New resource library for volunteers

by Seema on 20/11/2020 No comments

As Trash Heroes, our regular cleanups make us very visible in the community. Our volunteers often find themselves invited to meetings, panel discussions or talks about waste management. Trash Hero World is committed to ensuring they are armed with the best possible knowledge about the plastic crisis and how to solve it. In this way, they become more able to influence both their local community and decision-makers.

To this end, we have:

  • started a series of “Zero Waste Communities” workshops in Southeast Asia (more about these will be published in a separate post),
  • updated our Chapter Handbook (a training guide for all volunteers) to include a simple overview and assessment of some commonly proposed “solutions” to plastic pollution,
  • created a free, multilingual resource library on our website to gather information on the various topics and debates surrounding the issues and
  • started to translate some of the existing materials into local languages to allow them to be spread more widely

Our first set of materials, a factsheet on chemical recycling, produced by the experts at GAIA, has just been published in Indonesian, Malaysian, Thai, Arabic and Czech language.

Indonesian PDF –> Daur Ulang Kimiawi
Malaysian PDF –> Kitar semula kimia
Thai PDF –> คําถามและคำตอบเกี่ยวกับการรีไซเคิลทางเคมี
Czech PDF –> Chemical Recycling (Čeština)
Arabic PDF –> أسئلة و أجوبة: إعادة التدوير كيميائياً

Chemical recycling was chosen as it is a “hot topic” and one that is frequently misrepresented. Information about such new technologies is often only available in English, making them difficult to understand and refute in the low and middle income countries where we are active – and where they are aggressively marketed.

This factsheet explains in simple terms why chemical recycling is not a silver bullet solution to plastic pollution as is claimed. In a society that urgently needs to transition from a linear, fossil fuel economy to a circular one, chemical recycling is a distraction at best. It suggests to focus resources on solutions that actually work, particularly those that stop the problem at the source.

Our goal is to do more of this translation and education work. We believe it is a valuable tool to counter industry misinformation at the grassroots and beyond.

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SeemaNew resource library for volunteers

Encouraging change through tradition in Bali

by Seema on 05/11/2020 No comments

Being a Trash Hero has become a way of life for thousands of volunteers around the world. Our simple and non-confrontational actions to reduce plastic waste can be integrated seamlessly into any cultural setting.

Here is a wonderful example in Bali, where the local Hindu community has made cleanups part of its religious rituals. The connection is powerful: linking sustainable practices with tradition makes them more socially acceptable. It turns “that problem” (external) into “our problem” and eventually “our responsibility”.

This is one of those rare videos where you feel that change happening through the screen. Our thanks to the talented videographer, Johan Wahyudi, who captured it all on Banyu Pinaruh day last year.

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SeemaEncouraging change through tradition in Bali

Trash Hero takes part in research project to discover “world’s top polluters”

by Seema on 03/10/2020 No comments

As Trash Heroes, we know a community cleanup is one of the most effective ways to help people understand the impact of plastic pollution and create the positive energy needed for change. But we also know cleanups on their own are not a long term solution to the problem of plastic waste. For that, we need to go to the source.

That’s why Trash Hero has joined forces with Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) again this year for a mass data collection project focusing on “brand audits”.

Brand Audits September 2020 in Baubau, Indonesia and Basel, Switzerland.

 

A “brand audit” is a detailed log of the plastic found during a regular cleanup. It records the date; location; type of material and the number of layers in each piece; and then the name of the producer, if it’s still visible. The data is collected in a systematic way and – for this project – from a wide range of locations on a global scale, involving many different NGOs and volunteers.

BFFP, as the coordinator of the project, will then compile and interpret the collected data for their annual Brand Audit Report (results of the 2019 report here). The results serve as evidence of the scale and provenance of consumer-goods-related pollution. They enable BFFP to push the biggest manufacturers of this plastic waste to change the way they make and deliver their products.

