Community Integration of Solar-Powered Rubbish Units in Tourism-Dependent Economies; exploring the viability of tech alternatives through a discussion of Integrated

Sustainable Waste Management in Bali

Natalie Koski-KarellAugust 15, 2015

Vermont Law School, Visiting Student, 2015University of California, Hastings College of the Law, J.D. Candidate, 2016

nskoskikarell@gmail.com; 703-409-0838; 7 Russell Rd., Tunbridge, VT 05077

INTRODUCTION

The island of Bali, part of the Indonesian archipelago, is still very much a Small Island Developing State (SIDS) even though it has become a popular destination for relatively affluent tourists. It is becoming increasingly important to balance its economic and environmental goals in order to maintain its special place among the world’s top travel hubs. The rapid rate of hotel and luxury development during a boom cycle creates many challenges for Indonesia and other emerging markets, one of which – waste management – is a matter of social responsibility and in need of urgent redesign.

Waste management falls squarely within the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals numbers 3 through 17.1 Contamination from improper waste management impacts water and soil quality, and its build-up is a detriment to land use opportunity and aesthetics. The current system of waste management in Bali reveals a lack of cooperation among its stakeholders. Hotels and luxury developers are bringing in non-biodegradable materials whose proper disposal the local residents are unfamiliar with, and much of which ends up in illegal dumps. This system illustrates how inherently unsustainable the tourist industry is, especially in areas lacking consistent government supervision.

Indonesia is a country where low-cost, efficient development is preferred over bureaucratic environmental assessments and consistent enforcement. According to community members involved in recycling programs on the island, leaders in the hotel industry continue to take advantage of the disorganized system. 2 Without regulatory or consumer pressure, they will pursue race-to-the-bottom tactics such as relying on the cheapest labor to dispose of the waste. Ultimately, Bali’s rivers and beaches fill up with its guests’ rubbish.3 This “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” attitude and disregard for long-term, sustainable solutions is an echo of environmental and economic policies across Indonesia. This pattern is a result of decades of corrupt government and neoliberal economic policy encouraged by Western influences. 4 5

1 United Nations, Open Working Group proposal for Sustainable Development Goals, A/68/970 (2015), available at http://undocs.org/A/68/970. 2 Olivier Pouillon (Bali Recycling) in discussion with the author, August 2015.3 Stephanie Valera, “Trash Season Arrives on Bali Beach,” Weather.com, January 23, 2014, http://www.weather.com/travel/news/trash-season-arrives-bali-beach-photos-20140123.4 Andre Vltchek, Indonesia: Archipelago of Fear (London: Pluto Press, 2012). 5 David Ransom, “The Berkeley Mafia and the Indonesian Massacre,” Ramparts Vol. 9 No. 4 (1970): 26-28, 40-29.

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OBJECTIVE

This paper will apply the Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM)6 model to Bali’s tourism sector in order to contemplate the viability of introducing to the island tech-based infrastructure, specifically BigBelly™ solar-powered waste compactors in low- to medium-density areas.7 A discussion of any element of ISWM requires a discussion of the entire system. The stakeholder stories told here will give the reader an idea of the complexity of ISWM in developing regions, specifically in relation to the tourism industry.

For centuries, the waste management system in Bali consisted of burning or burying organic waste. With the introduction of non-biodegradables, the system evolved into an informal scavenger network and eventually small recycling operations. As land grows scarce and consistent supervision falls to the wayside, these cohorts could benefit from a cooperative business model to minimize competition and maximize efficiency. Consumer-power and government pressure will be key in enforcing that hotels interact with these services appropriately.

In cases where a waste management system must navigate both traditional methods and tourist influence, community integration of any SWM effort is a question of power. Large hotel developments did, at one time, participate in SWM.8 Volume is exceeding local capacity, however, and it is becoming increasingly evident that the status quo needs urgent attention. Any effort to develop an ISWM system recognizes that sustainability depends on a cultural shift among its waste-makers. The system and its stakeholders should first and foremost encourage among each other and their spheres of influence waste reduction and recycling.

This paper will assess the potential in tourist-heavy developing regions for integration of solar-powered waste compactors as an alternative to sidewalk trashcans and small-scale, illegal commercial waste dumping (not recycling). Current data on these receptacles demonstrate high-performing efficiency, albeit in highly developed, Western urban areas.9 Introducing these compactors could be strategic in low to medium-density areas, but should only be used as an alternative to a regular trashcan, not as a solution to insensible waste generation. Incorporating this technology will supplement a multidimensional SWM system, but will remain a very small piece of a large puzzle.

Because the non-biodegradable waste issue is relatively new to Bali and other developing regions, the viability of these projects will need to come first through a cultural transformation on behalf of the government, the international tourism industry, the individual tourist, and the local resident. By tapping into Bali’s holistic philosophy, its SWM should invigorate these stakeholders to think in terms of “resource management” as opposed to “waste management.”

