This study aims to analyze the nature of policy regulations on the restriction of single-use plastic waste and efforts to strengthen them in the future through a paradigm of criminal law reform by reconceptualizing criminal punishment. This study employs a normative legal method using a legislative approach, a case-based approach, and a conceptual approach. The legal materials utilized consist of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources, analyzed qualitatively using descriptive-analytical techniques. The research findings indicate that Bali Governor Regulation No. 97 of 2018 on the Restriction of Single-Use Plastic Waste Generation is a valid, important, and progressive legal instrument in providing legal protection for the public, ensuring the fulfillment of the fundamental right to a good and healthy environment, and supporting sustainable environmental conservation in Bali; however, substantively, there remain challenges regarding the regulation of sanctions, which are currently insufficiently stringent—limited to administrative sanctions. To strengthen this policy in the future, it must be supported by the imposition of criminal sanctions; indeed, based on several existing laws and regulations, there is significant room to incorporate criminal provisions into the policy restricting single-use plastic waste generation. The coercive nature and greater severity of criminal sanctions compared to other areas of law can clearly serve as a deterrent to offenders and increase compliance with existing regulations.
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