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Indonesia’s tourist hotspot, Bali, has officially banned all single-use plastic including shopping bags, styrofoam, and straws, in an attempt to cut down on ocean pollution.
Announced by Bali Governor Wayan Koster on Monday, the ban aims to result in a 70 percent decline in Bali’s marine plastics within a year.
‘We will take action’
According to the Jakarta Post, Koster said: “This policy is aimed at producers, distributors, suppliers and business actors, including individuals, to suppress the use of single-use plastics. They must substitute plastics with other materials.
“If they disobey, we will take action, like not extending their business permit.”
It has been reported that more than 240 tonnes of trash are produced each day in the southern part of Bali alone, with 25 percent of it coming from the tourism industry.
Plastic bans
Bali isn’t the only island to crack down on plastic consumption. Earlier this year, Capri announced it was banning visitors from using non-recyclable plastic items; enacting a €500 ($559) fine for those in breach of the ban.
Capri’s Mayor, Gianni De Martino, told The Times: “We are not going to save the world single-handedly — we see the bags and the polystyrene coming in on the current from elsewhere, but tourists are happy to join the effort, and what we started is spreading.”