THE STRATEGY: Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM)

6 Justine Anschutz, Jeroen IJgosse, Anne Scheinberg, Putting Integrated Sustainable Waste Management into Practice: Using the ISWM assessment methodology as applied in the UNEP plus programme (2001-2003). (Gouda, The Netherlands: WASTE, 2004).7 This paper will focus only on the BigBelly™ receptacles designed to compact rubbish, not recyclables, and will position them in low- to medium-density areas because high-density area compactors need to be changed as frequently as regular trashcans, therefore defeating the purpose of a tech alternative. 8 Janeen Tang, “A Case Study of a Hotel Solid Waste Management Program in Bali, Indonesia,” (master’s thesis, University of Waterloo, 2004).9 BigBelly CLEAN public account, accessed with permission by Leila Dillon, VP Marketing, BigBelly.

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Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) assessment and planning means looking for technically appropriate, economically viable, and socially acceptable solutions to waste management problems in cities in the South and countries in transition – with acceptable levels of environmental performance.10 This is done with an understanding that the conditions can be quite different from those in OECD countries in the North. It is based on principles that include an explicit concern for disadvantaged groups and conservation of environmental resources. It looks very broadly at a wide range of conditions and issues, and uses participatory action research methods.11

ISWM can maintain itself over time without exhausting the resources upon which it depends. The steps to achieve SWM begin first by minimizing the production of waste, followed by maximizing waste recycling and reuse. In turn, this promotes safe waste disposal and will lead to an expansion of sustainable waste collection and disposal services.12 ISWM is stakeholder-oriented. Cooperation between stakeholders – local government, NGOs, the community, and industry – is needed to implement SWM systems.13

THE ROOT: the “culture of waste” and overconsumption

The components of waste management are complex and far-reaching. In all its various forms and historical mutations, it is deeply implicated in the practice of subjectivity.14 The connection we as individuals form with our waste is a byproduct of our socio-economic surroundings. The “culture of waste” that has developed correspondingly to industrialization confirms that we as individuals have an inevitable, relational affect on the world through what we use. Understanding that a variety of factors influences each individual to form a distinct and subjective response to our waste, the “code of waste ethics” must be relational, creative, and flexible. It should be uncovered and analyzed in each community, and then dispatched in action and education.

In highly developed, environmentally conscious cities like San Francisco, many cafes and casual eateries have instituted a culture of cooperation, encouraging consumers to separate their refuse after meals. This reminds patrons of their relational usage and thus their collective responsibility. In theory, this practice, like providing children with reusable water bottles in school, will be replicated and developed into a consistent habit.

An individual’s capacity to think long-term and engage in sustainable practice will need to be reflected in all aspects of their immediate community, both vertically (institutions, top-down governance and industry standards, bottom-up mobilization and engagement) and horizontally (among peers, at home, schools, and local business). There is no one-size-fits-all system of waste management; they vary as much as the communities in which they serve. Therefore, planning an ISWM will first require a critical analysis of local customs and externalities, or a targeted grassroots assessment.

THE LOCAL: national short-termism and looking to ideology

Some developing regions, especially those that do not have a history of integrated environmental policy, encourage harmony among its citizens through other means. Pancasila is

10 Anschutz, ISWM, 23.11 Anschutz, ISWM, 22.12 Habitat, A Reference Handbook for Trainers on Promotion of Solid Waste Recycling and Reuse in the Developing Countries of Asia. (Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), 2004).13 Tang, “A Case Study of a HSWM Program in Bali,”15.14 Guy Hawkins, Stephen Muecke, Culture of Waste: The Creation and Destruction of Value (Washington D.C.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003), xiv.

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the official philosophical foundation of the Indonesian state.15 Its five inseparable and mutually qualifying principles include social justice and national unity. It does not yet highlight an environmental component.

Indonesia experienced an anti-communist purge and neoliberal policy shock in the 1960s. Its development ministry willfully dismissed the indigenous ideology of Pancasila and the country underwent rapid modernization and inequitable distribution of its benefits. 16 Today, Indonesia is facing endemic corruption and an extreme breed of market fundamentalism.17 Polluted rivers and coasts are not issues that fishermen can afford to think about when they are focused on feeding their families.

Indonesia has yet to enforce robust environmental standards, perhaps because it has over 18,000 islands under its national purview. Through the ISWM lens, the national government should remain an active stakeholder in waste management, but should not preempt localized programs. For example, in the 1990s, a local non-profit environmental organization in the Balinese town Ubud attempted to expand recycling. It began composting organic waste and selling the compost to landscapers. The national government held a contest for the cleanest city in Bali, with a prerequisite that the winning community install an incinerator. Ubud won and an incinerator was built, thus curtailing composting and recycling efforts in the area.18

The concept of “environmental mainstreaming,” or integrating the environment into development decisions and institutions, will enable more efficient planning of environmental assets, encourage innovative solutions, improve social and economic resiliency, and move forward with a long-term process.19 To achieve these benefits, there should be collaboration between environmental and development interests and ideas, as well as political and institutional changes that integrate the environment into macro-economic systems and corporate operations. Regional and national governments should incorporate these growth principles with their indigenous ideology.

