Community waste management | Trash Hero World

The best recycling was invented by Mother Nature

by Lydia on 22/03/2023 No comments

What’s the easiest and most effective recycling in the world? Recycling that you can do yourself at home? The answer may surprise you: organics!

Separating and recycling organics – food and garden waste – is often overlooked when we talk about improving waste management but in truth it is the key to making a circular economy a reality.

Investment in recycling food will have a far bigger, wider and more immediate impact than any equivalent investment in recycling plastic. It needs fewer resources and is much less complicated. To go zero waste, start with food!

So why is recycling food waste, also known as composting, so important?

5 reasons why composting is the foundation of zero waste

It reduces the amount of waste sent to landfills

By weight, food makes up the biggest proportion of our household trash. By separating food and other organic waste and composting it, the amount of waste sent to landfill can be reduced by half or more – up to 70% in some Asian countries. That’s a huge reduction when we consider we are rapidly running out of space to contain our trash – and spending ever more public funds to deal with it.

It prevents greenhouse gas emissions

Food waste piled up in a landfill is starved of oxygen. This leads to anaerobic decomposition – a process that creates methane as a by-product. Methane is a greenhouse gas 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over its 20 year lifespan, and a major factor in driving climate change. Around 15% of methane produced globally comes directly from food rotting in landfills.

It makes landfills safer

All that methane can build up inside the landfill, and is very flammable. Spontaneous fires are common, especially in poorly managed sites. Burning trash produces dangerous toxins and can spread quickly, contributing to disasters such as the fatal collapse of a landfill in Indonesia in 2005.

Rotting food also releases water that starts to dissolve non-organic waste such as plastic or batteries. The resulting toxic black liquid, known as leachate, can leak into the soil and contaminate water sources. Ammonia and mercury in the leachate are responsible for the “dead zones” in rivers.

It makes other recycling easier

With food and other organics out of the picture, recycling non-organic materials becomes much easier! Dry, non-contaminated glass, metal and plastic can be sorted and recycled more effectively and also fetch a higher price in the market – an important incentive that boosts recycling rates.

It’s infinite and helps nourish the soil

Food waste is infinitely recyclable – something that cannot be said for plastic. Food that is composted can be returned to nourish the soil naturally (avoiding synthetic fertilisers) and grow more food. This cycle can be continued forever with almost no additional resources required. It seems incredibly wasteful – if not a little crazy – to spend money piling food up in a landfill, even without considering the other ill effects of doing this.

So how to start recycling your food waste?

If you live in the countryside, or have access to a garden, it’s easy: compost! We have a simple guide on how to do this on our kids’ website. Almost everything that grows can be composted, which makes food one of the easiest things to recycle – although there may be exceptions depending on the technique you choose.

If you live in a city or have limited outdoor space, it gets more tricky. But it is still doable, without smell or mess! The first option is to look for a community composting service or facility. Many municipalities offer food waste collection, or there are often private enterprises who offer a similar service, such as Urban Compost in Bali.

Other cities have adopted a community garden approach, where organic waste can be dropped off in a nearby green space and the compost bins are managed by a volunteer team. Brussels has a network of hundreds of these collective compost sites. There are also many resources available online if you are motivated to start your own project where you live.

The second option is to manage the waste yourself. This is more challenging, especially in a small apartment, but it is especially worthwhile if you have houseplants or a balcony garden that would benefit from the compost you make. Again, there are many resources online for how to compost in a small space. Two techniques we have used and had success with are bokashi and vermicomposting. Bokashi is the easier and more flexible option, but still needs a patch or container of soil in order to fully break down.

Conclusion

Food recycling – or composting – is the most effective form of recycling we have. Food represents the biggest part of our waste stream and, unlike plastic, it is not complicated to recycle, requires minimal resources and can be done an infinite number of times. It vastly reduces the size of landfills, avoids disastrous greenhouse emissions and environmental pollution, and improves the ability to recycle other materials. Get rotting today!

5 tips to reduce plastic waste in the wider world

by Lydia on 01/08/2022 2 comments

Changed your habits? Now it’s time to change the world!

Lists of advice on how to reduce your plastic use are all over the internet. If you’re reading this, perhaps you already own a bamboo toothbrush, carry a reusable bottle and bag and shop at refill stores. Maybe you separate your waste like a pro and made other zero waste swaps that have reduced the amount of plastic you use in your day-to-day life. In which case, congratulations! It’s not always easy, but being the change you want to see and leading by example are the best way to start your journey to reduce plastic pollution.

