Leslie Finlay | Trash Hero World

Trash Hero Commits to I Care Initiative

by Leslie Finlay on 02/12/2017 No comments

Trash Hero is proud to announce our participation in the global I Care initiative among various organizations, companies, associations and individuals around the world dedicated to a cleaner ocean.

I Care participants commit to tackle the problem of marine plastic through three steps:

Reduce daily consumption of disposable plastic items
Remove of plastic waste from our shorelines
Rescue animals injured by or caught in plastic marine waste

All types of marine life are affected by plastic entering our oceans

As Trash Heroes, we can honor this commitment in simple, everyday ways. Choose reusable and sustainable alternatives to items like produce bags, straws, plastic bottles, single-use coffee cups, personal care products containing microbeads, and microfiber clothing. Each individual commitment means less kilograms of plastic waste entering our oceans.

Live more sustainably by using reusable bottles and bags and clothing made from environmentally-friendly materials

I Care is a commitment developed by OceanCare, an organization working toward marine protection since 1989 through research, campaigns, environmental education and participation in international committees. Their work has been recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the organization granted Special Consultative Status on marine issues. Through this distinction, it advocates for updated policy and regulations to reduce plastic waste on national, regional, and global levels.

This video produced by OceanCare describes its mission and introduces I Care participants, including Trash Hero at the 10:00 minute mark! This compilation was recently shown to the 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species in Manila #cmscop12 on 26th October 2017.

How do you demonstrate your commitment to a cleaner ocean?

Trash Hero Kid’s Book: Meet the Illustrator!

by Leslie Finlay on 29/11/2017 No comments

We have almost two thirds of our target funds to produce our #trashherokids book! Thank you to all who have donated so far. Not donated yet? Take that small step now: https://www.100-days.net/en/projekt/trashhero-children-s-book

Many people have commented on the beautiful illustrations in the book and indeed, we chose our artist for her evocative, sensitive treatment of the story, rather than the cartoon style so often seen in children’s environmental stories.

Here, we want to share with you Ewelina’s own story of how she came to the project.

*DREAMS COME TRUE*

“This project is very important to me, it’s very close to my heart, so I want to tell you the story how it all started for me. Maybe later you will become a part of the project too :).

I’m in love with nature, underwater life or forests are sacred for me. But these places are in danger.

Once I was swimming on the coral reefs and I saw an amazing, impressive giant blue starfish. I swam just a bit further and something blue took my attention again. I expected to see another beautiful animal, but what I found was just a blue plastic bag. Oh my, it was such a sad view. At moment like this you just want to cry. You are aware you are in such amazing world, but this world will disappear if we do not care enough.

After this experience I had a very specific dream – I dreamed about picking up trash in Bali!

In the beginning I felt little ashamed to tell it to anyone, my mom could have said “Hey kid, you should do bigger things than collecting trash!”. So I kept it secret for a while 😉

One year later I decided to move to Bali and it was the best time to realise the dream!

But of course I would feel awkward to do this alone. So I was ready to write an advertisement to find other crazy people to join me in this adventure. Then I found out about Trash Hero! First we were only three people, but after few months the group grew bigger, even kids from local schools were involved.

When I returned to Poland, a dear Balinese friend told me that Trash Hero World had the idea how to explain other kids why it’s important to take care of our world, and they looked for an illustrator. I applied for the contest. I wanted to take part in a project that is so close to my heart. I love this world and I want to make it better.

Together with Trash Hero we have prepared a wonderful, very inspiring book that stimulates the sensitivity of children to the surrounding world. I believe this book is giving important lessons of loving our planet and has to reach all children all over the globe, starting in Asia.”

Ewelina Wajgert is a Polish graphic artist, who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdańsk. Follow Ewelina here: https://www.facebook.com/wajgert/

#togetherwemakeadifference

Trash Hero at ASEAN Conference on Reducing Marine Debris

by Leslie Finlay on 27/11/2017 No comments

Last week, Trash Hero was among representatives from across Southeast Asia to attend the first ever ASEAN Conference on Reducing Marine Debris. Members of regional and international NGOs, academics, governmental bodies, private companies, and the UN Environmental Programme gathered in Phuket, Thailand to “share experiences, best practices, and views on tackling marine debris issues,” according to General Surasak Karnjarat, the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Thailand. The exhibition and panel discussions celebrated the rich marine biodiversity of the ASEAN region and focused on the development of innovative policy and management solutions.