Government accountability is the biggest issue in the way of environmental mainstreaming in Indonesia and Bali. There are conflicting goals that need to be addressed. The ministry of culture and tourism is expected to provide growth, not necessarily implement solutions to manage that growth. Indonesia should allow more autonomy to its island regions to develop local waste management programs, and make sure that allocated funds are being used for such purposes. Bali’s local government should be setting action-oriented sustainability examples and empowering civil society to engage in its goals. It should be remodeling its perspective on tourism and hotel development to be one that is participatory in approach. Once tourists and locals feel like they are cooperating for the betterment of the island, Bali will become more self-sufficient.

With Indonesia’s reputation in mind, urgent environmental mainstreaming will have to find its route within Bali, specifically in the relationship between foreign capital and the local government.

Tri Hita Karana: Bali’s holistic philosophy

15 Donald Wilhelm, Emerging Indonesia, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009), 125.16 Wilhelm, Emerging Indonesia, 127.17 Vltchek, Indonesia: Archipelago of Fear, 168. 18 Graeme MacRae, “An Ocean of Rubbish,” Inside Indonesia, August 15, 2015, http://www.insideindonesia.org/an-ocean-of-rubbish.19 Barry Dalal-Clayton and Steve Bass, The Challenge of Environmental Mainstreaming: Experience of integrating environment into development institutions and decisions, (UK: International Institute for Environment and Development, 2009).

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Traditionally, Balinese are wont to waste. At one time, the majority of “waste” was organic matter and locals would bury it in a small pit in the ground to produce natural fertilizer. Once the waves of non-biodegradable rubbish began infiltrating the island, the locals responded by dumping the waste in ravines and rivers, digging up mangrove trees to create landfills, burning trash including plastic, and selling recyclables to Java.20

Bali’s regional cultural philosophy, in contrast to Pancasila, is “Tri Hita Karana” or “three causes of prosperity”: harmony among people, nature or environment, and God/gods.21 This supports and encourages the conservation of natural resources and the appropriate spatial arrangement of land use patterns to achieve successful environmental management.22 The Bali Sustainable Development Strategy (BSDP) considers culture to be the basic building block for sustainable development in Bali.23 If so, and Tri Hita Karana is so widely embraced, why then does there seem to be a disregard for treating waste properly?

Aside from the relative unfamiliarity with non-biodegradables, there is a customary disdain for features of the natural world that are uncontrollable. This attitude runs counter to conscious waste responsibility.24 For example, Balinese women are not allowed in temples or able to work in close proximity to men if they are menstruating. Such societal norms are sensitive, but present cultural barriers that distance the individual from active acknowledgment of waste. Education and public awareness are key elements of any strategy involving public participation and source separation. Local residents will be more inclined to properly dispose of household and commercial waste if it was cultivated in the popular consciousness, or, in this case, tied to their regional philosophy. This could come at the behest of their local government or even national policy. At this point, however, the “culture of waste” ripples even through Bali’s spiritual consciousness.

THE TOURIST: taking ownership of our waste and reversing reflexive short-termism

Environmental mainstreaming will have to manifest itself through the local residents and the tourists in different ways, aiming for compatibility and cooperation. In developing states, the economic disparity between these two groups has yet to evolve into cooperative, sustainable tourism, as it is usually a one-off experience for the tourist and a cyclical pattern for the resident.

In terms of their waste, tourists are in an empowered position. Solid waste is each individual’s responsibility; we are accountable for its creation and its disposal. And yet, its management continues to confound developed and developing communities alike. Municipal processing focused solely on cost-benefit and efficiency perpetuates a culture of carefree consumption and indiscriminate disposal by its citizens, and may even result in perverse configurations.25

This consumptive behavior rears its ugly head when applied in places where rapid development is prioritized over environmental sustainability. The average individual knows or realizes that they can profit at the expense of the future rather than at the expense of their

20 Olivier Pouillon (Bali Recycling) in discussion with the author, August 201521 The island’s unique blend of Hinduism and Buddhism creates a lively spiritual culture that sets it apart from greater Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country.22 Bruce Mitchell, “Sustainable Development Strategy for Bali,” in Bali: Balancing Environment, Economy and Culture, ed. Sugeng Martopo and Bruce Mitchell. (University of Waterloo: Department of Geography Publication Series, 1995), 539.23 Mitchell, Bali, 540.24 Lene Pederson, “Ambiguous Bleeding: Purity and Sacrifice in Bali,” Ethnology Vol. 41, No. 4 (2002): 303-315.25 Highly organized waste management is a precursor to one’s ability to consider their impact on areas without such systems.

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contemporaries and the environment.26 This rings true both for the transient tourist and top government officials.

