Bottles & Bags Program | Trash Hero World

Small actions lead to big impacts!

by Lydia on 16/08/2022 No comments

Our half-year numbers are in!

Our half-year numbers are in, and they make us so proud of every single volunteer who has contributed to the impact of the global Trash Hero movement – whether they joined one cleanup or 100!

In just six months in 2022, 26,666 volunteers (of which 8,098 were under 16) completed 1615 cleanups, collecting 53,102 kg of trash.

That’s an average of 9 cleanups and 265 kg of trash per day!

We have been collecting data since December 2013, and as of 30 June 2022:

We have completed 16,525 cleanups
We have 159 active chapters in 17 countries
438,503 volunteers have joined us, including 111,608 kids
We have responsibly collected and disposed of 2,207,236 kg of trash
As part of the Trash Hero Bottle program, 104,688 reusable bottles have been distributed, avoiding 38,211,120 single-use plastic bottles and reducing 1989 tonnes of CO2 emissions
As part of the Trash Hero Bag program, 29,445 reusable Trash Hero bags have been distributed, saving 10,747,425 single-use plastic bags

Since January 2022, we have welcomed 11 new chapters to Trash Hero; however, this year, we have seen a decrease in the total number of active chapters.

We must recognise the pandemic’s impact on volunteers, not just with Trash Hero but across all charitable organisations. Although Covid-19 restrictions have been lifted in most countries, the impact of the lockdowns and the economic fallout still affect many communities. Many of our volunteers have had to change locations or professions to ensure they can support themselves and their families. This, unfortunately, means they can no longer commit to regular activity – but the door is always open if they feel able to return.

As Trash Hero World, we will continue to support our volunteers in every way possible. We organise regular catch-ups with our chapter leaders and country coordinators and provide mentorship and guidance with every step of the way.

And thanks to this momentum, we continue to see incredible numbers in terms of trash collected and volunteers who have taken part.

How do we get this data?

During every cleanup, our chapter leaders will record data – the number of volunteers in attendance, the weight of the trash collected and how many kids have taken part – which is then published on their social media accounts and uploaded to our database. Anyone can see the live statistics on our website. This data is checked every month to ensure it is consistent and correct.

Why do we collect data?

Collecting data helps us assess and celebrate our impact: seeing how much waste we have removed from shorelines, mangroves, cities, and rivers helps to keep us motivated and inspired. But also, this data is essential to share with researchers and our partners. Data equally helps to reinforce our message of reducing plastic at the source, showing people how much waste we produce, how many people want it stopped and how effective refill and reuse solutions can be.

We also share a more detailed analysis of the trash collected with researchers and campaigners so that they can push for change at the global level.

All of our data is publicly available as part of our commitment to being transparent.

All that we have achieved so far has been down to the dedication and commitment of our incredible volunteers. We want to say a huge thank you to them! Organising cleanups and collecting data takes time and energy, and our volunteers’ passion drives our movement.

Check out their work in the video below, and share it with someone you think would enjoy it:

Has this inspired you to join us? Find out more about starting a chapter here or email us.

World Refill Day: How you can have an impact

by Lydia on 16/06/2022 No comments

Plastic production is increasing, how can we – as concerned citizens- change this? We want to inspire you to make small changes and demand bigger ones so that globally we have a meaningful impact.

This World Refill Day (June 16th) we’re taking a closer look at refill and reuse and discovering why they are the key to reducing plastic pollution. We’ll share what we’ve been doing to support refill and show you how you can also make an impact with your actions. We’ll show you how to encourage the support of businesses who are providing refills, motivate you to examine the way products are sold and ultimately inspire you to integrate more refillables into your household and routine.

So why do we need to refill?

Currently, 380 million tonnes of plastics are produced each year ¹_, over half of which are single-use plastics ² . Around 9% of this plastic gets recycled, with less than 2% being effectively recycled³. The rest is littered, landfilled, burned or shipped around the world for someone else to deal with. The sheer volume of waste being generated means even improved recycling is not a practical solution – even if plastic manufacturers would like us to think it is.

The only solution that we know works is to reduce the amount of plastic being produced, especially single-use plastic. Refill and reuse of containers and packaging is one of the easiest and most efficient ways to reduce the amount of plastic needed in the world. Making refill the norm can start at an individual level and then must be supported by the local business community, government infrastructure and eventually by big consumer goods companies.