This year’s report is due out in early December. Trash Hero World has committed to make the findings available in Indonesian, Thai and Malaysian to amplify the media coverage in Southeast Asia.

Brand Audits September 2020 in Nagekeo, Indonesia and Tuaran, Malaysia

 

To broaden the dataset, Trash Hero World and BFFP provided brand audit training for Trash Hero volunteers in several different countries in August and September. It was a new experience for most of them: gathering and recording the information is a fairly labour-intensive process, but one that proved to be both eye-opening and fun. In the lead up to the official data collection period, Trash Hero Canggu in Indonesia collected 140 unrecyclable tubes of toothpaste from a single brand (Pepsodent, by Unilever) in just one hour!

The data collection period lasted six weeks, coming to an end on 30 September 2020. Although the results are still coming in, our estimates show that around 80 brand audits were carried out by Trash Hero volunteers in around 60 locations in the northern, southern, eastern and western hemispheres.

This is more than four times the number of brand audits we submitted as an organisation last year and should in the end make up around one-sixth of the total brand audits contributed to the project globally this year (final numbers TBC). We are very proud of our citizen scientists, many of whom were working under challenging conditions due to COVID-19. We will publish the outcomes of the whole project in a future post.

Brand Audits September 2020 in Koh Samed, Thailand and Saba, Bali

 

The Trash Hero chapters that carried out a brand audit for this project include:

INDONESIA
Trash Hero Ambon, Trash Hero Amed, Trash Hero Belu, Trash Hero Baubau, Trash Hero Blahbatuh, Trash Hero Bandung, Trash Hero Bunaken, Trash Hero Batubulan, Trash Hero Bogor, Trash Hero Canggu, Trash Hero Candidasa, Trash Hero Depok, Trash Hero Ende, Trash Hero Jimbaran, Trash Hero Kelimutu, Trash Hero Kendari, Trash Hero Kertalangu, Trash Hero Komodo, Trash Hero Kupang, Trash Hero Lembata, Trash Hero Larantuka, Trash Hero Lovina, Trash Hero Mamuju, Trash Hero Muba, Trash Hero Nagekeo, Trash Hero Pemuteran, Trash Hero Payangan, Trash Hero Raja Ampat, Trash Hero Saba, Trash Hero Sanur, Trash Hero Tanjung

MALAYSIA
Trash Hero Banting, Trash Hero Cherating, Trash Hero Ipoh, Trash Hero Johor Bahru, Trash Hero Papar, Trash Hero Perlis, Trash Hero Langkawi, Trash Hero Sintok, Trash Hero Temerloh, Trash Hero Tuaran

NETHERLANDS
Trash Hero Amsterdam

ROMANIA
Trash Hero Vatra Dornei

SERBIA
Trash Hero Beograd

SWITZERLAND
Trash Hero Basel, Trash Hero Bern, Trash Hero Fribourg, Trash Hero Luzern, Trash Hero Solothurn, Trash Hero Winterthur

THAILAND
Trash Hero Bangkok, Trash Hero Pattaya, Trash Hero Koh Phi Phi, Trash Hero Hua Hin, Trash Hero Chumphon, Trash Hero Koh Jum, Trash Hero Koh Samed, Trash Hero Koh Samui

UK
Trash Hero UK (London and Newcastle)

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SeemaTrash Hero takes part in research project to discover “world’s top polluters”

Count it down!

by Seema on 25/09/2020 No comments

Learn how a waste diary can help you reduce the plastic you use.

So many things we buy come wrapped in plastic. We usually rip the packaging open, throw it away and forget about it. We feel sure someone else will take care of it. But is this true? Who really wants this plastic when we’re finished with it? The answer is often: no one! Most plastic can’t be reused or recycled.

So where does it go?

Apples are natural and will biodegrade easily – unless they are wrapped in plastic. Which ones would you choose?

 

Depending on where you live, the plastic might find its way into the waterways and oceans. Or it could get burned or put in a big dump. It might even be sent on a journey around the world, looking for some other country where they will take it.