“Not Bali for tourists, but tourists for Bali.”27 One objective of sustainable tourism is to consider how tourists can enhance the quality of life of the destination area residents. The sustainable tourism market highlights the environment and local cultural practices of the destination. Tourists are expected to support the local economy while ensuring the protection of natural resources for the benefit of future generations.28 However, their consumerist habits tend to apply to their new surroundings. In fact, some data shows that individuals seem to create more waste when on vacation than in everyday life.29

Along the spectrum of personal waste management, we see subliminal interactions that undermine global sustainability goals. Even when sustainability is embraced as a global good, a paradox arises when concern for the poor translates into an increase in current consumption, not into an increase in investment.30 From a waste perspective, this is a detrimental pattern. With the exception of some eco-tourism destinations, the average tourist does not arrive to a place ready and willing to invest in sustainable infrastructure or be held accountable for their waste, especially if they do not see it reflected in their new surroundings.

A strong, integrated system at the destination is necessary to combat this pattern. Every stakeholder needs to be involved to provide adequate infrastructure and incentive to participate in resource management. International business operations should work in conjunction with the local government to uphold sustainability goals, and the tourists and host residents alike should feel empowered to participate. Most people know in the abstract that proper waste disposal is a benefit to society, but without top-down and bottom-up examples, regulations, and infrastructure, their options are sorely limited.

TOURISM & THE ENVIRONMENT: where the trash goes

Hotels often generate large quantities of solid waste, in the form of packaging materials, kitchen and garden waste, old furniture and equipment, and potentially hazardous waste such as asbestos and solvents.31 According to UNEP, illegal dumping of solid waste generated from tourism facilities creates safety hazards for humans, disrupts wildlife habitats, and destroys a destination’s beauty.32 It is common for hotels and other businesses to choose the most cost-effective route of waste disposal.33 This usually entails paying very little to locals to dump the trash illegally. The closest landfill to Bali’s capital Denpasar (Suwung) is already the size of 30

26 Robert M. Solow, “Sustainability: An economist’s perspective,” in Saving Small Island Developing States: Environmental and Natural Resources Challenges, ed. Shyam Nath, John L. Roberts, Yeti Nisha Madhoo. (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2011), 87.27 A. Manuaba, “Bali: Enhancing the Image Through More Effective Planning,” in Bali: Balancing Environment, Economy and Culture, ed. Sugeng Martopo and Bruce Mitchell (University of Waterloo: Department of Geography Publication Series, 1995), 30.28 Meghan Epler Wood interviewed by Dr. Jack Spengler, “Tourism and Environmental Management,” YouTube video, 33:54, posted by “HarvardX EdX,” posted July 16, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11UzuTToWMw.29 United Nations Environment Programme: Division of Technology, Industry and Economics, A Manual for Water and Waste Management: What the Tourism Industry Can Do to Improve Its Performance, (France: UNEP, 2003), 3.30 Cindy Isenhour, “Green Capitals Reconsidered,” in Sustainability in the Global City: Myth and Practice, ed. Cindy Isenhour, Gary McDonogh, Melissa Checker, (Cambridge University Press, 2015), pp. 54-74.31 Tang, “A Case Study of a HSWM Program in Bali,” 4.32 UNEP, A Manual for Water and Waste Management, 5.33 Olivier Pouillon (Bali Recycling) in discussion with the author, August 2015

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football fields and is 25 meters high.34 With the spillover going into open dumps, Bali is facing leachate in its water table, threatening its water resources and flora and fauna. Bali produces up to 20,000 cubic meters of trash every day, and 75% of it is left uncollected on roadsides, rivers and at illegal dumps.35

In communities where there is a lack of or a disjointed municipal waste service, homes and businesses prefer to not have for regular waste collection service. Burning the trash in these roadside dumps is common because it is easier than hauling it to a local disposal site. Burning plastic and other non-biodegradables create dioxins which raise cancer risk by up to 23%, increase risk of heart disease, aggravate respiratory ailments, and cause a whole host of damages to the human organism.36 Though there are health risks involved, burning waste is such a traditional practice that, without any financial disincentive or regulations, will continue to occur until the culture and system shifts.

UNEP discourages open burning of solid wastes, and recommends that any incinerators should build their stacks high and burn at very high temperatures to make the resulting gaseous pollutants buoyant.37 In SIDS like Bali, incinerators could serve as a short-term solution to manage massive landfills, but they should not be embraced as a long-term solution. The ISWM model as applied to Bali is geared towards resource management: reusing and recycling as opposed to burning and dumping.

THE HOTEL: new developments, new opportunities

Since the 1990s, NGOs in Bali have offered to hotels sustainable waste management services. At one point, 20 large hotels were sorting waste on-site at the first recycling facility on the island. Garden waste was composted and food waste went to farmers (primarily for pig feed). With the bust period in the late ‘90s, “going green” fell to the wayside. Currently, ISWM has been focusing less on large hotels and bigger businesses, and more on service to small businesses, local restaurants, and ex-pats with villas.38 Expansion of these services has been very difficult due to limited enforcement by the government and no financial incentive to recycle waste. In the meantime, international hotel chains on Bali are taking advantage of the limited legal control, the growth-oriented tourism industry, and the capitalist focus of cost cutting. With a projected boom cycle in sight, it is crucial that pressure be put on these businesses to participate in an ISWM.

