Indonesia's Regional Council Urges 'Green Democracy' Approach to Bali's Waste Crisis

At a meeting held in Denpasar, DPD RI (Regional Representative Council) Speaker Sultan Baktiar Najamudin called for addressing Bali's waste problem not merely as a waste management issue, but through a broader lens of how the region develops, lives, and treats nature. He argued that Bali's development success should be measured not only by investment levels, hotel numbers, or tourist arrivals, but also by the cleanliness of water, the health of the sea, and the quality of the air.

The DPD RI is pursuing environmentally conscious legislation, including bills on archipelagic regions and climate change, and welcomed the construction of Bali's waste-to-energy facility (PSEL) as the first of its kind in Indonesia. The project is described as part of President Prabowo's broader push for national self-reliance through green and blue economy initiatives.

Sultan also stressed that ecological awareness and waste sorting habits should begin at the smallest community level, leveraging traditional villages (desa adat) and local wisdom.

Bali's Regional Secretary Dewa Made Indra explained that the provincial government treats waste management as an urgent sub-priority program, coordinating with district and city governments across Bali. Through Governor Regulation No. 47 of 2019 on source-based waste management and the 'Bali Bersih Sampah' (Bali Free of Waste) movement, the province is shifting from the old collect-transport-dispose model toward a comprehensive approach covering reduction, sorting, processing, utilization, and residue management aimed at generating circular economy value.