Students Criticise Koster Over Waste Issue, Communication Deemed Problematic

Students from Udayana University have highlighted Governor of Bali Wayan Koster’s statement referring to “manage your own rubbish” in response to the waste issue. The viral statement is seen as reflecting the weakness in the government’s public communication. One student from the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences at Unud assessed that the communication failure impacts the suboptimal socialisation of policies to the public, including weak coordination among related parties. “So, the way you conveyed about managing rubbish yourselves has become a very big problem. The coordination among rubbish collectors, TPST managers, and the government is not well connected,” he explained during a dialogue with the Bali Provincial Government at the Council Building on Wednesday (22/4/2026). He also highlighted policies that frequently change without clear communication. “Today the rules are like this, tomorrow the rules change,” he added. This situation is assessed to erode public trust, amid the PSEL project that is only targeted for completion in 2027, while the public remains confused about waste disposal at present. In response to the criticism, Koster expressed an apology. “I hope in the future I can improve myself to become better in leading Bali,” said Koster. Demand for Transparency and Waste Task Force The Chairman of the Unud Student Executive Board, I Gusti Ngurah Oka Paramahamsa, assessed that the waste issue is also related to the lack of budget transparency and complaint reporting channels socialisation. “For audits, all waste management implementations must be carried out openly. The public must know and have the right to know that,” he said. He requested that the government open details of the budget and expand the socialisation of reporting channels. “The reporting channels actually already exist, but why is it that the public, even students, do not know much about them yet? They should not only be provided but also socialised,” he said. Students also urged the establishment of a special task force to accelerate waste handling, as the performance of the Environmental Agency is deemed not yet optimal. “We are pushing for the establishment of a special task force to accelerate waste handling, both in terms of budget and field implementation,” said Oka. Target to Stop Open Dumping in 2026 Koster emphasised that all landfills in Bali will stop open dumping practices in 2026. “The next step is, if this is already running smoothly, then the seven regencies in Bali will be gathered next week according to the Minister’s directive that open dumping must end in 2026,” said Koster. He stressed that waste management must be based on separation at source and requested public support to implement the policy.