The tourism industry is currently facing a worldwide boom, setting a record of 1.1 billion travelers in 2014,39 and expected to welcome 2 billion more consumers over the next 30 years.40 34 Ni Komang Erviani, “Landfill’s poor management frustrates southern Bali,” Bali Daily, February 19, 2013, http://www.thebalidaily.com/2013-02-19/landfill-s-poor-management-frustrates-southern-bali.html.35 Luh De Suriyani, “Bali’s growing population, landfills create trash troubles,” The Jakarta Post, June 28, 2011, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/06/28/bali%E2%80%99s-growing-population-landfills-create-trash-troubles.html.36 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Backyard Burning,” http://www.epa.gov/osw/nonhaz/municipal/backyard/.37 J.O. Ayoade, “Climactic Factors Affecting Pollutants in Waste Disposal Sites in Developing Countries,” in Pollution Control and Waste Management in Development Countries, (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2000), pp. 251-258.38 Olivier Pouillon (Bali Recycling) in discussion with the author, August 201539 United Nations World Tourism Organization, International tourism on track to end 2014 in record numbers, PR 14086, 18 December 2014, http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-12-18/international-tourism-track-end-2014-record-numbers.40 Jean Claude Baumgarten, World Travel & Tourism Council, “Sustainable Tourism is the Future of Travel,” YouTube video, 3:41, posted by South-South News, posted September 28, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWge_1HdRbc

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For emerging markets and developing states with desirable tourist opportunities, the boom and bust of the tourism industry has been a roadblock in the way of incorporating sustainable policies on their behalf. The sheer volume of transient visitors to places like Bali and other low-infrastructure destinations is imitated by the waves of refuse left for the locals to deal with. Tourists from developed countries produce up to 2 kg/person/day of solid waste.41

With the current number of yearly travelers at 1.1 billion, 7.6 million tons of solid waste is generated by tourists in communities that are not their own. 42 In Bali, it is estimated that 18% of total waste generated in the southwestern part of the island (Denpasar and Badung) came from the tourism industry.43 The amount of waste generated per hotel room is over ten times the amount of waste generated per day per capita.

According to the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association, 288 new hotels are scheduled for construction in several major tourist hubs across Indonesia by 2016. Sixty-seven of these hotels will be built within the 2,232 square miles of Bali, most of which are currently concentrated in the southwestern portion of the island. In 2011, there were 22,000 hotel rooms in Bali. In 2013, this number doubled to 50,10044 rooms and a total of 2.97 million tourists visited the island.45 Within the first quarter of 2014, investment in Indonesia’s tourism sector reached U.S. $130.13 million, 90% of which was foreign investment ($117.27 million), and 8% of which went to Bali ($10.4 million). Although this may not seem like a significant sum, when coupled with $5 billion in annual revenue from tourism, it is difficult to imagine how nearly 200,000 Balinese still live in poverty and how there has yet to be installed a functioning SWM program in the denser areas of the island.46

Studies on sustainable hotel waste management in Bali show that a streamlined chain of waste is possible, and yet, a lack of enforcement and conscious cultural transition has led it to breakdown.47 After discussions with hotel general managers and through observational data, it is evident that today most hotels in Bali’s tourist hub have failed to embrace an integrated approach to their waste management.48 Most, when asked if they learned about sustainability or how to implement sustainable practices in their hotels, responded in the negative. Though the Bali Hotel Association has listed recycling and a saying-no-to-plastic policy as two of its top goals, there is hardly any evidence of actually integrating these practices.49 Furthermore, tourism professionals are not graded on their sustainability, but rather on their financial goals.

Once hotels make eco-efficiency the main factor in corporate decision-making, and do more than required in partnership with external parties in the product chain, only then may it become possible to internalize environmental costs in corporate accounting. At that point, hotels could reorient their businesses to reflect the interests of all stakeholders involved, and realize

41 UNEP, A Manual for Water and Waste Management, 3.42 “The world’s 692.5 million international tourists in 2001 were likely to have generated no less than 4.8 million tons of solid waste while abroad.” UNEP, A Manual for Water and Waste Management, 3.43 Tang, “A Case Study of a HSWM Program in Bali,” 48.44 Desy Nurhayati, “Hotel investors advised to consider Bali’s carrying capacity,” The Jakarta Post, June 7, 2014, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014/06/07/hotel-investors-advised-consider-bali-s-carrying-capacity.html45 Valera, “Trash Season Arrives on Bali Beach,” weather.com.46 Peewara Sapsuwan, “Poverty in Bali,” The Borgen Project: an influential ally for the world’s poor, April 14, 2014, http://borgenproject.org/poverty-bali/.47 Tang, “A Case Study of a HSWM Program in Bali, 83.48 Olivier Pouillon (Bali Recycling) in discussion with the author, August 201549 Bali Hotels Association, “Our Programs,” 2014, http://www.balihotelsassociation.com/programs/.

