Steffi Schroeter is starting the project on the Danish island of Bornholm. As a nature coach and whale researcher (book "The Wisdom of Whales") she wants to do something locally to protect the whales and the sea. Through her travels and research of whales, her knowledge of the plastic flood and the dangers to the sea and humans is great and, inspired by the "plasticfree communities" movement in the UK, she starts her own project on Bornholm. The whale becomes the symbolic figure of the Changemaker Partnership, then called "Smiley," which is awarded to companies and institutions that do without single-use plastic. Within a short time, many companies join the project and the press and influencers report on it.

Word of the initiative's success and driving force spreads across borders and gradually volunteers from different regions come forward to do the same: Call and inspire locally for single-use plastic reduction and hand out "smileys" in recognition of the effort. Via a report about "plastic-free Bornholm", Sylt resident Heike Werner hears about Bye Bye Plastik and Steffi Schroeter and brings the project to the island of Sylt. Together with Carin Winkler, they decide to make Sylt more and more plastic-free. In the same year, volunteers start regional Bye Bye Plastik projects in Kiel, Bordesholm, on the Lower Rhine and Westerwald/Mittelrhein. The movement grows! On Bornholm, Bye Bye Plastik participates in the political folk meeting "Folkemøde" and causes the issue of single-use plastic to be seriously discussed for the first time for the event with 150,000 visitors. The decision follows that the event should be free of single-use plastic from 2020 and the organizing secretariat is awarded the CHANGEMAKER partnership.

Corona also meets the commitment of Bye Bye Plastic and the attention for plastic reduction goes to zero. Instead, the consumption of disposable items and hygiene products rises steeply. Sylt continues to be very active and wins the environmental award of the islands and Halligen. The cooperation between the founder and the people of Sylt intensifies and they attend meetings of the "Round Table Marine Litter", an information platform of about 130 experts from fishing, shipping, industry, retail, science, education, tourism, environmental associations, authorities, politics and art. Bye Bye Plastic regional groups from Flensburg and Frankfurt will join.

In July 2021, a new regulation will come into force across the EU, banning the production of some single-use plastic items, such as the plastic cup or straw. A first milestone of work has been done, and now the task is to adapt the criteria for awarding the award and increase the demands on companies. A restructuring is in the offing: A permanent core team of Steffi Schroeter, Heike Werner and Carin Winkler is formed and it is decided to give the project a new form and structure, to be able to accept donations and to expand the activities and projects. The decision was made to found a non-profit limited liability company and set all the necessary preparations in motion. Sylt becomes the most active region in Germany and cooperates with other players such as Healthy Seas, Ocean.Now! and becomes part of newly founded projects like the "Klare Kante Sylt" for waste prevention on the island.

The core team is putting more and more heads together and a concept is being developed that will make Bye Bye Plastik even more of a movement, according to the motto: One for the people. One for the companies. Both for the movement. A team of three young IT and design students are hired and the CHANGEMAKER Partnership is developed with new criteria for and the BELIEVER sticker, with which private individuals can show their attitude and their concrete contribution against the plastic flood. against the plastic flood. Both will be registered as a protected trademark. In February, the marine protection organization Bye Bye Plastik guG, based in Westerland on the island of Sylt, is officially founded with three partners: Steffi, Heike and Carin. Steffi Schroeter takes over the operational management. From March the first donations can be accepted. Bye Bye Plastik now also starts in Norway, in Stavanger, thanks to a committed German emigrant. Heike and Carin bring the microplastic exhibition "inyourface" from Ocean-Now! to Sylt, which opens on March 22, 2022. The Artist Swantje Günzel will be there for the opening and a theme week with events on microplastics and beach clean ups will frame the program. The new bilingual website will be launched in May, where companies and institutions can now also apply online for the CHANGEMAKER Partnership. Bye Bye Plastik is presented with the Environmental Award on Rügen at the Island and Hallig Conference.

Im Jahr 2023 liegen die Schwerpunkt auf dem Thema Mehrweg, Schulklassen und einer App. Nachdem im Januar das neue Verpackungsgesetz nun eine Mehrwegpflicht für Gastronomen vorschreibt, startet Bye Bye Plastik eine Kampagne mit dem Titel "Geh´ den MEERWEG, frag´nach MEHRWEG!". Schülerinnen einer Hamburger Schule engagieren sich auf Eigeninitiative mit "Youth for Bye Bye Plastik" auf TikTok und Instagram. Weitere Schulklassen besuchen die Insel und machen deutlich, dass die Bildungsarbeit mit Schüler*innen in Zukunft verstärkt werden soll. Die Expansion von Bye Bye Plastik in andere Regionen wird nicht weiter betrieben, da die personellen Kräfte fehlen. Es zeichnet sich mehr und mehr ab, dass der Schwerpunkt der Energie und Arbeitskraft auf der Insel Sylt liegt und bleiben soll. Eine neue Ausrichtung wird erarbeitet, die dem Motto folgt "Von Sylt in die Welt!". Eine vierte Frau "im Bunde" kommt hinzu: Nadine aus Hamburg verstärkt das Kernteam mit ihren Talenten. Der Besuch des Teams von H.O.P.E. führt zu der Idee, gemeinsam eine Bye Bye Plastik App zu erarbeiten, die Ende des Jahres als Pilotversion in den App-Shops erhältlich ist.

Bye Bye Plastik bekommt im Januar ein Förder-Preisgeld der Wirtschaftsförderung Nordfriesland für die Weiterentwicklung der App. Damit wird bis zum Frühjahr das geplante Projekt "Sylt räumt auf" in die App integriert und alle Sylter*innen und Gäste können ihren eigenen privaten Cleanup auf der Insel damit auch über die App tracken und auch andere motivieren, mitzumachen. Die Projekte "Sylt träumt auf" und "Schulklassen für saubere Meere" werden die Schwerpunkte des Jahres 2024 und im Februar geht der Relaunch der Internetseite online. Es werden Unterstützer*innen für die Projekte gesucht!