The benefits of refill are not just limited to reducing plastic waste in the environment. Reducing plastic also has a positive climate impact by reducing CO2 emissions. Plastic production and use currently accounts for around 4% of global carbon emissions, more than the entire airline industry. Integrating more refills into your routine will also have a positive impact on your wallet. Refilling as much as you need rather than buying pre-packaged amounts often works out cheaper, as does refilling drinking water. Many businesses also offer discounts for people who bring their own containers for takeaway food and drink.

So what can I do as an individual?

Make refilling a habit

Think about your daily routine – where do you eat lunch? What items do you regularly buy in single-use plastic? Then try and find ways in which you can swap the single-use for reuse or refill.

The simplest way is to switch to a reusable water bottle. If you already own one, you can encourage others to do the same!

There are many places that offer free water refills, especially in countries where you can drink from the tap. Even in those where you can’t, local refill networks such as the one created by Trash Hero (see below) often exist to help people stay hydrated while avoiding single-use plastic.

To see the impact you have when using a refillable water bottle you can use our free Bottle Impact Calculator. Share your results online to inspire others – and don’t forget to tag us @trashheroworld!

It’s not just water bottles

Let’s remember, It’s not just water bottles that can be refilled and reused! You can bring your own reusable cups and containers at many takeaway places and markets and more and more stores are offering refills of day-to-day essentials such as toiletries, cleaning products and groceries.

Even without a local refill store you can still take action: try a reusable container for your lunch (home made or takeaway) and a thermos for your coffee. You don’t necessarily need to buy anything new to start this, there are things in our houses that will do the job! Old takeaway containers are great to reuse for a packed lunch and old jam jars are perfect for home-made instant noodles – there are endless options and ideas out there! Have a look through your cupboards and see what can be repurposed for your refill journey.

reusable plates, world refill day — Reusable plates – Trash Hero Indonesia Family Meeting

refillable pots, world refill day — Reusable plates – Trash Hero Indonesia Family Meeting

Start a conversation

Talking about refill and how easy it is helps to make the idea accessible and normal for people around you. Make it your aim to research as many places as possible in your local community that allow you to bring your own container for purchases, or ask your friends and neighbours if they have any recommendations for water refills or other reuse tips. Share your findings with your network so that others are encouraged to try.

If there isn’t currently any refill store in your area, maybe there is a friendly local business that you can approach. Try bringing your own cup or container and start a discussion or brainstorm ways in which they could trial refills in their stores. A conversation is the first step to changing behaviour and consumer feedback is extremely powerful.

Support businesses that care

As we’ve mentioned, your feedback as a consumer holds power. This isn’t just about refusing single-use plastic in bigger stores, but supporting those businesses that are offering refills. Be sure to tell them you love what they do, share their sites on social media and encourage others to go there too.

A great resource for refill and reuse programmes is the Living Landscape of Reduse Solutions database – it provides fantastic information about the different ways refill works to eliminate waste, as well as an up-to-date list of refill and reuse providers. You can use it for research or submit your favourite store to their database.

Demand change

It is important to remember that refill is not a new idea. In fact, not so long ago refill was the norm in most countries. For example, products such as milk and soft drinks were delivered in refillable glass bottles. It’s easy to revive these systems and even improve them with new technology and materials.

Whenever you hear a company talking about more or better recycling, remind them and those around you that the real solution is to reduce and reuse / refill. Only when they realise people understand the link between their products and pollution and climate change will they change their packaging and delivery systems.

It may feel overwhelming at times, but together we have the power to demand change and show commitment to that change in our daily habits and purchases.

So what are Trash Hero doing about refills?

The Trash Hero bottle refill programme offers a safe and affordable alternative to single-use plastic bottles. We provide stainless steel water bottles at cost price to local businesses, who then sell them on and provide free drinking water refills to any bottle owner. We have a network of more than 700 refill points, predominantly in Southeast Asia, but also in Czech Republic. A study looked at the impact of refilling the Trash Hero bottle alongside the equivalent number of single-use plastic water bottles and concluded: ‘As a direct comparison between packaging systems, the Trash Hero reusable bottle reduces your [CO2 emissions] by around 95% vs. single-use plastic.’ ⁴ To date, we have sold 102,470 bottles and estimate that 37 million plastic bottles have been avoided as a result of the programme.⁵

Another Trash Hero refill project saw us partner with Swiss cosmetics company, Schnarwiler AG, to launch a range of refillable beauty products with 100% natural ingredients. Essential items such as hand and body soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion are packaged in recycled glass bottles and refilled in local stores from bulk containers that are also washed and reused. Since the project started in 2018, the refill network has grown to 84 outlets and 11 hotels, including a popular national chain store, demonstrating that such projects can be implemented on a large scale. It is estimated that 52,882 plastic bottles (200ml) have been avoided thanks to refill.

