreigner + Balinese collaboration
- Recycling workshops / education
Bank Sampah ("waste bank"):
- Recyclables → money
- Run at the Banjar level
- Started and spread in the 2010s
Bali government response:
- New Suwung-landfill plans
- Recycling infrastructure
- Bank Sampah support
- Foreigner hotels — environmental certification (CHSE, Green Hotel)
Sources: The Jakarta Post — BBPB / environmental-policy series · Bye Bye Plastic Bags · UN Environment Programme
E. The Foreigner's View — Environmental Responsibility
1. Daily responsibility
- Reusable bags / tumblers
- Refuse plastic straws / bottles
- Use Bank Sampah (per household)
- Sort Banjar waste
2. Hotel / villa choice
- Green Hotel certification (CHSE)
- Plastic-free hotels
- Bali Eco Stay, Green School Bali
- Foreigner villas — environmental check
3. Beach-cleanup volunteering
- Beach Clean Up — weekly
- Bali Sustainable Tourism Awards
- Foreigner + Balinese collaboration
- Post-wet-season — peak
4. Foreigner-run environmental business
- Eco Bali (Ubud) — recycling infra
- Refill Bali — tumbler refills
- Plastic Bag Free Bali — foreigner-resident-led
- Sungai Watch — river-clean movement
5. Environmental donations
- BBPB · Bali Spirit Foundation · R.O.L.E. Foundation
- USD $100–1,000 / year
- Foreigner-resident standard
6. Supporting Bali youth movements
- Continued work of Melati / Isabel Wijsen
- Bali Youth Climate Action
- Foreigner mentorship / sponsorship
7. Bali environmental-crisis awareness
- Bali = paradise — no — in environmental crisis
- Foreigner = part of the responsibility
- Suwung visit — sobering education
8. Future — 2030
- Bali government — 2030 ZERO-waste goal (difficult)
- Tourism Carbon Neutral
- Foreigner policy — stricter
- Foreign residents / tourists — strengthened responsibility
Bali's Biggest Threat = Waste / Plastic — More than volcanoes / tsunamis / earthquakes — daily, serious, and solvable. A single fire at Suwung — Bali-wide air pollution / tourism shock. River-beach-ocean plastic circulation — threatens Balinese identity, seafood, and tourism appeal at once. Foreign residents / tourists = 50%+ of responsibility. The global success of Bali youth movements like the Wijsen sisters shapes Bali government policy and international example. Foreigners' crisis awareness + daily responsibility + regular donations + volunteering = Bali protection + adaptation + identity. As long as we live in Bali, the mountain at Suwung is also our responsibility.
Quick Summary
| Item | Key |
|---|---|
| Daily waste | About 4,000 tons |
| Annual | 1.5 million tons |
| Plastic | 800 tons / day · river-ocean cycle |
| Suwung | 30+ ha · at capacity |
| BBPB | 2013 · Wijsen sisters |
| 2019 policy | Plastic-bag ban |
| 2024 effect | Plastic –30% |
| Bank Sampah | Recyclables → money |
| Foreigner | Daily · beach · donations · volunteering |
Sources / References
- Wiki — Suwung landfill · Plastic pollution · Bye Bye Plastic Bags
- Official — Peraturan Gubernur Bali 97/2018 (plastic-bag ban) · Bali Provincial Government — environmental policy · Bye Bye Plastic Bags · UN Environment Programme
- News — The Jakarta Post — Bali waste series · Reuters — Bali plastic crisis · BBC / CNN — Wijsen-sisters coverage · Tempo — Suwung landfill
- Academic — Marine Pollution Bulletin — Indonesia plastic studies; Nature — ocean-plastic papers; Picard M., Bali: Cultural Tourism and Touristic Culture (1996)
