01 The core rule dates back to 2018
Bali’s long-running legal foundation is Governor Regulation No. 97 of 2018 on limiting single-use plastic waste. The original regulation is usually summarised around three headline products: plastic shopping bags, plastic straws and expanded-polystyrene or Styrofoam items. It pushed producers, sellers and consumers toward reusable or non-plastic alternatives.
The rule is real, but the visitor experience has never been perfectly uniform. A modern supermarket, hotel or café may operate very differently from a small market stall. That variation does not mean the policy vanished; it means implementation across a large island and thousands of businesses is uneven.
02 Bali tightened official settings in 2025
In January 2025 the provincial government issued Circular No. 2 of 2025 to reinforce the 2018 regulation inside provincial agencies, government-owned enterprises and schools. From 3 February, those settings were instructed not to provide drinking water in plastic cups or bottles and not to provide food or snacks in plastic packaging. Staff were encouraged to bring reusable tumblers.
That circular has a narrower institutional scope than an island-wide ban on every plastic bottle sold to every person. It is useful because it shows the direction of policy: Bali is trying to move beyond shopping bags and straws toward reducing disposable packaging more broadly.
03 The 2025 tourist code goes further for foreign visitors
The most important update for travellers is Bali’s Circular Letter No. 7 of 2025, the New Code of Conduct for Foreign Tourists. Its prohibited list expressly includes using single-use plastics, naming plastic bags, Styrofoam, plastic straws and plastic-packaged drinks. That wording is broader than many old “Bali plastic ban” articles.
It is therefore a mistake to tell visitors that only checkout bags are affected. The safest reading is that foreign tourists should actively avoid single-use plastic where practical and follow instructions at accommodation, attractions and events. The circular sits alongside existing waste law rather than replacing it.
04 Enforcement is uneven, but the rule is not imaginary
You will still see disposable plastic in Bali. Traditional markets, takeaway businesses, delivery services and small shops do not all behave the same way, and government reporting has acknowledged that implementation is stronger in some hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and modern retailers than in traditional-market settings.
Do not read that inconsistency as permission to ignore the rules. Visitors are specifically covered by the 2025 code. A business handing you a plastic item does not magically make the wider policy disappear. The sensible approach is compliance without drama: accept alternatives, carry reusables and avoid creating unnecessary waste.
05 What to carry without turning your holiday into a campaign
A refillable bottle and a light reusable shopping bag solve most everyday friction. Many hotels, villas, cafés and coworking spaces provide filtered-water refill points or dispensers. Ask your accommodation what system it uses rather than assuming tap water is safe to drink. A small reusable tote is useful at convenience stores, markets and pharmacies.
You do not need a suitcase full of zero-waste equipment. If a venue provides glass bottles, paper packaging or reusable containers, use them. If you need takeaway food, ask whether non-plastic packaging is available. The goal is fewer disposable items, not performing environmental sainthood on holiday.
06 Drinking water: reduce plastic without gambling with hygiene
Bali’s tap water should not be treated as ordinary drinking water by visitors. Reducing plastic does not mean refilling from an unknown tap. Use sealed water from a reliable source when necessary, or better, refill from a reputable filtered-water dispenser provided by your hotel, villa, café or refill station.
If your accommodation provides a large refillable water container, use it for drinking and tooth brushing. Keep your bottle clean, particularly around the mouthpiece. Families with babies or people with higher medical vulnerability should be conservative about water sources and follow medical advice relevant to them.
07 Wet-season beach rubbish is more complicated than one villain
During the wet season, some west-coast beaches can receive heavy pulses of marine and runoff debris. Wind, river flows, drains, local litter and ocean currents all influence what washes ashore. Old articles sometimes confidently assign most of this waste to one island, current or country without enough evidence. We are not doing that.
The useful traveller response is practical: do not add to it, use bins where they are available, avoid leaving takeaway packaging on the beach and be realistic that beach conditions can change after storms. A messy morning does not mean every Bali beach is permanently polluted, and a clean photo does not mean the waste problem is solved.
08 Choose businesses that make the easy option easy
Hotels and restaurants can reduce waste far more efficiently than individual guests if they change purchasing and service systems. Refillable bathroom products, filtered-water stations, bulk dispensers, reusable cups and sensible takeaway packaging remove hundreds of small decisions from a guest’s day.
When two businesses are otherwise equal, this is a reasonable factor to consider. You do not need to interrogate staff about a sustainability policy. Look at what is actually happening: are disposable bottles everywhere, or has the business built a reusable system that works?
09 What not to do
Do not burn plastic, leave rubbish beside an overflowing bin or push waste into drains. The 2025 tourist code also prohibits littering and pollution of Bali’s environment. If a bin is full, take small rubbish with you until you find another. At temples and natural attractions, follow local signage and staff instructions.
Also avoid turning a rule into an argument with local workers. The person at the counter may not control the packaging their supplier delivered. Ask politely, accept the available compliant alternative and move on. Respectful behaviour is part of the same tourist code that contains the plastic restriction.
10 The practical visitor checklist
Bring a bottle. Bring a bag. Refill from a trusted filtered-water source. Accept non-plastic alternatives. Do not litter. Those five habits cover most of what a normal visitor needs to do. If an attraction, hotel or event has stricter rules, follow them.
Bali’s framework has evolved since 2018, so very old advice saying the “ban is just bags and straws” is incomplete. The 2025 foreign-tourist code uses broader language, while implementation remains uneven on the ground. The sensible position in 2026 is to take the restrictions seriously without pretending every disposable plastic item has vanished from the island.