Trash Hero on display at the first ever ASEAN Conference on Reducing Marine Debris

Members of the Trash Hero family were invited to present global chapter successes and initiatives, including the continual growth of grassroots clean ups, the production and use of Ecobricks, and the development of our greatly anticipated Trash Hero kid’s book. An interview series featuring our own Trash Heroes was also produced to be shown at an upcoming UN meeting.

Trash Hero was invited to present about its mission and work to reduce marine debris globally, from a community-oriented perspective

Our own Frida Ongre, who spoke on behalf of Trash Hero at the conference, said that there was an incredible energy and eagerness of participants to learn more about Trash Hero and its mission – in fact, one of the most common questions she got was “is there a chapter where I live?”

You can check out our current list of chapters here. Don’t have a chapter presence in your area? No problem! It’s easier than you think to get started. Check out our how-to guide written by the heroes themselves based on their experiences.

How to Live Sustainably: Look for Microplastics

by Leslie Finlay on 12/11/2017 1 comment

Did you know that you might be accidentally flushing plastic into the environment every time you brush your teeth?

These tiny ocean invaders, called microplastics, are small bits of polyethylene plastic added to many health and beauty products. They replace traditionally sustainable exfoliants because of cost and ease of manufacturing.

Source: The Science Explorer

The problem is that these microplastics easily pass through filtration systems and ultimately wind up in the ocean or other water sources. There, they eaten by animals and quickly and travel up the food chain through bioaccumulation, even into our food sources.

The good news is that this is a pretty easy problem for us to fix together simply by understanding what is in the products that we buy. When choosing personal care products, look for one of the five signatory ingredients:

Polyethylene (PE)
Polypropylene (PP)
Polythylene terephthalate (PET)
Polymethy methcrylate (PMMA)
Nylon

It’s simple. Choose products that do not contain any of these ingredients and know that you’re keeping a little more plastic from entering the environment!

To make matters even easier, there’s a free App available in many countries (and counting!) called Beat the Microbead. Developed by the North Sea Foundation and the Plastic Soup Foundation, the App can scan a product’s barcode to check if microbeads are included in its production. Beat the Microbead also offers product lists by country to help you identify and choose products that do not contain microplastics.

Trash Hero launches first crowdfunding campaign

by Leslie Finlay on 02/11/2017 No comments

Education is so important to create lifelong sustainable habits. But we’re also all about teaching kids that being a Trash Hero is a lot of fun!

That’s the inspiration behind our latest exciting project: the Trash Hero kids’ book. This book is a beautifully illustrated story written by our heroes themselves, following the journey of a child dedicated to helping sea creatures escape harm from trash, and his plight as the amount of plastic waste in the oceans increases.

To empower hands-on, independent learning, the book also features activities and challenges that apply our story to the real world. Practicing behaviors such as attending a cleanup, using reusable bags and bottles, or upcycling earns points toward rewards and recognition such as a free Trash Hero t-shirt, certificates to display, or a Trash Hero Kids “Hall of Fame” designation.

Being a Trash Hero makes kids feel important and valued in their communities. Their participation and the celebration of these sustainable behaviors instil a sense of responsibility towards the environment that will last, especially if it’s fun.

But we need your help! To distribute at least 2,000 copies of the book in three languages – English, Thai, and Indonesian Bahasa – along with the accompanying kids t-shirts, we need to raise 8,000 euros. Broken down, that’s just 4 euros toward one child’s education.

The Trash Hero kids’ book is 100% not-for-profit and all contributions go toward printing and distribution. The books are also printed on 100% recycled paper and the project is designed to be financially sustainable through sales of English language versions to fund reprints.

Please visit our crowdfunding page to help fund this incredible project, and see what perks and free goodies you can get for your donation! Even if you cannot donate, a social media share greatly enhances the probability we’ll make our goal, so please support us through your voice.

