From Bali’s Beaches to a Global Movement

Bali is often pictured as an island paradise with blue oceans, golden sands, and lush green landscapes. But for sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen, growing up there meant seeing another side of paradise: plastic waste washing up on the shore, clogging rivers, and suffocating marine life.

At just 12 and 10 years old, they began asking questions that many adults ignored. Why should something used for only a few minutes, like a plastic bag, end up polluting nature for years? Why couldn’t Bali do better?

Those questions led to action. In 2013, the girls started “Bye Bye Plastic Bags.” With nothing but determination and handmade signs, they rallied classmates, spoke in schools, organized beach clean-ups, and stood up to leaders who doubted them. Their journey wasn’t easy, petitions were rejected, meetings dragged on, and at one point they even staged a hunger strike to be taken seriously.

But persistence has a way of breaking barriers. After years of effort, their campaign finally made history. In 2019, Bali banned single-use plastic bags, straws, and Styrofoam. What started with two children’s voices became a movement that reshaped policy and inspired communities around the world.

Their story is a reminder that change doesn’t wait for age, title, or permission. It begins the moment someone decides to care enough to act. Melati and Isabel showed that courage and consistency can turn a local problem into a global call for action, one that continues to echo far beyond Bali’s shores.

#byebyeplasticbags #BaliSisters #ClimateChange #BanPlastic