How many times have we written this now?! We’ve lost count, but…the Suwung TPA is about to close. For real this time. No going back. Done.
Bali’s largest open landfill site, the Suwung TPA, has been slated to close for more than five years, but with the date being pushed back, locals, leaders, and frequent visitors to Bali are skeptical about whether this time it will actually happen.
The Suwung TPA sits just between Denpasar City and Serangan Island, and is just a stone’s throw from the popular resort of Sanur. The last assessment revealed that the mountain of trash sits at more than 10 storeys high and sprawls over 32 hectares.
Figures suggest that Suwung TPA receives more than 1,000 tonnes of trash every day. The site was supposed to be fully closed before the G20 Summit in November 2022, but the closure keeps getting pushed back.
The last official closure date was the 27th December 2025, which was then extended to April 2026. In theory, the site has stopped accepting organic waste; however, most of the waste dumped there is mixed household trash. In news that is both frustrating and half-expected for those invested in the situation, the Bali Provincial Government (Pemprov) has announced that the Suwung Final Disposal Site (TPA) will now be completely closed on 1st August 2026.
The update means that starting April 2026, organic waste will no longer be allowed to be disposed of at the Suwung TPA and must be processed at its source. Residual waste will still be allowed until 3 1st July 2026, before the landfill closes completely, once and for all.
The update was announced by Bali Governor Wayan Koster during his presentation on Sector Five, Environment, Transportation, and Energy, when delivering a report on one year of his leadership with Deputy Governor I Nyoman Giri Prasta in a plenary meeting of the Bali DPRD. He explained, “We need to report the existence of the Suwung Landfill.
The deadline is March 31, 2026. All waste must be disposed of according to its type. Starting April 1, organic waste will no longer be allowed at the Suwung Landfill; only residual waste will be allowed. Organic waste must be processed on-site. It cannot be brought back to the Suwung Landfill.”
He continued, “From April 1 to July 31, 2026, only residual waste may be disposed of. Organic waste will be processed at the source. Starting August 1, the Suwung Landfill must be completely closed.”
One of the main reasons the closure date has been pushed back is that Bali is believed to lack the capacity to process its waste any other way.
As a solution to this problem, the Bali Provincial Government is preparing to build a waste-to-energy (PSEL) facility. Six hectares of land owned by PT Pelindo are already available.
The winning tender operator, Zhejiang Weiming Environment Protection Co., Ltd., through Danantara, has been appointed to begin construction in June 2026. The project is scheduled for completion in late 2027, with initial operations targeted for 2028.
The facility is designed to process at least 1,200 tons of waste per day, specifically for Denpasar and Badung Regency, which is hoped to top tourism resorts like Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, Canggu, and Uluwatu.
The project has received full support from the central government, including direct attention from Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, who has designated Bali as one of the priority areas for technology-based waste management, along with several other major cities.
Governor Koster explained, “We are grateful that Bali has been designated as a national model for waste management…All the violations that have accumulated over the years must be ended. We need a common ground and a shared approach to preserving Bali.”
He concluded, “If Bali is clean, we can ensure the sustainability of this world’s premier tourist destination.”
However, with the new waste-to-energy facility not set to be fully operational until 2028, concerns are now being raised as to where the tonnes upon tonnes of waste that typically go to Suwung TPA will be disposed of in the meantime.
It remains to be seen whether existing recycling and composting facilities across the island can step in to ensure that waste is not channeled to other open landfills around the island that are already at capacity, or, worse still, that a new site is opened.
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