Trash Hero startet seine erste Crowdfunding-Kampagne

by Leslie Finlay on 02/11/2017 2 comments

Bildung ist das wichtigste Instrument um lebenslanges, nachhaltiges Verhalten zu generieren. Aber wir möchten den Kindern ebenso zeigen, dass es einfach nur viel Spaß ist, ein Trash Hero zu sein!

Dies ist unsere Inspiration hinter dem neuesten Trash Hero-Projekt: das Trash Hero Kinderbuch!

Das farbige Bilderbuch verbindet Kinder-Phantasie mit realer Aktion durch eine mitreißende Story über eine/n „Trash Hero“. Unser Trash Hero braucht die Hilfe der Kinder um die Ozeane vor der Plastikverschmutzung zu schützen. Zusammen mit ihren Familien und Freunden beginnen die Kinder, aktiv zu werden, Plastikmüll aufzusammeln und zu vermeiden indem sie kleine Aufgaben aus dem Aktivitäten-Teil des Buches erfüllen. So gewinnen sie Preise wie ein Trash Hero T-Shirt oder ein Zertifikat.

Die Bücher werden kostenlos an Schulen und Gemeindegruppen verteilt. Unsere Trash Hero Gruppen vor Ort übernehmen die Supervision der Aktivitäten. Um einen Preis zu erhalten ist es erforderlich dass die Kinder über einen längeren Zeitraum motiviert „am Ball bleiben“ und die Aktionen wiederholen. So macht es Kindern Freude, ihr Verhalten langfristig zu ändern während sie gleichzeitig unterstützt, ermutigt und von ihrer Gemeinschaft gefeiert werden.

Um dieses wichtige Projekt zu ermöglichen brauchen wir eure Hilfe! Das Geld fließt in den Druck der Bücher auf Englisch, Thailändisch und Indonesisch sowie in die entsprechenden T-Shirts für alle teilnehmenden Kinder-Heroes.

Insgesamt benötigen wir für dieses großartige Projekt 8.000 Euro – jeder Euro geht ausschließlich in den Druck und die Portokosten. Es gibt keine Gemeinkosten da alle in Trash Hero beteiligten Personen ausschließlich Freiwillige sind.

Einen neuen, kleinen Trash Hero zu ermöglichen aktiv zu werden, kostet nur 4 Euro – den Preis eines Sandwiches! – aber diese Erfahrung und kleinen Geschenke bilden einen lebenslangen Eindruck.

Dies ist unsere offizielle Crowdfunding-Seite: https://www.100-days.net/en/projekt/trashhero-children-s-book/project

Bitte unterstütze den Wandel für die Zukunft schon heute durch eine Spende und / oder teile diesen Post in sozialen Netzwerken damit andere dies ebenso tun können!

Zusammen können wir eine neue Generation von Trash Heroes ins Leben rufen!

แทรชฮีโร่ เปิดแคมเปญระดมทุนเป็นครั้งแรก

by Leslie Finlay on 02/11/2017 No comments

การศึกษาเป็นสิ่งสำคัญในการสร้างพฤติกรรมอันยั่งยืน แต่เราก็อยากบอกเด็ก ๆ ด้วยว่า การเป็นแทรชฮีโร่นั้น เป็นเรื่องสนุก!
และนั่นคือแรงบันดาลใจของเราในการสร้างสรรค์โครงการล่าสุด : หนังสือเด็กแทรชฮีโร่

หนังสือภาพอันสวยงาม เล่าเรื่องการต่อสู้ของเด็ก ผู้ได้ชื่อว่า “แทรชฮีโร่/ผู้พิชิตขยะ” ซึ่งอุทิศตนให้กับการช่วยเหลือเหล่าสิ่งมีชีวิตใต้ท้องทะเลให้หลบหนีจากขยะ และสถานการณ์อันเลวร้ายเมื่อขยะพลาสติกในมหาสมุทรเพิ่มขึ้นเรื่อย ๆ เขาได้รับการช่วยเหลือจากเพื่อน ๆ ในโรงเรียน ที่สัญญาว่าจะช่วยกันทำความสะอาดและลดการสร้างขยะ เพื่อให้งานของเขาง่ายขึ้น

