Waste Management in Indonesia

[Shadrach]

It is now a done deal.

BALI INFO on Instagram: "The construction of the North Bali Airport is finally showing concrete progress after being stalled for nine years. Erwanto Sad Adiatmoko, President Director of PT BIBU Panji Sakti, confirmed that the groundbreaking will take

2,112 likes, 292 comments - bali.info.official on June 29, 2025: "The construction of the North Bali Airport is finally showing concrete progress after being stalled for nine years. Erwanto Sad Adiatmoko, President Director of PT BIBU Panji Sakti, confirmed that the groundbreaking will take...

www.instagram.com

This Rp 50T project sounds impressive, especially since it claims to proceed without using the state budget (APBN). BUT BUT, there’s more to the story.

The project encompasses not just an international airport, but also the creation of an aerotropolis and aerocity, fully integrated with the toll road network.

Let’s see how many ordinary locals and indigenous communities will have their land taken, likely for a fraction of its true value. Let see how many monopoly practices, using the thugs, the government to protect them. Also do not be surprised it the project cost will be multiple times of its originally estimated value.

That is why I personally will not blame if more local Balinese residents will resort to illegally dumping their trash. But hopefully this time they will also bring the problem to other people backyards to be in line with the new nice buzzword, DEI (Diversity, equity, and inclusion) principle by dumping that at the roadside, toll road along the way to the airport.

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Man you are really obsessed with Trash! It's really on your mind almost every post! Just because the Government wants to build an Airport and other BS, why should that make locals want to dump more Rubbish? They already don't give a damn, and dump plenty of it Daily! This new airport is a total waste of time, resources, and lots of Money! There is nothing going on in North Bali. Singaraja is an old run down City, the beaches are gravel, Lovina had it's highlight days 30 years ago! The Boats ruined the coral next to Pulau Menjangan, dropping their anchors on the coral. At Lovina they have dozens of boats that give tours, going out and terrorizing the Dolphins! Gilimanuk is a horrible little town, so noisy with big trucks, if you get a room there, you can't sleep at night!
Build a North South, bypass instead! Not a toll road for the greedy investors!

 

[pantaiema]

Man you are really obsessed with Trash! It's really on your mind almost every post! Just because the Government wants to build an Airport and other BS, why should that make locals want to dump more Rubbish? They already don't give a damn, and dump plenty of it Daily! This new airport is a total waste of time, resources, and lots of Money! There is nothing going on in North Bali. Singaraja is an old run down City, the beaches are gravel, Lovina had it's highlight days 30 years ago! The Boats ruined the coral next to Pulau Menjangan, dropping their anchors on the coral. At Lovina they have dozens of boats that give tours, going out and terrorizing the Dolphins! Gilimanuk is a horrible little town, so noisy with big trucks, if you get a room there, you can't sleep at night!
Build a North South, bypass instead! Not a toll road for the greedy investors!

I agree with most of your comments.

The Government wants to build an Airport, railways, etc making it now more difficult (if still possible), less money is available to built other more important basic needs of society such as, underground drainage, canal system, used to prevent flood and for irrigation, highways/motorways (not toll roads), waste processing centres, etc.

Regarding waste management, the root cause of the problem making it people dumping their garbage in the river, by the roadside because there are not enough garbage processing centre, regularly serviced rubbish collection point. The availability of new roads, rail tracks area around the airport, rail way making them good spots for the new dumping ground.

It's unfortunate situation that quite common, one effective approach for the situation like this is to disrupt the operations of the businesses and authorities who are profiting from these new projects responsible for or supporting these projects. Additionally, the more the international community, gets involved, the more coverage from the media and puts pressure on those at the root cause of the issue, the more likely the local government will feel compelled, out of embarrassment to act, even if it's just a short-term solution to save face. This strategy has been proven effective in the past

 

[Shadrach]

I agree with most of your comments.

The Government wants to build an Airport, railways, etc making it now more difficult (if still possible), less money is available to built other more important basic needs of society such as, underground drainage, canal system, used to prevent flood and for irrigation, highways/motorways (not toll roads), waste processing centres, etc.

