Plastic Water Bottle Ban in Bali: What's Banned Since 2026?

Since 1 January 2026, single-use plastic bottled water under 1 litre may no longer be produced or distributed in Bali. Tourists are not fined for carrying or drinking bottled water: the rule targets producers, distributors, shops, hotels and restaurants. The legal basis is Bali Governor's Circular No. 9 of 2025 on the Clean Bali from Waste Movement, issued on 2 April 2025, and since late July 2026 it has been legally final after a court challenge failed (checked September 2026).

What exactly is banned?

Circular 9/2025 asks government offices, customary villages, businesses, hotels, restaurants, markets, schools and places of worship to stop using single-use plastic. The provincial government's reasoning: small packs such as 220 ml plastic cups are among the main plastic pollutants in Bali's rivers, beaches and sea. For visitors, three points matter most:

• Plastic bottled water under 1 litre. The 330 ml and 600 ml bottles and 220 ml plastic cups that used to sit in every warung may no longer be produced or distributed. Packs of 1 litre and above, including 1.5 litre bottles and 19 litre gallons, are still allowed.
• Plastic bags, plastic straws and styrofoam. All three have been banned since Bali Governor Regulation No. 97 of 2018 on limiting single-use plastic waste, and the 2025 circular restates it. That is why minimarket cashiers usually won't hand you a plastic bag.
• Waste sorting at source. Hotels, restaurants and other businesses must sort and process their own waste under Governor Regulation 47/2019, so don't be surprised if your villa asks you to separate organic waste from plastic.

Can tourists be fined?

The circular contains no penalty for travellers. Sanctions apply to businesses: their operating permits can be reviewed or revoked, and violators are named on social media as environmentally unfriendly. Villages that ignore the movement can lose provincial funding and incentives. Small bottles you bring from outside Bali in your luggage are not confiscated, but the empties still have to go in the right bin.

What is the legal status in 2026?

A water producer, CV Tirta Taman Bali, challenged the circular at the Denpasar Administrative Court (case 1/G/LH/2026/PTUN.DPS). On 21 May 2026 the suit was declared inadmissible for being filed too late, and the Mataram High Administrative Court upheld that on 15 July 2026. No cassation was filed by the 29 July 2026 deadline, so the ruling is final and the ban stands in full. Earlier, in a meeting with Governor Wayan Koster, Bali's bottled-water producers committed to stop making small bottles by December 2025.

So where do you get drinking water?

• 1 litre or 1.5 litre bottles are still sold in minimarkets and warungs. They are heavier, so decant into your own bottle.
• Hotel dispensers. Many hotels have drinking-water dispensers in the lobby, near the lifts, or refillable glass bottles in the room. Ask at check-in; if there is none, the hotel restaurant will usually fill your bottle.
• Cafés and restaurants. Plenty of cafés in Canggu, Ubud and Sanur will refill a customer's bottle, some for free, some for a small fee.
• The Refill My Bottle app maps refill points across Bali. Check the date of the latest review, as stations close or move.
• A 19 litre gallon from a water depot or minimarket makes sense if you stay several days in a villa with a dispenser.

What should you pack from home?

• A 750 ml to 1 litre reusable bottle. An insulated one keeps water cold in 30-degree heat.
• A foldable shopping bag, since cashiers don't give out plastic bags.
• A reusable straw if your child needs one. Cafés mostly use bamboo or paper straws, or none at all.

Can you drink tap water instead?

Drinking it straight is not recommended. Tap water in Bali is generally used for showering and washing; for drinking, rely on treated refill water. The details are in our article is tap water in Bali safe to drink, and other ways to cut plastic are covered in our eco-friendly Bali travel guide.

Sources: Bali Governor's Circular No. 9 of 2025 (Bali provincial government website, Mongabay Indonesia), and the Denpasar and Mataram administrative court rulings as reported by Bali media in August 2026.

The one habit that helps most: fill your bottle to the top every morning before you leave your hotel. Refill points at beaches, temples and waterfalls are hit and miss, and a 1.5 litre bottle from a roadside warung gets heavy in a daypack fast.