Bye Bye Plastic Bags

All over the world, plastic bags are becoming a major source of pollution.

So, how do you solve a problem this big? You put two driven and passionate teenage sisters on the case.

Source: Green School Bali

This is the story of Melati and Isabel Wijsen, who, at 12 and 10-years-old decided they had to put an end to the plastic bags that were strangling their home island of Bali.

With the help of a team of fellow teenagers and a lot of tenacity, they created Bye Bye Plastic Bags, an organization that is not only changing the landscape of Bali but is beginning to spread across the globe.

Here are Melati and Isabel from the TED stage with their incredible story…

Do you know about the TED stage? TED.com is one of the most interesting corners of the web and EWC features the best of their talks a couple times each month. If I do say so myself, EWC and TED are the only places I have found where smart people, curious and hopeful, can always come away transformed. Take a look at the best of the best on our Must-See TED Talks page!

In this TED talk though, I am absolutely floored by these two!

What would the world look like if we encouraged kids, with their the boundless energy, to advocate for the future of this planet?

Harnessing the power future generations starts with educating children about what is possible, and instilling in them the confidence to believe that they are powerful enough to make change.

If we raise a generation of advocates for this world, we raise a future for this planet.

Bye Bye Plastic bags has picked up steam around the world with new branches starting up in Nepal, Guadalajara, Australia, and New York City.

The Bali team for Bye Bye Plastic bags has a great Facebook page where you can keep up with current events and see all of the great work the organization is doing!

If you want to see more stories of teenagers changing the world, check out our Circle “Teens Who Will Restore Your Hope.” It’s a great playlist of our best article on young innovators who are changing our world!

We’ve also got loads of articles about the awesome things people are doing to reduce plastic waste. Check out a few of them here!

Stay beautiful & keep laughing!

-Liesl