Regarding waste management, the root cause of the problem making it people dumping their garbage in the river, by the roadside because there are not enough garbage processing centre, regularly serviced rubbish collection point. The availability of new roads, rail tracks area around the airport, rail way making them good spots for the new dumping ground.

It's unfortunate situation that quite common, one effective approach for the situation like this is to disrupt the operations of the businesses and authorities who are profiting from these new projects responsible for or supporting these projects. Additionally, the more the international community, gets involved, the more coverage from the media and puts pressure on those at the root cause of the issue, the more likely the local government will feel compelled, out of embarrassment to act, even if it's just a short-term solution to save face. This strategy has been proven effective in the past

It's Not the job of the International community to get involved in Bali's internal affairs! And Just because roads are being made doesn't give the Bali People an excuse to dump more Rubbish! They should stop buying so much Plastic and use natural packaging materials like in the Old Days. Banana leaves, bamboo baskets, etc. And what do you mean disrupt operations? Boycott them, burn down their businesses, kidnap their family members, Throw Cow Shit in their faces? As long as the local Government officials are filling their pockets with money, they will Green Light these projects!
Everyone knows that the Government is hoping for Chinese, and Russian investment in building these projects! Maybe the schools should start adding these languages to the curriculum!

 

[Nicho]

Waste Management ! Ha Ha . When the local authorities start a rubbish collection program in your village only to take it out of town and dump it along the road and in the rivers/creeks where the same authorities have erected large signs "Dilarang Buang Sampah Di-sini " / . Several of the local workers from the regional Kantor Kepala Desa live locally and drive/ride past this rubbish twice a day.!!! . I live in a street with 4 shops/toko's within 100 yards where school kids come to buy there cigarettes/snacks on there way to school , the shops have no bins at the door !! These kids buy there bits and pieces , always demanding a plastic bag only to walk into the street , remove what they have bought and throw the plastic bag and the packaging from there snacks/cigarette packet into the street without a second thought . The shop keeper and other adults don't blink an eye . And the higher up the food chain they are the worse they are , big flash houses with piles of rotting rubbish stacked everywhere , shopping bags full of used babies nappies regularly get dumped in a small stream at the entrance to the village . There's only one place that could accumulate the amount of nappies that get thrown , the local preschool / child minding business . Irrigation channels in the crop growing area around the village choked with fertilizer , insecticide /pesticide / "ROUND UP" bottles / packaging that all gets washed into the main river with every downpour . Hundreds of locals fish and gather shell fish out of this river for the Restaurant industry both here in Java and Bali . Big new boat harbour recently built here , already a cess pit of rotting fish scraps , boat repair material/waste thrown into the garden beds or just left where they were working. 12 tonne of rubbish cleaned up off Kuta/Tuban/ Legian beach several years ago , all the rubbish from hotels , shops , warung's etc the local authorities had collected and dumped in the mountain rivers that got washed out into the ocean after the wet season . Waste Management ! Ha Ha ! I've emailed all the government depts . all the do good save the world environmental organizations to try to get help over the years without ONE reply !! Rant over .

 

[Balifrog]

Waste Management ! Ha Ha . When the local authorities start a rubbish collection program in your village only to take it out of town and dump it along the road and in the rivers/creeks where the same authorities have erected large signs "Dilarang Buang Sampah Di-sini " / . Several of the local workers from the regional Kantor Kepala Desa live locally and drive/ride past this rubbish twice a day.!!! . I live in a street with 4 shops/toko's within 100 yards where school kids come to buy there cigarettes/snacks on there way to school , the shops have no bins at the door !! These kids buy there bits and pieces , always demanding a plastic bag only to walk into the street , remove what they have bought and throw the plastic bag and the packaging from there snacks/cigarette packet into the street without a second thought . The shop keeper and other adults don't blink an eye . And the higher up the food chain they are the worse they are , big flash houses with piles of rotting rubbish stacked everywhere , shopping bags full of used babies nappies regularly get dumped in a small stream at the entrance to the village . There's only one place that could accumulate the amount of nappies that get thrown , the local preschool / child minding business . Irrigation channels in the crop growing area around the village choked with fertilizer , insecticide /pesticide / "ROUND UP" bottles / packaging that all gets washed into the main river with every downpour . Hundreds of locals fish and gather shell fish out of this river for the Restaurant industry both here in Java and Bali . Big new boat harbour recently built here , already a cess pit of rotting fish scraps , boat repair material/waste thrown into the garden beds or just left where they were working. 12 tonne of rubbish cleaned up off Kuta/Tuban/ Legian beach several years ago , all the rubbish from hotels , shops , warung's etc the local authorities had collected and dumped in the mountain rivers that got washed out into the ocean after the wet season . Waste Management ! Ha Ha ! I've emailed all the government depts . all the do good save the world environmental organizations to try to get help over the years without ONE reply !! Rant over .