None of these is a good solution: whenever and wherever it ends up in nature, plastic is pollution.

As Trash Heroes we always try to reduce the amount of plastic pollution we create. So are you ready to join us and count down the pieces of plastic you throw away?

Plastic straws? Going … going … GONE!

 

We’re going to make something called a “waste diary”. This means we record how many different pieces of plastic we put in the bin every day for one week (or more). You can do this at home or in your class at school. There are five easy steps to follow. Check them out below!

1. COLLECT

First, take a separate bin or container. Then, instead of putting your plastic rubbish in the normal or recycling bin, start collecting it in here. Clean the plastic first if it has food on it. You might have things like yoghurt pots, drink bottles, fruit and vegetable trays, straws, soft plastic bags or wrappers.

2. RECORD

Then, print out the diary sheet on the left (or make your own!) and, at the end of every day, write down the type and number of items you have collected. You can also add up the total number of items you have collected that day. For younger kids, there is a more simple version of the sheet here.

3. DISCUSS

When you’re done, answer these questions together with your family or your class.

Is there anything on your list that can be REDUCED?
Some ways to reduce include:

  • buy the same thing in better or no packaging (example: apples)
  • buy a different thing in better or no packaging (example: switch from plastic wrapped sweets to chocolate bars wrapped in paper and foil)
  • don’t buy it at all! (example: give up bottled water and drink tap water if possible)
  • switch to reusables (example: use a cloth shopping bag instead of a plastic one)
  • buy one big pack of something and refill a smaller container as needed

Is there anything on your list that can be REUSED?
For example:

  • plastic paper clips
  • pens and pencils (can sometimes be refilled)
  • food containers or ziploc bags (can be sometimes be washed and reused)
  • anything that could be repaired or repurposed
  • anything that could be donated to someone else instead of being thrown away

Is there anything that can be RECYCLED in your area?
Note: if something is labelled “recyclable”, it does not mean it will be recycled. This can be a bit confusing. There are many different types of plastic and each one is treated differently when it comes to recycling. You should check with an adult which types of plastic it is possible to recycle in your area.

4. TIDY UP

Lastly, tidy it all up. Remember to do a final sort of the plastic so things that can be reused or recycled are not thrown away!

5. COUNT IT DOWN!

The next day, start all over again and try to make your total number of pieces LESS than the day before, by checking what you can reduce or reuse. If you get to an empty plastic bin, congratulations! You are now an official zero waste family or school! 💛💛💛

Trash Hero World
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SeemaCount it down!

Creating change in a time of crisis

by Seema on 04/05/2020 1 comment

A message from the Trash Hero co-founder, Roman Peter:

As the scale and severity of the Covid-19 pandemic became clear in early March, our immediate priority was to make sure our hundreds of volunteers and communities were safe. Our network is global and then – as now – every country was responding differently to the threat of the virus. On 13 March, we issued simple guidelines and a risk assessment tool to all chapters to help them to decide whether to carry on activities and how to proceed in a safe manner if they did.

We were also proactive in putting on hold all travel arrangements and accommodation bookings for our Southeast Asian family meetings that were due to be held in April – our biggest and costliest events of the year. These precautions meant that when we eventually made the decision to cancel, we did not lose a single dollar of your donated funds.

During the lockdown period, we have not been able to carry on “business as usual.” All programmes have been temporarily suspended, in line with government restrictions. Instead, we have focused on supporting our volunteers with frequent communication and interaction: keeping our network engaged will be key to getting up and running again quickly once it is safe to do so.

As an already lean organisation we have been able to contain the immediate impact on our finances. We took further steps to minimise our costs; reprioritise and redistribute work; and harness additional volunteer power through our existing networks. In this way, we have been able to retain all of our current staff. Below we go into some of these measures in more detail.

Together with the reserves we started to build in 2018, and the unfaltering commitments of foundations and individuals for the current year, we are confident that we will weather this storm.
However the long term financial future remains uncertain. More than ever we rely on your support to continue with our work.

