The Indonesian eco-activist talks waste, generational differences and how businesses can play their part in the plastic backlash
In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters.
Melati Wijsen and her sister Isabel were just 12 and 10 years old respectively when they had a life-changing moment six years ago. Struck by the amount of waste around them, the Indonesian pair founded Bye Bye Plastic Bags, a youth-led organisation that aims to empower people to say no to single-use plastic.
From online petitions to encouraging the use of plastic alternatives, and even a hunger strike to get their message across, Wijsen and her sister were instrumental in the eventually successful campaign to ban single-use plastic on the tropical island. In Devember 2018, the Bali government announced a ban on all single-use plastics, targeting a 70 percent decline in Bali's marine plastics within a year. Here, Wijsen introduces her work in her own words.
Growing up on the island of Bali, plastic was literally everywhere. Living in a home that’s only surrounded by nature, it wasn’t rocket science to see that plastic was having a negative impact on it. That’s why my sister and I decided to start Bye Bye Plastic Bags.