It will take decades to change. If ever .....

And after that they declare :
"He added, “We will make Bali make the new Singapore, the new Hong Kong, where we will be the center of this region."

 

[jstar]

I really wonder if ‘Indonesian governmental officials’ know what Bali stands for with foreigners. I’m not talking young Australians who want a cheap party holiday (as spring break at Miami or Panama City Beach). People like Sandiaga Uno have done a very bad job at profiling

 

[Shadrach]

Waste Management ! Ha Ha . When the local authorities start a rubbish collection program in your village only to take it out of town and dump it along the road and in the rivers/creeks where the same authorities have erected large signs "Dilarang Buang Sampah Di-sini " / . Several of the local workers from the regional Kantor Kepala Desa live locally and drive/ride past this rubbish twice a day.!!! . I live in a street with 4 shops/toko's within 100 yards where school kids come to buy there cigarettes/snacks on there way to school , the shops have no bins at the door !! These kids buy there bits and pieces , always demanding a plastic bag only to walk into the street , remove what they have bought and throw the plastic bag and the packaging from there snacks/cigarette packet into the street without a second thought . The shop keeper and other adults don't blink an eye . And the higher up the food chain they are the worse they are , big flash houses with piles of rotting rubbish stacked everywhere , shopping bags full of used babies nappies regularly get dumped in a small stream at the entrance to the village . There's only one place that could accumulate the amount of nappies that get thrown , the local preschool / child minding business . Irrigation channels in the crop growing area around the village choked with fertilizer , insecticide /pesticide / "ROUND UP" bottles / packaging that all gets washed into the main river with every downpour . Hundreds of locals fish and gather shell fish out of this river for the Restaurant industry both here in Java and Bali . Big new boat harbour recently built here , already a cess pit of rotting fish scraps , boat repair material/waste thrown into the garden beds or just left where they were working. 12 tonne of rubbish cleaned up off Kuta/Tuban/ Legian beach several years ago , all the rubbish from hotels , shops , warung's etc the local authorities had collected and dumped in the mountain rivers that got washed out into the ocean after the wet season . Waste Management ! Ha Ha ! I've emailed all the government depts . all the do good save the world environmental organizations to try to get help over the years without ONE reply !! Rant over .

You are so spot on! The local People that spend so much of their Lives going to the Temples and putting out daily offerings, don't give a Shit about keeping Bali Clean! The Kids learn from their Parents that teach them to throw the Rubbish everywhere! The Shop keeper only cares about making a Rupiah! I appreciate the few People that go out and pick up Rubbish, but it's all in Vain, because the Local People will just throw their Rubbish right back!
There is only one solution. Force the Plastic Manufacturers to use Biodegradable Oil, or whatever to create Plastic! But because of Lobbying and corrupt Politicians, and The Rich, Powerful Petroleum industry this will Never Happen! I wonder what will be discovered in years to come after we have eaten so much Plastic? Will this change our DNA, so we will become Half Plastic Beings of some sort? With AI doing all the Work?