ACTIVITIES

  • All community-based activities (Action & Awareness, Trash Hero Kids’ programme) stopped from late March; the bottle programme also effectively shut down as refill point businesses closed.
  • We have been creating new content to encourage waste reduction activities that can be done solo or at home, for example this Trash Hero Kids video:
  • We have been keeping people up to date with the latest information about corona and reusables, and issues around medical waste
  • We are currently organising online workshops / leaders’ academy / family meetings and taking this opportunity to include chapters in countries who previously had not been able to join
  • As restrictions ease in different countries, a few cleanups are restarting, in compliance with local safety regulations
  • Many volunteers have been hit hard personally by the crisis, especially those in Southeast Asia, where tourist income has disappeared overnight and there is little to no government support. It is possible we lose some chapters as a result. We are however doing everything possible (aside from providing financial aid) to ensure morale is kept up and to remind everyone they will always be part of the “Trash Hero Family.”

 

From left / top: Trash Hero Tachov motivated people to do solo cleanups with #oneplaceonehero; Trash Hero Adelaide organised “group” cleanups with everyone going out separately; Trash Hero Tumapel did home schooling with the Trash Hero Kids book

 

FINANCES

  • Careful planning ensured no existing funds were lost due to the pandemic
  • Individual / spontaneous donations have almost completely dried up since March
  • We expect earned income from events, partnerships etc. to be significantly impacted
  • The majority of our major donors are honouring their commitments for 2020, for which we are very grateful
  • We are equally grateful for any flexibility from grant-makers on obligations and timelines
  • We currently have funds to cover 7 months of operation and we have a further 4 months’ funds held in our reserves.
  • Salaries across the network (4 full time positions) are covered until November this year
  • There is no doubt we will be ready to start activities as soon as we are able. But reserves will be depleted so funds are needed to make up the loss
  • Our existing budget and targets for this year will be revised down by an estimated 50%. We cannot yet provide a final calculation as the situation is still changing. However as growth and spending decrease concurrently, we expect our impact per dollar to remain roughly the same.

MANAGEMENT

  • We provided guidance to all volunteers within 48 hours of the pandemic being declared in March
  • Our global teams were already remote working, so no time or resources were lost in adapting to “work from home”
  • With reduced daily business, we have been able to carry out much needed consolidation of programmes and infrastructure
  • This has created a lot of new work focused on long term capacity building. Our staff have been flexible and adapted quickly to the new routines
  • Our core volunteer network has been affected in different ways: some people have needed a break to focus on their personal situation, while others have been able to offer more time as they are staying at home. Overall, we have continued to cover significant translation and administrative tasks with pro bono contributions.

 

From left / top: Reduce food waste with Trash Hero World; stay home with Trash Hero Indonesia; learn how to upcycle with Trash Hero Kuwait

 

COMMUNICATION

  • Since the start of the crisis, we have stayed in constant communication with our volunteer network
  • We continue to post on social media and have issued guidelines for chapters to do the same
  • We monitor our social media network (200+ accounts) for misinformation or inappropriate posting about the virus, as well as for positive and creative posts to share
  • We have built a Southeast Asia operations team to facilitate two way communication
  • We have made good progress on our volunteer intranet

As the economic climate becomes more challenging over the coming months, Trash Hero will be needed more than ever to keep the focus on plastic reduction at the grassroots. We have already seen the plastic industry start to capitalise on people’s fears over hygiene, by pushing for more single use products and packaging, or trying to overturn plastic bans in various locations around the world.

It is important that the impact of our work thus far is not lost in this hiatus. Our communities are depending on us – and you – to continue our activities. And, despite the uncertainty, there are great opportunities for change offered by this crisis. As life begins again, we can help shape the “new normal” to reflect our shared vision of a world without waste. The Trash Hero hope and spirit is still strong and, with your ongoing support, we can continue to make a difference.

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SeemaCreating change in a time of crisis