Bali Governor, Made Mangku Pastika instructed supermarkets and other merchandisers in Bali to avoid using plastic bag as carrying containers. “Plastic bags have to be replaced with those made of either leafs or paper as an effort to protect Bali environment”, Governor Pastika announced on Monday.

He further suggested all people to bring their on bag when they go to shop at either supermarket or traditional market, just like in the old days. That way usage of plastic bag can be avoided so Bali as a major tourist destination will become cleaner. Governor Pastika reminded the fact that plastic bags damage soil structure as they could not be decomposed in 1,000 years.

As a tourism destination Bali is expected to have comprehensive method to solve garbage problem as well as making it a green island as promoted back on March. Everybody are expected to participate as cleanliness has so far been the main complain of visiting foreign tourists. “In the future, garbage processing will become a lucrative business so in addition to solving garbage problem it will also contribute in job creation”, Governor Pastika said.

Urban areas in Bali produce 5,094 cubic meters per day in average. Therefore the Provincial Government of Bali is initiating a a pilot project to process garbage to become organic fertilizer. In addition to inducing cleanliness of Bali it will also create value added benefit. At the initial stage small garbage processing plants will be built somewhere close to Besakih Temple in Karangasem, Goa Lawah Temple in Klungkung, and Pura Batur Kintamani in Bangli.

Garbage processing plants located close to the three holly sites will be prioritized to process waste produced by religious ceremonies. “We want to give economical value on waste produced by ritual processions”, Governor Pastika said. If the pilot project proven to be successful, it will be expanded by building the same facilities in every villages and urban residential clusters locally known as Banjar.