 

[Nicho]

You are so spot on! The local People that spend so much of their Lives going to the Temples and putting out daily offerings, don't give a Shit about keeping Bali Clean! The Kids learn from their Parents that teach them to throw the Rubbish everywhere! The Shop keeper only cares about making a Rupiah! I appreciate the few People that go out and pick up Rubbish, but it's all in Vain, because the Local People will just throw their Rubbish right back!
There is only one solution. Force the Plastic Manufacturers to use Biodegradable Oil, or whatever to create Plastic! But because of Lobbying and corrupt Politicians, and The Rich, Powerful Petroleum industry this will Never Happen! I wonder what will be discovered in years to come after we have eaten so much Plastic? Will this change our DNA, so we will become Half Plastic Beings of some sort? With AI doing all the Work?

Yes , it's a generational problem , there parents parents parents parents all did it . Don't get me started on Al . My daughter and 55 co-workers just lost there jobs to this artificial crap .

 

[Shadrach]

Yes , it's a generational problem , there parents parents parents parents all did it . Don't get me started on Al . My daughter and 55 co-workers just lost there jobs to this artificial crap .

Actually there was a time before Plastic! And even though life was still hard, I think there was less Stress! And this kind of Stupidity is not inherited, it's taught!

 

[Bob]

Man you are really obsessed with Trash! It's really on your mind almost every post! Just because the Government wants to build an Airport and other BS, why should that make locals want to dump more Rubbish? They already don't give a damn, and dump plenty of it Daily! This new airport is a total waste of time, resources, and lots of Money! There is nothing going on in North Bali. Singaraja is an old run down City, the beaches are gravel, Lovina had it's highlight days 30 years ago! The Boats ruined the coral next to Pulau Menjangan, dropping their anchors on the coral. At Lovina they have dozens of boats that give tours, going out and terrorizing the Dolphins! Gilimanuk is a horrible little town, so noisy with big trucks, if you get a room there, you can't sleep at night!
Build a North South, bypass instead! Not a toll road for the greedy investors!

Well that answers most of the question about the state of North Bali these days. How's Pemuteran?

 

[harryopal1]

Just over a month ago I reported a massive algal bloom near Adelaide in South Australia. No sign of the bloom ending and so far some 7300 marine creatures with 390 species have been washed up on beaches including dolphins, stingrays, sharks and other creatures. There is a fear that many marine species may become extinct. It seem warming of the seas has much to do with but it is also considered that pollution is another major factor. Fifty years ago I wrote a science fiction story that assumed the oceans had basically become dead. It seems we are well on the way to that end.

 

[Shadrach]

Just over a month ago I reported a massive algal bloom near Adelaide in South Australia. No sign of the bloom ending and so far some 7300 marine creatures with 390 species have been washed up on beaches including dolphins, stingrays, sharks and other creatures. There is a fear that many marine species may become extinct. It seem warming of the seas has much to do with but it is also considered that pollution is another major factor. Fifty years ago I wrote a science fiction story that assumed the oceans had basically become dead. It seems we are well on the way to that end.

Yea, it's the same on the West coast of America! You have to call a hotline number to know if it's safe to collect Mussels, and other shellfish! Petrochemical fertilizers in the runoff is definitely the cause! This can happen here in Indonesia also, and I highly doubt the Government will warn the People! The beautiful rice fields are being constantly sprayed with Pesticides and Petrochemical to grow the GMO Monsanto rice, everyone is eating, and the runoff is going directly into the local Ocean!
Before the Farmers could only grow 1 or 2 crops a year, but Monsanto came in and brought the GMO rice, and now they can grow 3 or 4 crops a year. Unknowingly the Farmers thought this is Great? They don't even wear protective clothing, when they spray the Round Up on the fields! You can be sure the Cancer rate is over the top!

 

[Bob]

Yea, it's the same on the West coast of America! You have to call a hotline number to know if it's safe to collect Mussels, and other shellfish! Petrochemical fertilizers in the runoff is definitely the cause! This can happen here in Indonesia also, and I highly doubt the Government will warn the People! The beautiful rice fields are being constantly sprayed with Pesticides and Petrochemical to grow the GMO Monsanto rice, everyone is eating, and the runoff is going directly into the local Ocean!
Before the Farmers could only grow 1 or 2 crops a year, but Monsanto came in and brought the GMO rice, and now they can grow 3 or 4 crops a year. Unknowingly the Farmers thought this is Great? They don't even wear protective clothing, when they spray the Round Up on the fields! You can be sure the Cancer rate is over the top!

