- Name: Melati Wijsen
- Location/Ethnicity: Balinese/Dutch, Indonesia
- Archive Type: People
- Life: 2000-…
- Available File(s): Photo(s)
- Keywords: Environmental activism, Bali, Indonesia, Bye bye Plastic Bags, plastic bags threat, government.
- Link: –
Since 2013, a young Balinese girl named Melati Wijsen (Instagram handle: @melatiwijsen) together with her sister Isabel Wijsen (@isabel.wijsen) have been contributing greatly to reducing the problem of plastic bag waste in Bali due to Bali’s soaring tourism. They both started a movement that had now become an organization called Bye Bye Plastic Bags when she was only 12 and her sister was 10. The movement was born from the realization of these two teenage girls to invite the public to care about the plastic waste problem in Bali that has damaged not only the beauty of the island of the gods but also threatened the environment and the preservation of nature.
The two sisters realized that the Bye Bye Plastic Bags movement needed support not only from the local community who helped them collect plastic waste from the sea, rivers, and streets of Bali, but also needed support from the local government so that the plastic waste problem in Bali could be completely resolved. Although it was not an easy process and took many years, finally in January 2018 the Bali government supported the Bye Bye Plastic Bags movement and agreed to realize Bali without plastic bags. Until now, many institutions from various countries have also supported and implemented the Bye Bye Plastic Bags movement in their respective places. Based on the Making Oceans Plastic Free survey, which is also one of Bye Bye Plastic Bags’ partners, plastic bags have been reduced by 40 percent by 2020. All that can happen because the two siblings do not stop to defend and defend the beauty of Mother Earth from the threat of plastic waste.
Photo(s)
Source(s)
- “Melati Wijsen, Inisiator Setop Sampah Plastik Asal Bali,” CNN Indonesia, January 26, 2021, https://www.cnnindonesia.com/nasional/20210126161754-20-598624/melati-wijsen-inisiator-setop-sampah-plastik-asal-bali
- Elsa Emiria Leba, “Melati Wijsen, Pertiwi di Hati Melati,” Figur Kompas, August 15, 2021, https://www.kompas.id/baca/tokoh/2021/08/15/melati-wijsen-pertiwi-di-hati-melati
Written by Abel K. Aruan (November 16, 2024); Edited by Abel K. Aruan (January 25, 2025).