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their responsibility towards the community.50 One way of achieving this is through consumer pressure.

HARNESSING CONSUMER-POWER & A PARTICIPATORY HOTEL STRATEGY

Historically, tourism in the developing world has been set up by agreements between foreign image-makers/investors and local elites. Forms and scale of tourism development are usually beyond the control of local communities. There is a severe lack in participation by, and consultation of, the people of the host country in shaping the phenomenon. While some grassroots mitigation efforts have been made in terms of SWM, pressure needs to be applied on the power. Here, the power is centralized in the business operations that attract and comfort foreign tourists. These days, it seems that negative reviews on the Internet can be as much if not more impactful than community organized activism. Vocal visitors are bringing attention to the seeming incongruence between Bali on paper and the Bali in real life.51

National environmental rating systems for hotels, such as Bali’s Eco-Hotel Rating Program, have been developed to help consumers make decisions based on environmental and social criteria.52 Over the last decade or so, however, websites such as TripAdvisor have begun to dominate the field of consumer reviews. Searching “hotel/Bali/pollution” on TripAdvisor brings up reviews of the littered beaches in the major tourist hub (primarily Kuta Beach). None of the reviews draw a connection between the littered beaches and the waste management system of their nearby hotel, or remark on their own personal ability to combat the trash (they are on vacation, after all). This pattern may rely in part because it is widely accepted that the trash on Kuta Beach is not Bali’s trash. The official position of the Balinese government53 is that the trash along Kuta Beach is part of a natural cycle that occurs every December through February, where strong trade winds and currents carry rubbish from neighboring, and extremely polluted, Java.54

Bali’s parks department office deploys units consisting of rubbish trucks, loaders, and surf rakes to beachcomb Kuta beach every season, and has suggested deploying skimmers offshore to collect the rubbish before it washes on the beach. This will combat the problem at Kuta Beach but not solve Bali’s problem. With any negative externality, such as environmental pollution, the total social cost of production may exceed the value to consumers. Tourism in Bali will fall to the wayside if the island fails to integrate SWM.

Tourists should be encouraged to investigate their hotels’ involvement with SWM and pressure their hotels to engage in sustainable practices. This could be as simple as writing a negative review. By encouraging public pressure on mismanaged hotels, we could see a shift in eco-efficiency and stakeholder-oriented policies. This begins by educating tourists on the current problem and how they can participate in maintaining Bali’s beauty. Making it known that a highly developed waste management service does not yet exist will empower individuals to deal with his or her usage responsibly, and perhaps inspire them to point out unsustainable

50 Tang, “A Case Study of a HSWM Program in Bali,” 10. Citing L. Klinkers, W. van der Kooy and H. Wijen, “Product-oriented environmental management provides new opportunities and directions for speeding up environmental performance,” Greener Management International, 26 (1999). 51 Larissa Milne, “Why You Should Take Bali Off Your Bucket List,” The Huffington Post, May 10, 2014, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larissa-and-michael-milne/why-you-should-take-bali-_b_4925542.html.52 Tang, “A Case Study of a HSWM Program in Bali” 6.53 Bali Discovery Tours, “Governor Wants Hotels & Restaurants to Participate in Clean Up Effort of Kuta Beach,” January 15, 2014, http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?Id=10189.54 Suherdjoko, “All Rivers in Central Java Polluted, says green agency,” The Jakarta Post, January 16, 2010, http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/01/16/all-rivers-central-java-polluted-says-green-agency.html.

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practices. This may sound like bad public relations, but it is a small price to pay for visiting a destination known as “the island of the gods.”55

Hotels need to integrate sustainable waste management in their business practices. This includes monitoring waste generation and engaging with community efforts to combat illegal dumping. There needs to be pressure on these hotels to budget SWM, even in the face of the extremely low cost of paying dumpers.56 In addition, using biodegradable materials and integrating a robust recycling program should move to the forefront of hotel waste management operations. 57 Maximizing the potential of foreign byproducts could become an economic development driver and enhance overall environmental sustainability in the region, instead of ending up burned in nearby ravines.

INFORMAL SCAVENGER NETWORKS; how cooperative business models can supplement Bali’s SWM

The tourism feedback loop with Bali’s local communities creates a scavenger (waste picker) class that sustains itself on selling valuable recyclables to wealthier neighboring islands or to sorting facilities on the island.58 There are about 500 families living and sorting at Suwung. Informal collectors do fill a gap left by formal (public or private) providers, likely due to the distance between major waste-producing households and the waste collection sector, as well as the nature of the waste.59 In Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital city, waste pickers reduce by one-third the amount of garbage that needs to be collected, transported and disposed of.60

The challenge in organizing full-scale waste collection in Bali is a matrix of corruptive practice and a cultural disdain for the unclean. In addition, the waste industry is dominated by waste pickers buying and selling garbage. This network does not fit into the ideal SWM for a tourist-dependent SIDS like Bali. When the price of these materials falls, the waste pickers will be directly impacted. Furthermore, resource management should hold precedence over this informal process, that is, Bali should be encouraging recycling as opposed to a transaction-based network.