We’d love to hear from you about your refill journey. Any great refill or reuse ideas that you’ve found helpful? Any stores in your area that you want people to know about? Share in the comments below or tag us on social media!

Footnotes and references:

Making the line a circle

by Seema on 01/03/2022 No comments

Trash Hero Czech Republic’s Jan Bares recently met with the Czech Minister of the Environment, Anna Hubáčková, as part of a delegation from Zálohujme.cz, a campaign to introduce a nationwide deposit return system for cans and PET bottles.

They presented the government with a petition of 35,596 signatures calling for the introduction of such a system which would massively improve recycling rates and support the introduction of reusable containers. Trash Hero Czech Republic chapters have been providing the campaign with data from their cleanups to show how many bottles and cans are currently ending up in nature.

In Europe, 12 countries already have such a system. We hope Czech Republic will be next!

Every kilo counts! How we measured our impact in 2021

by Martyna Morawska on 06/02/2022 No comments

Did you know that in 2021 alone Trash Hero organised 2,801 cleanups? That is almost 8 cleanups on every single day of the year! We have also welcomed 49,426 volunteers on board, including 11,531 under the age of 16. We collected a whopping 284,606 kg of trash, an average of 102 kg per cleanup. With our Bottles & Bags programme, we were able to distribute 1,401 bottles and 2,185 bags, equating to saving 797,525 single-use plastic bottles* and 511,365 plastic bags*. And 2,000 new Trash Hero kids books were printed, in 2 new languages – Malay and Arabic.

Where do those numbers come from? After every cleanup event, Trash Hero chapters weigh the trash they collected and post their results with photos on social media. The data is also uploaded to a central collection point. To be fully transparent, we make this data publicly available. Anyone can access it live on our website, by clicking on the chapter name: https://trashhero.org/our-network/.

This policy of data collection means that we can also calculate our impact since the very beginning of Trash Hero. Here is what we have achieved together thus far from December 2013 to December 2021:

We have mobilised 411,837 volunteers including 103,510 kids.
Together, they completed 14,910 cleanups and 266 brand audits.
2,154,134 kg of trash have been collected, including (in the last 6 months) 9,479 single-use masks.
In total, Trash Hero has distributed 102,470 reusable bottles, thus avoiding 37.4 million single-use plastic bottles* and 1,947 tons of CO2 emissions in the process.
Meanwhile, our distribution of 27,945 reusable bags has saved 10.2 million plastic equivalents*.
Our network is now active in 171 locations in 20 countries worldwide.

Of course, numbers are only one side of the story. Let’s not forget the positive energy, momentum and hope that our actions create – these things are immeasurable. We hope we have captured some of this Trash Hero spirit in our impact video above. Click play to see the magic – and thank you to all who have contributed to these achievements over the years!

*based on an estimated average usage of 1 refill per day for a year (365 days)

2 million kg of trash collected!

by Martyna Morawska on 20/07/2021 No comments

The Trash Hero movement has recently reached a very important milestone on the journey to zero-waste: more than 2 MILLION KG of trash collected! As of 30 June 2021:

We have engaged 391,791 volunteers, including 98,341 kids.
We have done 13,598 cleanups, collecting 2,005,774 kg of trash.
We are active in 162 locations in 20 countries around the world.
Our bottle programme has distributed 102,129 bottles, avoiding 37.3 million single-use plastic bottles and 1,940 tons of CO2 emissions.
27,360 reusable bags have been distributed, saving 10 million plastic bags.

But, where are those numbers coming from? Every Trash Hero chapter posts their cleanup results on social media and uploads the data directly to a central collection point. Anyone can check the data live on our website: https://trashhero.org/our-network/.

All these achievements are down to the hundreds of thousands of people that have gotten us this far: picking up, sorting and auditing waste, educating others about plastic pollution and creating momentum for wider change.

