Koster to Gather All Regents Next Week, Demands End to Open Dumping Practices
Bali Governor Wayan Koster will gather all regents and mayors across Bali next week. Koster will follow up on the Environment Minister’s instructions to stop the practice of open dumping of waste, which has been ongoing for years.
“Next week, I will gather all regents and mayors. To emphasise in line with the Environment Minister’s directive, open dumping must be ended immediately. No more like what happened at the Suwung landfill, piling up, transporting, dumping, too carefree,” said Koster while delivering guidance to hotel and restaurant business actors in Badung on Thursday (7/5/2026).
Koster highlighted the condition of the Suwung landfill, which has been operating since 1984 and is now over capacity and polluting the environment. He stated that the waste piles severely disrupt the tourism area, kill the mangrove ecosystem, and cause seawater pollution.
“The Suwung landfill is a pile that must be closed immediately because, besides being full, it has also caused environmental pollution to water and contamination reaching the sea,” added the former DPR RI member.
Koster reminded the regents and mayors in Bali not to take waste management lightly as it could lead to legal cases. He cited the case of former Head of the Provincial Environment Agency of Bali, Made Teja, who was named a suspect for alleged negligence in handling waste issues.
“The former Head of the Provincial Environment Agency of Bali, Mr Made Teja, is a suspect. That’s why I also tell the regents and mayors that if you don’t handle waste seriously, you could become suspects too,” added the two-term Bali governor.
Koster assessed that waste management is urgent given that Bali is a tourism area. The PDIP politician is concerned that Bali’s tourism competitiveness will plummet sharply if waste issues, traffic congestion, and clean water crises are not addressed immediately.
“Hotel occupancy rates in Badung are now 70 to 80 percent, meaning hotel and restaurant businesses in Badung are healthy and good. If we don’t maintain this going forward, Bali’s tourism competitiveness will decline,” he said.
On that occasion, Koster also required hotel and restaurant business actors to manage waste independently without relying on corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds. The Bali Provincial Government, he said, will monitor business actors’ compliance in Bali until the end of this year.
“There must be their own budget to handle waste in each hotel and restaurant. We will conduct strict supervision of all business actors, and we have trained environmental supervisors to be deployed to monitor those hotels,” Koster concluded.