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Brilio.net/en - Their average lifetime is 20 minutes and yet it takes over hundreds of years to disintegrate. They are affecting every single part of the planet: oceans, beaches and many other natural areas. They are often responsible for the death and extinction of many animals and especially many ocean species.
Plastic bags are one of the most used items in our daily life, but also one of the greatest symbols of the pollution generated by our consumer society.
The island of Bali, which is famous worldwide as a paradisiacal touristic destination, suffers from a crushing plastic pollution problem and if nothing is done, could become a giant trash bag in the next decade. Two Balinese sisters, Melati (14) and Isabel Widjen (12), decided to take action to fight against this dramatic issue devastating the landscape, and leading to catastrophic consequences on the island-ecosystem.
They started by organising beach cleans-up all around the island and events to raise awareness among both tourists and locals. They put on a trash fashion show, had a petition that acquired over a million signatures, went to other schools to extend their crew (currently 15 children) and also communicated a lot over social networks. Their goal is simple: to replace disposable plastic bags by reusable bags and reach an agreement with the Governor of Bali, Mangku Pastika, to stop the production of plastic bags by 2018.
In Bali, we generate 680 cubic meters of plastic garbage every day. Thats about a 14-story building. And when it comes to plastic bags, less than 5 percent get recycled, explains Isabel during the TED conference they gave in January.
In Indonesia, ecological awareness is on but is particularly slow. Be the change you want to see in the world is perfectly applied by the Widjens sisters and hopefully they are the inspiration for many other projects to raise!
Wijsen sisters help ban plastic bags in BaliTwo tweens managed to ban plastic bags on their island.
Posted by RYOT on Friday, March 18, 2016
(brl/red)