You get partial credit, Grasshopper. The Green Revolution as it was called didn't involve Monsanto or GMO. It happened long before there was GMO. On the positive side it enabled Indonesia to be self sufficient in rice production. On the negative side that came with significant social and environmental costs, some of which you mentioned.

 

[harryopal1]

The impact of the South Australian algal bloom is worsening. It has had a devastating effect on the fishing industry with indications that there will be no recovery next year.

 

[pantaiema]

Kerta Jati airport, might be a slightly different case with newly proposed airport in Bali. But the root cause of the problem is the same, top down approach and without support from other infrastructures. Keep in mind the newly proposed road to the new airport in Bali is a toll road, not highway or motorway.

I know @Shadrach might be mad if the toll road, on the way to the airport, the area around the airport is used by the local people as a dumping ground, good areas for burning rubbish.

But if you do not provide enough regularly serviced rubbish collection point and waste processing centre, what do you expect the people to do, let it rotten in their own homes ?? If they were living in the remote villages, it was easy, just dig a hole on the ground. burn and cover it again with soil when it is full, dig another hole and repeat the process. But if you are in the crowded areas, in the city the case is different/

Kertajati’s hard lesson - Editorial - The Jakarta Post

The top-down approach of building a massive airport in the middle of nowhere while hoping economic activity will follow without real strategic effort is doomed to fail.

www.thejakartapost.com

 

[Shadrach]

Kerta Jati airport. Kerta Jati airport ,might be a slightly different with new airport in Bali. But the root cause of the problem is the same, Top down approach, without support from other infrastructure.

I know @Shadrach might be mad if the toll road, on the way to the airport, the area around the airpot is used by the local people as a dumping ground, to burn the rubbish.

But if you do not provide anough regularly serviced rubbish collection point and waste processing centre, where do you expect the people will be doing. Let it rotten in their own homes ??

Kertajati’s hard lesson - Editorial - The Jakarta Post

The top-down approach of building a massive airport in the middle of nowhere while hoping economic activity will follow without real strategic effort is doomed to fail.

www.thejakartapost.com

Thank you for thinking of me! I am not Mad at them building a Toll road. But if the Chinese foot the bill for the Toll road and the Airport, it will mostly benefit the Chinese, and not the Bali People! I care for Bali and its People, and only want the best for All. It just irritates me to see no progress and more and more traffic congestion from the population explosion and all the People coming from other islands to chase money here. We all know if the new bypass is a Toll road, the locals won't want to pay, and will still use the small roads through the small villages.
A problem I see here is Bali is in a state of confusion of following the old traditions competing with People wanting to have the modern World. They don't mix very well. It's like Oil and Water, they just won't mix!

As for the People up North dumping their rubbish, that is the responsibility of the leaders of the Banjars, and the Government. They need to develop places for the People to bring their rubbish. As I've said before the Government should force the Plastic manufacturers to be responsible for the Plastic they are making Billions of Dollars selling. But as long as there is such a huge lobbying industry, and them lining all the Politicians pockets with Billions of Rupiah, Nothing is going to change. You may think I'm crazy, but I think the only real solution, is to make plastic out of biodegradable oils or whatever!
Please if anyone else has any positive ideas about what to do to fix this problem please tell us?
I am curious to see what the future brings. I went to Ubud today and as soon as I got close, the traffic started backing up. Not only were there thousands of cars and motorbikes taking up both sides of the road, there were even large buses on roads much too small for them. In Ubud it was non stop bumper to bumper traffic. Way too many Gojek, and Grab drivers. Complete Madness. And now this is daily. What is to come in just a few years?

 

[harryopal1]

Never mind that the new airport out of Bandung has proved a failure and led to the old, handy airport to be shut down. The wheeler dealers who negotiated for all the elements of construction would have done very nicely. I shouldn't be surprised if the same contractors have already developed quotes for the proposed northern Bali airport.