For now, waste pickers will continue to thrive in SIDS and other developing countries, and it is essential to make sure that the transactions are occurring locally. In order to encourage waste pickers to collect and sell back to the community, they could be mobilized under a cooperative model. Worker-owned waste management cooperatives are common in developed and developing countries alike, and were even supported under the Indonesian Suharto regime

55 Bali has 6,002 temples. BaliOrti.com, “How Many Temples in Bali Indonesia,” June 15, 2012, http://www.baliorti.com/2012/06/how-many-temples-in-bali-indonesia.html.56 Though organic waste is not the focus of this paper, it should be noted that hotels could embrace composting as an industry standard. This will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, produces rich material for gardens and grounds, and enhance their eco-friendly profile. Should this waste be sent to landfill, Bali could consider bioreactor landfilling to reduce spatial footprint.57 William McDonough and Michael Braungart, Cradle-to-Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, (New York: North Point Press, 2002). 58 Bali Caring Community, “A Visit to Scavengers Village at the Landfills of Suwung, Pesanggaran,” September 19, 2014, http://balicaringcommunity.org/en/a-visit-to-scavengers-village-at-the-landfills-of-suwung-pesanggaran.html.59 Kees Burger and Mesharch W. Katusiimeh, “Informality and public-private partnerships in waste,” in Urban Waste and Sanitation Services for Sustainable Development: Harnessing social and technical diversity in East Africa, ed. Bas van Vliet, Joost van Burren and Shaaban Mgana, (London: Routledge, 2014), 81.60 Martin Medina, “Waste Picker Cooperatives in Developing Countries,” (paper presented at the WIEGO/Cornell/SEWA Conference on Membership-Based Organizations of the Poor, Ahmebadad, India, January 2005), 15.

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in the 1990s.61 Members of cooperatives benefit from increased incomes and they help dignify waste picker activities.62

This business model is economically empowering and sustainable in nature. Following a pointed attack on the cronyism between hotel chains and the tourism industry, Bali can upgrade its SWM by organizing waste pickers into a cooperative. Resource management should maintain precedence, however, and integrating these cooperatives with local recycling efforts will be key.

COMMUNITY-ORIENTED FACILITIES & PROJECTS; models for sustainable resource management

There are 24 small- to medium-scale companies in Bali currently working to recycle non-biodegradable waste.63 Most of them can only process small amounts of trash, and most of them operate independently of each other, but they all represent resilient efforts to combat Bali’s waste problem.64 ecoBali, for example, runs an “adopt a school” program in which it educates its students towards an SWM program, and includes for its clients a training session on responsible waste management.65

Nevertheless, attracting business to these services is difficult. Cities and villages are not able to commit because they perceive these services as not being cost-effective. After a medium-scale waste management company attempted to build a semi-tech facility incorporating generators and harnessing the methane for energy, it could not get enough garbage to run. This and several other solutions-based projects failed to come to fruition due to lack of buy-in and/or government corruption. After a climate change conference in Bali a few years ago, the local government promised 600 WM trucks to be dispatched every day across the island. Only 22 trucks ever hit the pavement.66 This lack of government supervision resonates poorly with the tourism industry and local Balinese. At this juncture, it is difficult to imagine a long-term solution.

In the context of Tri Hita Karana, Bali’s local government should focus on the weaknesses in their enforcement strategy in order to optimize resource management. Without their leadership, residents will find little motivation to embrace and educate each other about SWM. Traditional Balinese waste management incorporates resource management in its DNA; waste can be disposed of effectively only after usable resources have been reclaimed from it and once it has no adverse effects on the environment.67 In line with this thinking, some community-oriented waste and resource management companies have begun to up-cycle and re-sell non-biodegradables like glass wine bottles. This justification for recycling and up-cycling is a sign of hope on the horizon. It will curb burning waste because it will become evident that waste has value.

These stakeholders play an important role in SWM because of their commitment to the work and their ability to adapt. Once hotels are pressured to embrace SWM as a matter of financial security, and the government actively enforces it, these community-oriented facilities could collaborate with scavenger coops to optimize every piece of waste in Bali.

61 Medina, “Waste Picker Cooperatives in Developing Countries,” 26.62 Medina, “Waste Picker Cooperatives in Developing Countries,” 27.63 Suriyani, “Bali’s growing population, landfills create trash troubles,” 2011.64 See, ecoBali, Bali Recycling, ByeByePlasticBags, TetraPak Indonesia, ProjectCleanUluwatu, Yayasan IDEP, Peduli Recycling Program.65 Roger Spranz (ecoBali), e-mail message to author, July 15, 2015. 66 Olivier Pouillon (Bali Recycling) in discussion with the author, August 2015.67 Yvonne Gotlop Bogatsu, “Towards Effective Waste Disposal in Developing Countries,” in Pollution Control and Waste Management in Developing Countries, (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2000), 271.