Everything you do in this respect helps to normalise the concepts of reuse and refill and hopefully inspires others to do the same.

But although you are doing your part, it might feel like nothing is changing in the wider world: in the news, you see there are still millions of tonnes of plastic being produced each year. Other than avoiding plastic in our own lives, what can we do to stop this?

As individuals it may feel like there is not much we can do. But at Trash Hero, we have found there are there are many easy actions that can help get companies, communities and governments on board to support the reduction of single-use plastic.

We’re happy to share them with you here. If you are ready to go a step further on your zero waste journey, read on for our five top tips to reduce plastic in the world around us.

1. Learn to spot greenwashing

the image on the left shows a bottle that says 'hello I'm a paper bottle' the image on the left shows that label being removed to show a plastic bottle underneath

Greenwashing is when a business promotes its products or practices as “eco-friendly” or “sustainable” when actually they are not. Many cases of greenwashing are easy to spot, but some are much harder.

When a big company uses green colours, or images or language suggesting “nature” to market a product in throwaway packaging, this is a sure sign of greenwashing. But it can also be more subtle. Many fashion brands put out “sustainable” clothing lines and boast about their eco-credentials, when these products make up only a tiny percentage of their output.

You can find more examples and information on our greenwashing factsheet

Other resources include our handy toolkit for spotting greenwashing and a new website dedicated to the topic.

Why do we need to spot greenwashing at all? Because the practices give people the impression that something is being done about issues like plastic pollution and climate change. They allow companies to get away with doing, in reality, very little to solve environmental problems. Greenwashing is so prevalent and considered so serious that many companies are now being sued for making false claims about their sustainability.

If we can spot greenwashing and expose it to those around us, it helps to keep the pressure on companies to make real changes to the way they operate. You could even share your observations on social media!

2. Change the story

Three girls from thailand are crouching on the floor putting an arm in the air triumphently. They are smiling at the camera in front of a trash hero Ao Nang sign

Since the 1970s companies have been pushing the blame for the pollution they cause onto consumers and governments. With single-use plastic, they tell a story about “litter” and “irresponsible people” and say the problem can be solved with education, better recycling and waste management.

The reality is that many multinational companies have designed pollution into their packaging and delivery systems. They continue to produce single-use plastic in the face of evidence that it is toxic, not easily recycled, damages our environment and causes climate change. Why? Because it is cheaper for them to do so: the old reuse and refill systems (that single-use plastics replaced) required having employees and infrastructure. Now, we are expected to throw packaging away and let someone else deal with it.

It is important that people understand they are not to blame for the current crisis. Instead, plastic pollution needs to be stopped at its source. Large companies can change the way they package their materials, ‘turning off the tap’ of plastic, not relying on public services to mop up their mess.

A great way to help others understand about the wider changes needed to solve the problem of plastic, is to share this short animation, The Story of Plastic. If you would like to know more, search for the full-length documentary version, which explores the issue in depth.

3. Do a brand audit

Two images. One shows a girl with a piece of paper filling in information and one shows a man crouching down and collecting cans. There are also plastic bottles in the picture

Another effective way of holding multinational companies accountable is to collect data about them. There is an easy way for individuals to get involved in this, in the Brand Audit Report, a global citizen science project organised by Break Free From Plastic.

A brand audit is ideally carried out on litter picked up at a cleanup, but it can also be done on items in your household trash. It involves recording the brand and type of each plastic item found. For example, how many plastic Coke bottles or how many plastic Nestle sachets there are. Break Free From Plastic have been organising brand audits since 2018 and from the data they collect they produce a report that identifies the top polluters. These yearly reports have played a huge part in shifting the narrative from plastic waste being the responsibility of citizens to that of the producers.

Contributing to this data is a fantastic way to increase the pressure on the top polluters to change the way they package their products.

Get in touch with your local Trash Hero chapter to see when they are next doing a brand audit or conduct your own! This year, you can send in your contribution up to the end of September.

4. Support a zero waste business

Trash Hero bottles next to a sign in a cafe that says 'bring your own'

Maybe your favourite cafe gives a discount for bringing a reusable cup, or you have a local deli that lets you bring your own container for cheese or cooked meats. Businesses such as these are encouraging people to use less plastic and supporting a sustainable business model that undoubtedly has a positive impact on the environment.