Watch the video below to see how our volunteers are sharing the great news:

Carbon footprint of reusable Trash Hero Bottles found to be 95% less than single-use plastic bottles

by Seema on 07/12/2020 1 comment

We all know that switching to reusables instead of single-use for everyday items like cutlery, food packaging and water bottles avoids a lot of plastic. Reducing waste and pollution is usually the main motivation for people who choose to reuse.

In addition to this, a recent study has also quantified the climate positive impact of the Trash Hero reusable bottle, by avoiding the greenhouse gas emissions associated with single-use plastic, as well as the money saved in the long term.

In 2019, René Mettler, a masters student at ETH Zürich, carried out research into the cost-efficiency of reusables vs. single-use systems of delivery. In one of the case studies, he compared the carbon footprint of consuming single-use plastic bottles of drinking water with refilling a Trash Hero stainless steel bottle with the equivalent amount of water at a hotel in Thailand. It was shown that the reusable system not only avoided plastic waste, but also reduced costs and greenhouse gas emissions. [René Mettler (2019). How to tackle the plastic crisis – a project-based cost efficiency assessment.]

How this was worked out
The study looked at the full life cycle of the two types of packaging systems only, not the water used to fill them. “Full life cycle” means: extraction of materials, production, use, disposal and any recovery of materials.

300 “usage cycles” were measured for each option, i.e. 300 single-use plastic bottles vs. 300 refills of the Trash Hero bottle.

The calculations were made using the following key assumptions:

Plastic bottles come in a standard weight and size (600ml, made up of 17.4g mixed plastics).
A fixed amount of water, heated to 60°C, is used for cleaning the reusable bottles and the 20 litre reusable drinking water tanks used to fill them. Note: the study was conducted in Thailand where it is not possible to drink water from the tap.
Emissions from transport are neglected as they are expected to occur within both systems on a comparable level and to be relatively small overall.
All plastic bottles get recycled at the end of their life.

This last is a very generous assumption, given that global recycling rates for PET bottles are around 25% and far less in many countries. It means that the figures used are very conservative.

A more likely scenario for ‘end of life’ is that the bottles end up either in landfill, burned openly or in an incinerator to “recover energy”, or discarded on land or in water (the bottles pictured, left, were collected at a single Trash Hero beach cleanup in Koh Lanta, Thailand).

However, it was decided not to include these options in the calculation. The range of factors that determine any waste management scenario is very wide and much depends on the local context. Singling out any one could lead to the relevancy of the data being questioned. Instead, plastic bottles are given the fairest possible chance, with some material always being recovered.

The researcher has however confirmed that taking into consideration the more likely end-of-life alternatives would always lead to an increase in the calculated carbon footprint of plastic bottles. This is in addition to the negative health impacts caused by disposal and incineration, both of which release toxic chemicals (in the form of ash, fumes or microplastics) into the atmosphere and food chain.

Crunching the numbers
Working with the above assumptions, and rounding to the nearest gram, the study found that a single use plastic water bottle creates approximately 56g of CO₂ emissions during its short life.

Meanwhile, the Trash Hero bottle and a reusable container used to dispense drinking water together release about 909g of CO₂. But of course these bottles can be – and are – reused. Refilling a Trash Hero bottle generates only 2g of CO₂ emissions – around 28 times less than drinking from single-use plastic.

Using these numbers, we can say that after only 17 refills, the Trash Hero bottle starts to have a positive effect:

➤ 1 Trash Hero bottle + 17 refills creates: (909g) + (17 x 2g) = 943g CO₂ emissions in total
➤ 17 single-use plastic bottles create: 56g x 17 = 952g CO₂ emissions in total

So when you switch to a Trash Hero bottle and refill it 17 times, the greenhouse gas footprint is already less than that of the 17 single-use plastic bottles of drinking water you would have used instead. Any further refills result in a “saving” of CO₂ as more plastic bottles are avoided.

This net saving is equal to 56g – 2g = 54g of CO₂ every time you choose to refill rather than purchase a plastic bottle of water.

Over one year, if you refill once per day and avoid buying any plastic bottles of water, you will have reduced your CO₂ footprint by just over 19kg!

Of course, this is actually a very small percentage of your overall annual carbon footprint – try not to drive to the refill point or order a steak with your water! – but as a direct comparison between packaging systems, the Trash Hero reusable option reduces your impact by around 95% vs. single-use plastic.

