Bye Bye Plastic Bags is a community engagement and educational movement driven by youth that advocates for no plastic bags.
TARGET USERS: Individuals, Businesses
KEY CONSIDERATIONS: The campaign was launched in 2013, in Bali, and has since grown to 50 team sites with around the world. The teams raise public awareness by delivering school presentations and workshops, organizing beach clean-ups, providing alternative bags, creating plastic bag free pilots, lobbying with local and national governments, and speaking at events.
MORE INFORMATION: http://www.byebyeplasticbags.org/
THE PROBLEM
Right now, there are 150 million metric tons of plastic in our oceans—and we’re releasing an additional 8 million metric tons each year. Plastic pollution exists almost everywhere in the ocean, from the remote seas of the Arctic to the floor of the deep sea.
This shocking amount of plastic impacts ocean wildlife, too. Sea turtles and other marine wildlife mistakenly eat plastic bags that they confuse with jellyfish. Sea birds, whales, dolphins, and other marine animals often turn up dead with stomachs full of plastic. Even land animals are now forced to live among plastic pollution.
Single-use plastic bags are a major contributor to street litter, ocean pollution, marine and other wildlife harm. Because the environmental costs of these products are largely hidden from the consumer, in many parts of the world the single-use plastic bag consumption continues to grow unabated. We cannot solve a problem that people simply are not aware of.
THE SOLUTION
Bye Bye Plastic Bags envisions a world free of plastic bags and where the young generation are empowered to take action. BBPB raises awareness and educates youth about the harmful impact of plastic on our environment, animals and health while also sharing how to be part of the solution. Having spoken to over 20,000 youth and created 2 educational booklets aimed for elementary schools in Indonesia, education has a huge place in the role of BBPB.
BBPB is an NGO that was first launched in 2013, in Bali, by founders and sisters, Melati (18) and Isabel (16) Wijsen when they were 10 & 12 years old. Since then, BBPB in Bali, has grown to include a volunteer team students from local and international schools around the island + changemakers of all ages.
The team has spent the last 6+ years raising awareness about the waste problem in Bali through delivering school presentations and workshops, organizing beach clean-ups, providing 35,000+ alternative bags, creating a plastic bag free pilot village, lobbying with local and national governments, and speaking at a variety of local and global events.
Globally, the BBPB team has spoken to 50,000 students across 22+ countries in 9 different languages. They have become a well-known international movement of inspiration and youth empowerment. In 2016, BBPB went global and has
since established 50 new BBPB groups in cities around the world.
ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS
Plastic bag free Alonissos
Plastic bag free Alonissos is carried out by the MEDITERRANEAN SOS NETWORK, MOm (The Hellenic Society for the study and protection of the monk seal), in cooperation with the Municipality of Alonnissos, and funded by Thalassa Foundation. It aims at reducing the use of plastic bags on the island and making Alonissos the first “plastic bag free island” in Greece. This action contributes to the protection of the coastal and marine environment of Alonissos, which is the habitat of the Mediterranean monk seals. VIsit Alonissos’ website to learn more.
CASE STUDY EXAMPLES
See a list projects and case study examples at http://www.byebyeplasticbags.org/bbpbprojects/
The BBPB team has spoken at key international conferences and other global events including:
EXPERIAN: Bali 2019; IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings: Bali 2018; Our Oceans: Bali 2018; Indonesian Youth Marine Debris Summit : Jakarta 2017; Our Ocean : Malta 2017; East Asia Summit – Combatting Marine Debris: Bali 2017; World Ocean Summit : Bali 2017; TEDx Lausanne Women: Switzerland 2016; TEDx Ubud: Bali 2016; TEDGlobal : London 2015; COY 12 + COP 22: Marrakesh 2016; COY 11 + COP 21: Paris 2015; INKtalks : India 2014; among others.
