This International Women’s Day, we are spotlighting five volunteers who are transforming the way their communities think about waste.
From classrooms in Indonesia to restaurants in Thailand, from island cleanups in Malaysia to bookstores in Europe, these women are not waiting for permission or the perfect moment to act. They are composting, refilling, questioning packaging norms, transforming kitchen scraps into products, and enforcing waste separation where none existed before. They are also inspiring others to rethink what is “normal”.
Their stories prove that zero waste is not an abstract ideal, but something already being built through daily, practical decisions.
Ining, Trash Hero Yogyakarta, Indonesia
When Ining was a child, she couldn’t ignore the plastic waste she saw on the roadside. On her way home from school, she would pick it up and carry it back home to throw away. No one asked her to do it, but to her it felt wrong to walk past it.
That instinct stayed with her. As she grew older, she became more conscious of her own consumption. She started to buy only what she needed, avoid single-use plastics and opt out of fashion trends. In 2017, her school joined Clean Up Jakarta Day alongside Trash Hero. There she met our volunteer Amelia and decided to get involved. Nearly nine years later, she is still going strong.
Today, Ining teaches science at a Montessori junior high school in Yogyakarta. And she is weaving environmental action into the fabric of school life at every opportunity. She has helped introduce a water refill system, encouraged students to bring reusable bottles and lunchboxes, organised tree and mangrove planting outings, and supported the creation of a zero waste canteen. Outside of school, she regularly joins cleanups, speaks at community events and campuses, and runs workshops turning organic waste like cooking oil, coffee grounds and eco-enzymes into useful products like soap and candles. At home, she composts and gardens with the results.
The journey hasn’t been simple. When the school first introduced its zero waste policies, some parents and staff protested that it was too complicated. At home, not everyone shares the same level of awareness. Neighbours sometimes see her composting and raising maggots as “dirty”, though the default local waste practices involve burning or throwing waste in the river.
But for Ining, this work is not a burden. “Being a volunteer and activist is not an obligation,” she says. “It is part of my identity.” What keeps her going is simple: sharing good things makes her happy.
Aleks, Trash Hero Liestal, Switzerland
For Aleks, it started with a photo. On holiday in Montenegro in 2011, she wanted to take a picture on a beautiful beach, but the sand was covered in washed-up trash. So she cleared it away. The surprising thing was that cleaning the beach felt better than taking the photo.
From that moment on, she developed the simple habit of picking up waste wherever she went, whether on beaches, in the mountains or in cities. But the habit led to bigger questions. Why is there so much packaging? Why are unpackaged products rare and expensive? Why is organic food costly while pesticide-laced food cheap? Who benefits from this system?
These questions eventually led her to found a Trash Hero chapter in Liestal in 2024. Her goal was not just to clean up, but to inspire others and raise awareness of the need for change. Many people have since joined and local businesses have offered to donate tools, materials and even window space to spread the message.
She has noticed something powerful: a striking number of women are deeply involved, both as active participants and as supporters. Their commitment reflects a strong sense of responsibility for the health of their community and environment.
“Every action, no matter how small, makes a difference,” she says. Change can begin with one piece of trash – and expand into questioning the systems that created it.
Zurainee, Trash Hero Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia
Zurainee grew up by the shoreline of Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. As a child, the beach was a playground. Over the years, she watched it change. What was once clean and pristine slowly became scattered with rubbish.
“It is heartbreaking,” she says, “to see how pollution has crept into our environment.”
A viral social media post inspired her to take action. It was not a campaign or speech, but a video of a man who had been filmed picking up rubbish, without knowing he was being recorded. His quiet sincerity moved her deeply. If he could try to change things without expectation of recognition, so could she.
She joined – and now leads – her local Trash Hero chapter. Their beach cleanups reflect simple values and are respectful of nature. Volunteers use fabric gloves and reusable gunny sacks instead of disposable materials, avoiding the creation of new waste. Refreshments are served zero-waste style — water refills, food on banana leaves. She has shared this approach with other local organisations to use at their own events.
At home, Zurainee separates organic waste and composts it. Used cooking oil and aluminium cans are sent for recycling. Her family carries reusable bottles and avoids single-use plastics. They choose pre-loved clothing over buying new.
Over the years, she has seen awareness grow and friends and neighbours adopt greener habits. Her message to women is clear: perfection is not the goal. “Zero waste is about small, conscious decisions every day,” she says. “What we practise, our children see. And what we value, our families adopt.”
Resa, Trash Hero Ende, Indonesia
Resa’s environmental journey began in college, during an internship at an organic farming foundation in Bogor, Indonesia. There, she learned what it means for humans to live in harmony with nature – not dominating it, but working alongside it.
Years later, visiting Raja City Beach, she was surprised by how clean it looked. She discovered that Trash Hero Ende had recently organised a cleanup there. This moved her: she felt the sweat, effort and commitment behind it. She joined her first cleanup in September 2019 and has been an active volunteer ever since.
In her daily life, Resa works in monitoring and evaluation for a humanitarian NGO. Outside work, she focuses on reducing single-use plastics both at home and in her community. She is currently launching a refillable laundry and dish soap business designed to tackle sachet waste – one of the most persistent forms of plastic pollution in Indonesia.
The concept of refill itself is not new. For example, people traditionally buy kerosene by bringing their own containers to fill. But refillable cleaning products are not common, and Resa has found habits and perceptions are hard to shift. Even at the market, some vendors still insist on handing her plastic packaging, believing it is more polite, rather than letting her use her own bags and containers.
But she perseveres. Change, she knows, requires patience. “Although my contribution cannot control all the plastic waste produced worldwide,” she says, “I want to do whatever I can, no matter how small.”
Roj, Trash Hero Koh Mak, Thailand
Roj’s awareness of waste began far from home. During an internship at a restaurant in Germany, she saw waste being carefully sorted into different categories – something that was not common in Thailand at the time. The experience left a lasting impression.
Later, when she opened her own restaurant on the island of Koh Mak, she decided to implement proper waste separation from the start. The result was striking: once waste had been sorted, very little remained for municipal collection.
Today, her restaurant has also significantly reduced single-use plastics. Plastic straws have been replaced with glass. Instead of selling bottled water, they provide refillable glass bottles. Used cooking oil is transformed into cleaning soap. Lime peels and kitchen scraps become natural dishwashing liquid.
They are not entirely zero waste – takeaway packaging for instance remains a challenge – but perfection has not stood in the way of progress. Living on a small island and in close proximity to nature makes every choice visible. So Roj has learned to do what she can, consider each item and use it more mindfully.
There have been some cost savings, she says, but more important is the sense of pride. “We feel proud to be a restaurant that cares about the environment. Our staff and the people around us are supportive and that keeps us improving.”
Roj joined Trash Hero Koh Mak in 2018 after seeing the value of keeping the island clean. At first, she contributed by baking brownies for volunteers each week. Today, she leads the chapter.
Her advice to others considering reducing waste is practical: start small, one change at a time.
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Mostly As – The Networker
Mostly Bs – The Organiser
Mostly Cs – The Motivator
Mostly Ds – The Collaborator