The conclusion
This is the first climate impact study done on the Trash Hero bottle and our refill programme. In the particular case considered, at a hotel in Thailand supplying drinking water to its guests, the reusable delivery system had a significantly lower rate of carbon dioxide emissions (95% less) than single-use plastic bottles, with sustained use (more than 17 refills).

In terms of the overall carbon footprint of an individual, the impact of switching to reusable bottles from single-use is likely to be very low, especially factoring in other activities such as transport or diet. However in the context of packaging and delivery systems, the climate positive impact of using the Trash Hero bottle is clear. At scale, small changes such as this can become important. A report in Science Daily in 2019 notes that “emissions from plastics will reach 17% of the global carbon budget by 2050.”

We also know that switching to the Trash Hero bottle reduces plastic waste and saves you money by avoiding bottled water. So we can say for our bottle, these are the new 3 Rs:

REDUCE plastic waste
REDUCE climate impact
REDUCE costs

To work out exactly how much you could reduce, or already have, we have created two bottle impact calculators, linked to this study. The first is for individuals and the second is for hotels to work out the savings made by replacing plastic water bottles in their rooms with the reusable Trash Hero bottles. Give them a try: you may be surprised at the results!

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René Mettler’s Master Thesis was jointly supervised by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH Zürich) and the sustainability solutions provider, South Pole. It analysed the cost efficiency of waste management and reusable packaging projects. One of these projects was the Trash Hero bottle programme, as implemented in a hotel in southern Thailand. The results showed that the bottle programme does not only lead to environmental benefits such as avoided plastic waste and CO2 emissions, it also saves costs. Our thanks to volunteer Caroline Schweisgut-Heimgartner for her help with interpreting the data.

Six Senses Yao Noi Donates Trash Hero Bottles to All Kids on the Island

by Leslie Finlay on 31/08/2019 No comments

If Trash Heroes are certain of one thing, it’s that change happens when we band together!

The Trash Hero Kids Movement is going strong in Koh Yao Noi, Thailand, where kids at local schools are taking action to save the world and learn how to live more sustainably.

The excitement grew even stronger this month thanks to Six Senses Resort, which bought new reusable Trash Hero Water Bottles for all the kids on the island! The resort also installed water filtration systems in every school on Koh Yao Noi.

Making the switch from single-use plastics to reusable alternatives is critically important to the global fight against pollution. By teaching kids this importance, Trash Hero is actively working toward a sustainable future – and building the leaders of tomorrow!

Of the 20,000 plastic drink bottles purchased globally every second, it’s estimated that 19,000 are destined for a landfill at best – or otherwise likely to wind up in the sea. By using a reusable bottle, we can each save hundreds of plastic bottles every year from this fate!

To learn more about how to get your own Trash Hero Water Bottle and our participating partners, please visit our Bottle Refill Program page.

To join the Trash Hero Kids Movement, check out https://trashhero.org/kids/

Thanks again to Six Senses Yao Noi! If you’d like to support sustainability and the Trash Hero movement in your community, get in touch!

Bag yourself the new Tasini x Trash Hero turtle

by Seema on 05/02/2019 1 comment

We are delighted to launch the Trash Hero edition of #tasini and #inibags, as part of our ongoing Bottles & Bags programme. The bags are a collaboration with the social enterprise Making Oceans Plastic Free, with the idea of reusing plastic bottles to help reduce plastic bag waste.

The branded resuable shoppers come in two versions: in a plain yellow pouch (Inibag) or with a cute turtle pouch (Tasini), to promote awareness of the ecosystem we want to protect.

⭐️ With this bag you save two✌️ plastic bottles from polluting the environment 👉 Each Bag is made from 2 recycled plastic bottles ♻️!
⭐️ Handmade in Indonesia!
⭐️ Attached to a keychain 🔑 so you won’t forget your reusable bag any more. Save 💯s of plastic bags each year!
⭐️ And the #tasini Trash Hero Turtle 🐢 helps you spread the message of awareness about plastic pollution and inspire the change in people around you!

Bags are distributed at cost by our chapters in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Switzerland, New York and Finland. Get in touch with your nearest chapter for more information.

Come Join The Trash Isles!

by Leslie Finlay on 22/10/2017 15 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.

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!