NOW! Bali’s Guidelines for Better Living

one: waste management

1. How Much Waste Do You Produce In A Year?

FACT:

• Each person can produce waste up to 0.7 kg per day
• Bali produces over 500 tons of waste every day
• A person can use up to 700 plastic bags per year

We assume that the waste problem is over when we dispose it.
In fact, we only move the problem somewhere.
Our backyard is clean, but how about our sea, rivers and
landfill garbage dumps?

2. Do You Know Where You Waste Goes? Do You Think The Problem Is Over Once You Throw It Out?

The answer is Bali’s landfill dumps which are already overcapacity, and with 69% of our waste going to landfill and only 7.5% being recycled, we have a growing problem.
Because of the end landfill disposal, health and human rights are threatened and land pollution, methane gas leading to climate change, the release of viral pathogens and community health.

In addition, Indonesia is the world’s 2nd biggest plastic polluter to ocean; 3.2 million tons of plastic are dumped in the ocean every year (Jambeck, 2015). And here’s something even more worrying. It doesn’t just disappear. It takes years to decompose. How long until it’s gone?

Note: Estimated individual item timelines depend on product composition and environmental conditions. 
Source: South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, South Carolina Department of Health & Environment Control (DEHC)- Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) – Southeast and NOAA 2008.

3. Is Waste Management Your Priority?

FACT: the waste issue will only become a priority for us, if it actually impacts us.
What’s needed to implement responsible waste management?

• Old Paradigm: Disposal and landfill
• New Paradigm: First Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle, then Disposal and Landfill.

It’s not waste until it’s wasted.
Domestic Waste Material  : 

• 60 per cent is Organic  and can be composed
• 20 per cent is Recyclables (paper, plastic, glass, metal); and only
• 20 per cent is Residue/Trash

Existing VS Waste4Change System
Existing System: Mix Disposal Waste, Mix Waste Transfer, All waste goes to landfill
Waste4Change: Waste reduction and segregation, segregate waste transfer, recycling and composting, no waste goes to landfill

• We ensure that your waste is collected in responsible system  Waste is segregated into 4 types: Organic, Paper, Others (glass, metal, plastic), Residue
• Organic waste is placed in a closed-plastic container to reduce smell
• No mixture of waste by keeping the collection separated

4. What’s Needed To Implement Responsible Waste Management

There are five aspects on waste management

1. Policy/Regulation:

• Lack of enforcement
• Regulation developed not based on date
• Uncoordinated regulation development

2. Finance:

• Under Budget
• Inefficient use

3. Operational Technique

• Technology use not optimal
• No platform for collaborative waste management action

4. Institutions

• Not integrated
• Lack of communication
• Restricted functions

5. Stakeholder participation

• Uncoordinated
• Action and impact not monitored
• Geographically challenging

All information and services kindly provided by Waste4Change, a social enterprise dedicated to making Indonesia a cleaner and healthier place. 
In Bali, contact infp@eco-bali.com or 
call +62 822 3779 9819

two: restaurants

NOW! Bali has a very strong relationship with the hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars in Bali and regions across Jakarta through this magazine, our online portals, and our Best Restaurant, Bar & Café Awards (BRBCA).

For the 2019 BRBCA Awards we will start to encourage, and perhaps even enforce, some guidelines for restaurants who wish to improve their sustainability, if they are not already doing so.

Here are the main points which are very much based on the major problems Bali is facing with its mountain of landfill waste and serious record of marine plastic pollution – among others!

We urge all restaurants, cafes and bars to:

• Eliminate ALL use of plastic items especially single use items like straws and plastic lids.
• Stop using polystyrene containers entirely. 
• Changing to recycled brown card containers for cold or bakery items and re-usable containers for hot food. At minimum recyclable and card boxes.
• Eliminate paper place mats and use fabric or reusable materials but not plastic!
• Compile all your organic waste and make sure it goes to a professional composting service (like Eco-Bali).
• Stop serving water in plastic bottles. Only use glass bottles that the manufacturer recollects at minimum recycle all bottles through a professional glass recycler. Or use refillable jugs.
• Concentrate on trying to send nothing to landfill. You don’t need to if you separate all waste properly then engage a recycling company who will correctly process it.
• Check your tableware and glassware suppliers to see if you can change to upcycled or repurposed products.
• Change your straws to glass, bamboo or steel, but don’t serve them unless requested.
• Provide a free refill service for anyone who has a reusable water bottle, so that they don’t need to buy plastic bottles in minimarts.
• Check your meat and vegetable suppliers to see if they are ethical and at least doing their best to be environmentally friendly.

Can you do these really useful things? If you all can then we can see a very quick reduction in waste and pollution, across Bali.

Thank you. 

NOW Bali Editorial Team

This article has been written or uploaded by NOW! Bali's in-house editorial team.