According to TripAdvisor’s Travelers Choice Island Awards, Bali ranks #7 in the world. This Indonesian paradise island has welcomed more than 3.7 million foreign tourists in 2014 but this has taken a toll on Bali’s environmental situation. The circumstances have worsened throughout the years with mass tourism development, a fast growing economy and population and lack of public infrastructure. Bali’s environmental issues is a race against time and time is running out.
Villa-Bali.com is aware of the negative impact of mass tourism on Bali’s environment and culture, and we want to be part of the change and be proactive. We care about Bali’s environmental issues and we pledge to implement eco-friendly behaviours among our villas.
Based on an extensive research about environmental issues in Bali, we have come up with a white paper and embarked on the GECO project to facilitate this green transition. So, what is GECO project?
1. A no plastic policy
Indonesia, China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam contribute more than half of the oceans’ plastic. Plastic is a real epidemic with an average of 10 million plastic bags distributed everyday in Bali.
- With the aim to ban the use of plastic bags in villas, Villa-Bali.com is working with local initiative “Tas Pasar” to provide villas with reusable bags.
- Villa-Bali.com also encourages villas to ban or reduce the use of other plastic items (plastic bottles, plastic cutlery or straws)
2. No more waste next door
In 2014, 10 thousand cubic meters of waste were produced in Bali per day. Almost 50% is thrown away in illegal dumps, along the roads, rivers and in ravines. This mountain of uncollected garbage is the root of serious environmental and health issues.
- Selective sorting: Villas are encouraged to set up waste segregation (plastic, glass paper and organic) to allow proper recycling. Staff will receive regular training to understand the issues and help them change their behaviors.
- Composting: Organic waste is the first municipal solid waste in Bali, hence we encourage our villas to give their organic waste to pig farmers or compost them to produce fertilizer for gardening/farming purposes.
- Work with a trusted collection services: We advise our villas to work with responsible services to collect their waste, recycle what can be recycled, instead of dumping all of it in a river; they will bring waste that cannot be recycled to a secure landfill, instead of dumping them in a river.
3. Become a greener hero
To assist our villa owners to implement these green steps in their villas, Villa-Bali.com will provide them with a toolkit on eco-friendly behaviors and suppliers:
- A checklist on simple eco-friendly behaviors that can be set up in a villa to save energy… and money !
- A useful directory of eco-friendly companies in Bali such as organic and natural daily product (food, soap, cleaning products…), waste management companies, furniture, green buildings and environmental assessment companies and local NGOs.
4.Environmental assessment and efficiency
For owners who decide to take it a step further, we would be more than happy to provide expert advices in green building solutions to make an environmental assessment and improve the environment efficiency of the villa such as water saving fixtures, rainwater harvesting solutions and renewable energy solutions.
Spread the word, spread the love for Bali – It needs us to keep it beautiful.
Visit here to find out more.