When you find such a place, it’s a great idea to support them. Some ways to show support are to tell your friends about it, share their page on your social media or tell the staff that you support and love what they are doing. If you don’t have such a shop in your area, why not try starting a conversation about refills by asking if you can use your own cup or container and explaining why.

The more we support businesses that are implementing real solutions to the plastics crisis, the more that will open! And, consequently, more pressure will be put upon larger companies to do the same.

5. Become a Trash Hero

four photos with groups of people smiling and looking at the camera, they are all wearing trash hero t-shirts. A mix of adults and children, some are collecting plastic

No cost, no sign up – just show up! It is that easy to become a Trash Hero.

Our Trash Hero chapters do weekly cleanups which have an immediate and positive impact on the environment. After each cleanup the volunteers come together to discuss the waste they have just removed and think about where it came from.

These activities allow us to engage with a wide range of people from the local community, which is a great way to get everyone from schools, businesses, families and local government thinking about waste – and hopefully, start to implement real changes to reduce the plastic they use.
Find a Trash Hero near you or get in touch to find out how to set up your own chapter.

Whatever you chose to do beyond changing your own lifestyle, the most important thing is that you are doing something. It can feel a little overwhelming at times, but remember small changes done by many people lead to big impacts! To keep yourself inspired make sure to follow us online and tag us in any tips you have to reduce plastic across the globe!

Camping sustainably with Trash Hero Pattani

by Martyna Morawska on 10/02/2022 No comments

The average city-dweller in Thailand produces 1.3kg of waste per day. Trash Hero Pattani organised a camping trip for 125 people that generated just 40g of waste per person, per day!

How did they manage it? They started training several weeks before the trip to the beautiful region of Yala, in southern Thailand. A group of volunteer coordinators were taught about zero waste principles and how they could apply them during the stay. Rules were drawn up for participants to firstly avoid bringing any waste to the camp and then committing them to separate and rinse any trash generated into 7 different categories.

While this may sound cumbersome, in fact the photos show the group had a fantastic time, with plenty of family activities, water sports, and music and fire shows in the evening – they even did a cleanup! The camping project is a really wonderful example of learning by doing, and demonstrating to local people that zero waste is possible in all kinds of situations.

In total the waste generated during the camp (4-6 Feb inclusive) was 31.6kg, with 16.6kg of organics and recyclables and 15kg of residual waste. 10.5kg of trash was picked up during the cleanup in the camp grounds. The trip was the sixth such event in Trash Hero Pattani’s “Zero Waste Camping” project, which they describe as a work in progress, refining the details each time. Already this year the amount of trash generated was halved, compared with the 2021 trip, where 95g of trash was logged per participant. Kudos to all involved, and for more information (in Thai) please visit the Trash Hero Pattani page.

Trash Hero holds zero waste workshop in Bali

by Rima Agustina on 13/12/2021 4 comments

Entering its eighth year, new challenges have emerged for Trash Hero Indonesia. No longer do we wonder how to get people to join our clean ups, but how to prevent the trash from existing in the first place. With the increasing recognition of Trash Hero Indonesia as an organisation advocating the concept of zero waste, we are receiving more and more requests to educate the local communities.

And so the Trash Hero Communities workshop in Bali was born. The local Trash Hero leaders were eager to do something more than cleanups and to get practical ideas to tackle the waste problem in their local neighbourhoods.

The full-day workshop took place in Ubud on 16 November 2021, and was attended by 17 chapter leaders from villages all over Bali. Unlike our previous zero waste communities training, which was held online, this in-person workshop allowed us to teach the material in a more interactive way, using simulations, field observations, discussions and role playing. It was also specifically tailored to the local culture and context.

We included a visit to a community composting site, as well as a session on public speaking to build participants’ confidence when sharing their new knowledge. The workshop closed with a sharing session, discussing existing false solutions to the plastic crisis in Bali, what scenarios lie behind them, and how the participants should respond appropriately as Trash Heroes.

I Wayan Apple, representing Trash Hero Payangan, was grateful to attend this workshop, saying “I feel more confident and secure in choosing this ‘less-waste’ life path, as the knowledge I gained today has justified my decision.” Another participant, I Made Sukerta from Trash Hero Batubulan, said that “the teaching methods in this workshop helped [him] understand zero waste much more easily compared to one-way teaching.” Sukerta added, “I hope Trash Hero Indonesia develops more workshops like this in the future.”

The Trash Hero Indonesia chairman, I Wayan Aksara, who hosted the workshop, stated: “it is essential for our leaders to understand the zero waste concept not only in the technical aspect, but also the reason behind it: the fact that there is no Planet B. Thank you to Trash Hero World for conducting this workshop for our leaders.”

