Bali seems poised to ban a common type of plastic packaging, which would be its second significant plastic ban since May, according to The Jakarta Post.
Officials from the Indonesian island, home to more than 4 million people, have indicated they will ban sachets — plastic, bag-like packaging materials — starting next year.
"I support it fully," Bali Vice Governor I Nyoman Giri Prasta said of the ban. "We have discussed this, there will be a decision later."
Earlier this year, the Balinese government announced a ban on all plastic water bottles smaller than one liter. Both of these bans are designed to tackle the large plastic-pollution problem that exists not just in Bali, but across all of Indonesia.
Bali generates an estimated 334,000 tons of plastic waste each year, per the Guardian, with more than 10% of it ending up in local waterways. One estimate puts Indonesia's number as high as 1.4 million tons of plastic waste that pollutes the oceans annually.
Much of that waste consists of sachets, small containers that often hold single-use versions of products like shampoo, potato chips, and ketchup. In the nearby Philippines, sachets comprise more than half of the residual plastic waste, per Break Free From Plastic.
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The more plastic that enters our oceans, the worse things get for our marine life. A recent study found that almost 94% of fish sampled from Indonesia's Jakarta Bay had microplastics in their gills and guts.
A viral video showed the scope of Bali's problem. In the clip, a self-proclaimed riverman and his team wade through a river so full of trash that it is sometimes difficult to see the water underneath.
Along with the bans on sachets and small water bottles, Balinese officials are contemplating further restrictions on plastic packaging that could take effect in 2026. The Jakarta Post reported these changes have come in response to environmentalists' suggestions.
"It means being visionary, [so that] our descendants see Bali clean and green," Giri Prasta said.
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