แต่แค่เพียงสอนเรื่องคุณธรรมนั้นอาจไม่พอ : หนังสือจึงท้าทายให้ผู้อ่านได้ลงมือทำจริงด้วย โดยมีกิจกรรมที่พวกเขาสามารถลงมือทำได้ เช่น การเก็บขยะ, การใช้ถุงหรือขวดน้ำที่ใช้แล้วใช้ซ้ำได้, หรือการสร้างมูลค่าเพิ่มให้เศษวัสดุต่าง ๆ เพื่อช่วย แทรชฮีโร่ และได้รับรางวัล เช่น เสื้อยืด และประกาศนียบัตร เพื่อบอกให้โลกรู้ว่า พวกเขาก็เป็น “แทรชฮีโร่/ผู้พิชิตขยะ” เช่นกัน

หนังสือนี้จะแจกฟรีให้กับโรงเรียนและชุมชน โดยความร่วมมือของกลุ่มแทรชฮีโร่ทั่วประเทศ และกิจกรรมนั้นต้องทำซ้ำหลายครั้ง ก่อนจะได้รับรางวัล เพื่อกระตุ้นและสร้างแรงบันดาลใจให้เด็ก ๆ เปลี่ยนพฤติกรรม โดยได้รับการสนับสนุนและสรรเสริญจากชุมชนของพวกเขา

เพื่อทำให้โครงการอันสำคัญนี้เกิดขึ้นได้ เราต้องการความช่วยเหลือจากคุณ!

ในเบื้องต้นเราได้รับการสนับสนุนจากผู้ใหญ่ใจดี กล้วยน้ำไทมูลนิธิ ในการจัดพิมพ์หนังสือฉบับภาษาไทย แต่เรายังคงต้องการทำเสื้อยืดแจกให้แก่เด็ก ๆ ที่สามารถทำกิจกรรมนี้ได้สำเร็จ เพื่อเป็นแทรชฮีโร่คนใหม่อีกด้วย

นอกจากนี้ เรายังจะพิมพ์หนังสือในฉบับภาษาอังกฤษและภาษาอินโดนีเซียด้วย

โดยเรายังต้องการเงินอีกจำนวน 8,000 ยูโร หรือ 320,000 บาท เพื่อพิมพ์หนังสือ 3,000 ชุด และทำเสื้อให้แก่เด็ก ๆ

หน้าเพจสำหรับโครงการระดมทุน (เว็บในต่างประเทศ) : https://www.100-days.net/en/projekt/trashhero-children-s-book/project
หรือคุณสามารถบริจาคเป็นเงินบาทได้โดยผ่าน PayPal ที่ https://www.paypal.me/trashheroworld
เงินบริจาคเหล่านี้จะได้ผลแก่เด็ก ๆ ในไทย

ท่านสามารถช่วยบริจาคได้ และ/หรือช่วยกันแชร์โพสต์นี้ เพื่อให้เพื่อน ๆ คนอื่น ๆ ได้ร่วมบริจาคด้วย
ร่วมด้วยช่วยกัน เราสามารถสร้างแทรชฮีโร่/ผู้พิชิตขยะรุ่นใหม่ได้!

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โครงการหนังสือเด็กแทรชฮีโร่นี้ เป็นโครงการไม่หวังผลกำไร จัดทำโครงการผ่านการจดทะเบียนองค์กร แทรช ฮีโร่ เวิลด์ ในประเทศสวิตเซอร์แลนด์ และจัดพิมพ์หนังสือโดยใช้กระดาษรีไซเคิลทั้งหมด
ครู/อาจารย์ท่านใดสนใจเรื่องโครงการนี้ สามารถติดต่อแทรชฮีโร่ในพื้นที่ของท่านได้ โดยตรวจสอบได้ที่เว็บไซต์หรือเพจของแทรชฮีโร่ไทยแลนด์

Come Join The Trash Isles!

by Leslie Finlay on 22/10/2017 16 comments

This month, UN spokesman for the UN’s Secretary-General Stéphane Dujarric was granted a certificate of honorary citizenship to an area that hopes to become the world’s 196^th nation – the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or formally known today as The Trash Isles. He’ll join the ranks of other citizens like Al Gore (the first applicant) and actress Judi Dench.

