Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, is working on plans to charge visitors coming to tourism destinations across Indonesia, including Bali, a waste management tax according to local newswires.

Waste management, especially plastic waste management, is a growing global problem and one that Indonesia is keen to address. Gapura Bali recently reported Bali's political will was turning green and the island was set to ban plastic bags in 2019; one of a number of green initiatives aimed at creating a cleaner and healthier environment for visitors and residents alike.

But there is a cost for doing the right thing.

The idea of charging visitors to manage the trash they leave is not new. According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) solid waste management (SWM) services are determined to a large extent by the amount of funding available for the collection, transport, disposal, and recycling of wastes and effective SWM requires adequate funds to cover a range of activities involving designing and building recycling centres, landfills, and other facilities such as buying collection vehicles, compactors, and other equipment.

Operating SWM services are substantial, and have been estimated to account for 20%–50% of municipal expenditures. A number of Pacific Island countries, including the Marshall Islands, the Cook Islands and Palau already charge visitors fees to assist in covering these costs.

Viva report that Minister Luhut believes the cost of levies for handling waste will be pegged at around USD 10 for foreign tourists and around USD 1 for domestic tourists. Koster's Cultural Tax may double this, but both have yet to be confirmed and ratified by their respective government bodies.

According to Bertigar the legal umbrella for the levy is being prepared and reviewed and will appear later as a Presidential Regulation (Perpres).

These new rules are being targeted to be enforced by February 2019.

Bali's new Governor, I Wayan Koster is also planning to charge an additional levy on visitors coming to Bali to preserve Balinese customs and culture. When combined these new taxes could mean an additional USD 20 on transportation and/or lodging prices for foreign visitors.

Sources: Metro Bali, Tempo, Viva, Bertigar, Gapura Bali

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