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A LOW-TECH SOLUTION; integrating solar-powered receptacles in Bali as part of the ISWM system

Studies on post-colonial states such as Indonesia have shown that instead of applying high-tech Western solutions to solve complex problems on a centralized level, appropriate technology or low-tech solutions for local problems should be applied mainly in the suburban and rural areas where waste management mainly consists of dumping and burning.68 Though solar-powered compactors have been primarily utilized in highly developed urban centers and college campuses, they are low-tech and low-maintenance, and effectively operate like a typical public trashcan. With some initial training and community awareness, they may be able to integrate relatively easily in SWM communities, especially in Bali’s tourist hubs.

The tourism industry is ripe for public-private partnership, and industry leaders note that its future will require the dynamism of entrepreneurship that only the private sector can bring.69 BigBelly™, a U.S. based company, manufactures and distributes solar-powered waste compactors to communities in 47 countries around the world. They are rectangular receptacles, one specifically designated for trash, and the other for bottles and cans (designated by a circular opening). They are about the size of a typical sidewalk trashcan, bolted to the ground and topped with a 30-watt solar panel. When rubbish reaches a certain point, a sensor is triggered and an off-grid solar battery powers an internal 1,250-pound compactor. These batteries need to be changed about every five years. The centerpiece of these receptacles is the cloud-based software, CLEAN. This system enables clients, mostly cities and universities, to know exactly what is going on with their stations (which need to be emptied, which are nearing full capacity, and data on efficiency and cycles, including heat-maps to see which ones are more leveraged than others). This information can even be accessed via a mobile app.70

Oakland, California is one city that has installed BigBelly compactors. After some informal interviews with local residents, it became evident that the specifics of these compactors are not widely known. Resident responded that they would use them now that they knew about them. Only one interviewee had a negative response to the process, commenting that the closed compactor makes it difficult for rummagers to access recyclables. This is precisely why the author recommends integrating these compactors for rubbish only, leaving recyclables to be up-cycled or sold.

Public data on BigBelly usage demonstrates a highly efficient (between 70 and 90%) and highly organized system.71 In general, receptacles in the busiest urban centers, like downtown Hamburg, are filled within one to two days, while some receptacles in more rural areas, like Kutztown-Pennsylvania, go up to 80 days before needing to be emptied. Without public data on how these receptacles operate in developing areas, the author can only infer that BigBelly has the potential to service solid waste disposal after proper training and community education. The compacted material will still need to be disposed of.

In the context of Bali’s tourism industry, these receptacles could prove to be quite useful if integrated in hotel operations. Tourists are sure to welcome the idea of a low-tech alternative to illegal dumping. Strategic placement would install these bins in highly developed, low- to

68 Bas van Vliet, et al., “Network governance and waste and sanitation service provision,” in Urban Waste and Sanitation Services for Sustainable Development: Harnessing social and technical diversity in East Africa, ed. Bas van Vliet, Joost van Burren and Shaaban Mgana, (London: Routledge, 2014), 15.69 Christopher Brown, Managing Director – TTF Australia, “Sustainable Tourism is the Future of Travel,” YouTube video, 3:41, posted by South-South News, posted September 28, 2012, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWge_1HdRbc.70 Leila Dillon (VP Marketing for BigBelly) in discussion with the author, August 2015. More information available at http://bigbelly.com/.71 BigBelly CLEAN public account, accessed with permission by Leila Dillon, VP Marketing, BigBelly.

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medium-density tourist areas in the southwest, in places like Ubud and Kuta. They could also be beneficial in rural areas where maintenance need would be low.72

Each receptacle currently costs $4,000. As discussed, investment in communities is much more effective than consumption. A mobilized effort among SWM stakeholders to incorporate a low-tech solution could provide the needed funding. Ultimately, this technology is only a piece of the SWM puzzle. They should not replace recycling initiatives, which are very much the core of Bali’s resource management system.

CONCLUSION

With Bali at the helm of this discussion, one gets a sense of how complex and particular ISWM is in reality. Exploring Indonesia’s history, Bali’s traditional customs and regional philosophy, levels of government accountability, hotel industry and tourist consumer-power, informal sector and community-oriented recycling projects, demonstrates just how multi-dimensional sustainability initiatives are. The introduction of appropriate technology solutions could play a role in developing a sustainable waste management system in Bali and elsewhere. Without overarching shifts in cultural attitudes and environmental mainstreaming, however, these solutions will not last. Appropriate technology is part of the whole, and it will have to exist in conjunction with the other moving parts.

72 There is some concern about the receptacles being stolen. Usually they are bolted to sidewalk cement. In rural areas where cement is scarce, installation will rely on creative placement.

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