 

[pantaiema]

You may think I'm crazy, but I think the only real solution, is to make plastic out of biodegradable oils or whatever! Please if anyone else has any positive ideas about what to do to fix this problem please tell us?
I am curious to see what the future brings. I went to Ubud today and as soon as I got close, the traffic started backing up. Not only were there thousands of cars and motorbikes taking up both sides of the road, there were even large buses on roads much too small for them. In Ubud it was non stop bumper to bumper traffic. Way too many Gojek, and Grab drivers. Complete Madness. And now this is daily. What is to come in just a few years?

Even if it is switched to using biodegradable plastic bags, how does that really solve the problem when people are still dumping the garbage into rivers or by the roadside? When plastic ends up in rivers, it eventually gets washed out to sea. And even when it's dumped by the roadside, washed out to the sea, it still takes years to break down. Not to mention the price of degradable plastic bag is about 2x more expensive. If you force the business to buy this sort of plastic bags all they do is to increase the price and pass the cost to consumers. Also there is no doubt there be a fake degradable plastic will be circulated by the small vendors on the street and the traditional market. The sustainable solution suggested by experts and endorsed by the UN, Word Bank is to meet the 3Es and 3Ps (Post #29, #46)

Also, let’s not forget the government has teams of experts and scientists, they must already know about the 3Es and 3Ps. In the meanwhile, they’re not reading this forum and people in this forum are not the government advisors; The People here are not supposed to fix the problem. At the end of the day, this conversation is just talk it's not going to solve Indonesia's waste management issues.

Will degradable plastic bag solve the problem with a pile up of unprocessed garbage like this, if the more fundamental issues such as availability of garbage collection points and waste processing center are not enough ??


As for plastic bottles, as mentioned earlier, there's no need to be overly concerned about it. Setting up designated sorting and collection points can actually help people earn money safely, instead of putting their health at risk by scavenging through massive piles of waste at the final disposal site. Urban scavengers will naturally collect the bottles because they can sell them for money. Again it is proven in the documentary above, see what the economically disadvantage families are doing, they are looking for plastic bottles. The government must have known this. But look at what the Balinese government is actually doing instead of setting up proper disposal, sorting facilities, they shift the blame onto bottled water/drink producers (post #54). And let not forget, where is the tourism levy of Rp150k they have been collecting since Feb 2024 going ? Blame game is the easiest way to shift away from responsibility. And in Indonesia this sort of people instead of being punished, removed from office, it is not uncommon, they will get promoted.

 

[Bob]

Kerta Jati airport, might be a slightly different case with newly proposed airport in Bali. But the root cause of the problem is the same, top down approach and without support from other infrastructures. Keep in mind the newly proposed road to the new airport in Bali is a toll road, not highway or motorway.

I know @Shadrach might be mad if the toll road, on the way to the airport, the area around the airport is used by the local people as a dumping ground, good areas for burning rubbish.

But if you do not provide enough regularly serviced rubbish collection point and waste processing centre, what do you expect the people to do, let it rotten in their own homes ?? If they were living in the remote villages, it was easy, just dig a hole on the ground. burn and cover it again with soil when it is full, dig another hole and repeat the process. But if you are in the crowded areas, in the city the case is different/

Kertajati’s hard lesson - Editorial - The Jakarta Post

The top-down approach of building a massive airport in the middle of nowhere while hoping economic activity will follow without real strategic effort is doomed to fail.

www.thejakartapost.com

I know you're not averse to pedantry so I'll point out that the proposed road to the new airport is indeed a highway and a motorway since motorways and toll roads are types of highways.
People have burned rubbish in Jakarta and other towns for many years. Mixing plastic in with the trash to be burned makes that method of disposal more problematic.

 

[harryopal1]

Interesting to see that pollution of waterways and lakes in England and Wales has now become a serious issue as Lough Neagh, the UK's largest freshwater lake, has experienced a harmful algal bloom of unprecedented duration, extent, and magnitude in recent years.