Source: LADbible

The movement to designate the France-sized garbage patch as its own nation was spurred by advocates from the Plastics Oceans Foundation and UK-based entertainment company LADbible. Today it boasts its own flag, passport, currency (appropriately called ‘debris’), and more than 140,000 “citizens” from countries spanning the globe, making The Trash Isles the 25^th-smallest country in the world.

The “country” hopes to be the latest member to the United Nations. As a member-country, the other 193 UN nations would be compelled to help clean up the new nation per the UN’s charter.

Source: LADbible

The Trash Isles itself is actually a massive soup of floating microplastics, which renders it incredibly tricky to clean up and severely dangerous to the ecosystem. Through bioaccumulation, these microplastics have a good chance of winding up in our food supply, harming marine life along the way.

The campaign, and its vast multinational participation, draws attention to the enormity of our waste problem and the fact that it is our collective responsibility to mitigate and remedy it.

So what can you do?

We can stop adding to the problem by limiting our use of single-use plastics and employing sustainable alternatives, like Trash Hero bottles and bags.
Pick up trash in your community, either on your own or find a cleanup in your area.
Separate your trash. Recycle what is possible for your area, and find ways to use items that are non-recyclable. Ecobricks provide one solution for plastic waste, or up-cycle items to use for art, furniture, even stand-up paddle boards!
Encourage others to also develop sustainable habits.
Start a local Trash Hero chapter to establish enduring, consistent change at your local level.

Through this collective behavioral change we can keep this new nation from growing in size.

To help raise further awareness, “apply for citizenship” of The Trash Isles here.

Let’s Get Plastic Off the Menu

by Leslie Finlay on 07/10/2017 No comments

This week, Malta hosted the annual EU-backed “Our Ocean 2017” conference to support measures to improve ocean health. This year’s discussion revolved heavily around the necessity to reduce plastic waste from entering the marine environment.Prince Charles of the UK delivered the opening speech urging for the movement away from a “throw-away, convenience lifestyle” that dumps more than eight million tonnes of plastic into the ocean every year.

“We are very close to reaching the point when whatever wild-caught fish you eat will contain plastic. Plastic is indeed now on the menu,” he said.

While policy-making and inter-governmental cooperation are of paramount importance, change can begin today among all of us. Trash Heroes globally pledge the commitment to break the cycle of single-use plastic like bags, bottles, straws, cutlery, and other everyday items.

Trash Hero’s Bottles and Bags program is expanding across many participating countries, substantially reducing the amount of plastic bottles and bags that end up on the beaches, in the sea, and in our communities. Just one reusable water bottle or bag can save huge amounts of plastic from winding up in the environment.

Trash Hero’s goal is to distribute 115,000 bottles through 500 participating businesses in 30 locations worldwide within the next three years, and 150 business distribute 51,000 reusable bags. This initiative can save an estimated 41 million plastic bottles and 5.1 million plastic bags from being used.

Want to buy a reusable bottle or bag or learn how to become a participating business? Get in touch to find out how!

Trash Hero Borneo Receives Outward Bound Award

by Leslie Finlay on 01/10/2017 No comments

This week, Trash Hero Borneo was awarded recognition from Outward Bound Sabah for the chapter’s contribution and support toward Outward Bound’s nature conservation activities.

Outward Bound is an international organization focused on changing lives through challenge and discovery. Its unique projects are driven to create a more resilient and compassionate world.

Outward Bound Sabah invited Trash Hero Borneo to lead an awareness discussion and beach cleanup for local children. The event was the 24^th cleanup held by the quickly growing chapter started just this past March. In addition to weekly cleanups, the Trash Hero Borneo actively promotes the Trash Hero Bottles & Bags Program, helps facilitate community waste management, and develops projects in local schools to increase awareness about environmental problems and responsible waste practices.

Trash Hero Borneo has also agreed to be Outward Bound Sabah’s local conservation partner on projects and collaborations moving forward.

Congratulations to Trash Hero Borneo and keep up the incredible work!