Trash Hero Indonesia will follow up with the participants to make sure they are supported in their efforts to take this knowledge back to their communities. And the live workshop format will be offered to other chapters both within Indonesia and beyond, as part of our new “Trash Hero Communities” programme in 2022, where circumstances allow.

Flexing our thinking muscles in Brussels!

by Seema on 13/10/2021 No comments

Teaching and advocating for zero waste is rarely a simple case of passing on knowledge, like with a mathematical formula. For the knowledge to be accepted, it usually requires an accompanying shift in people’s values and behaviour. Changing someone’s whole world view is never going to be easy. However, after a week spent in Belgium this September, the task seems a little more achievable!

As Programme Director for the global Trash Hero network, I was privileged to take part in the Erasmus+ pilot project, “Building a European Zero Waste Academy” (BEZWA), organised by Let’s Do It Foundation, Zero Waste Europe and Ekologi brez meja, with the support of Tallinn University and the Estonian University of Life Sciences. The BEZWA project’s twin goals are to create:

1) a strong curriculum to teach zero waste ambassadors, who can then advocate for zero waste cities and communities; and
2) a network of skilled trainers who can train these ambassadors – and others – effectively.

The ambassadors’ curriculum was tested live at a training in Slovenia in early September for those just starting on their zero waste journey; I joined the second stage “training of trainers”, alongside NGO colleagues from France, Germany, Slovenia, Ukraine, Cyprus and Estonia, held at the end of the same month in Brussels.

There was a range of experience present, but most of us had developed our training skills on the job, without formal qualifications and simply following common practice. The intensive 5-day course put us all through our paces and turned our preconceived notions of teaching upside down.

There was no sitting through dull Powerpoints with “tips and tricks”. Instead we discovered the inner workings of the brain. We explored new training methods based on educational psychology – that were simultaneously being used on us! These methods empower students to take ownership of their learning, rather than being passive recipients of facts.

Our own knowledge of zero waste was challenged on many levels and we engaged in a variety of activities from improv sessions to designing and teaching mini-workshops. There was also space for quiet reflection. All of this stretched and exercised our thinking muscles in unexpected ways.

In between, we found time to visit a community compost project, support the city’s zero waste restaurants and even take part in a Break Free From Plastic protest against EU waste exports outside the European Commission and Council.

It was an endlessly thought-provoking and stimulating few days, completed by the warm, supportive energy of being with like-minded people and sharing our different experiences.

The benefits to Trash Hero will be felt immediately. So much of our work is about education and these new perspectives will help to build capacity within our network and to shape and refine our programmes. The knowledge will be shared with our country coordinators as we move forward with planning our Zero Waste Communities training. And it can even be incorporated into our family meetings for volunteers once they start up again next year.

We are grateful to have had the opportunity to attend the training and to all the teaching and coordination team who made it happen. The BEZWA project will continue with follow-up sessions for all participants and assessment of outcomes until September 2022.

Staying on track: our tool to separate real and false solutions to the plastic crisis

by Seema on 12/07/2021 1 comment

As Trash Heroes, we come across many ideas on how to “solve” plastic pollution. Every week some new technology or product is heralded by the media as the way out of the plastic crisis. And our inboxes are filled with companies requesting to work with us or promote their latest “sustainable initiative”.

It can get confusing, especially with the marketing hype that often surrounds these innovations. Plant plastic! Chemical recycling! Clothes from plastic bottles! Plastic as fuel! Plastic offset! There are, of course, many others.

To understand which measures will really work in the long term, it’s important to look at the bigger picture and put them in the context of a zero waste model. And that’s exactly what we have been doing in the second round of our Zero Waste Communities volunteer training, which ran from May – June 2021 in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia.

The four-part series – again held with the support and expertise of GAIA Asia-Pacific, Let’s Do It Foundation, YPBB Bandung and Zero Waste Europe – looked at the topics of waste separation, greenwashing and the dos and don’ts of recycling at the systemic level. We also started to explore waste as a complex or “wicked” problem, with participants going on to map the issues where they live. With this know-how they will better be able to assess – and eventually address – the waste situation in their local area.

As part of the course content, we created a tool to help anyone evaluate a proposed waste management solution and decide whether or not it was worth pursuing (click on the images above to see it in detail).

Participants used it to assess some popular ideas – and were surprised to discover that most failed the test. Although the conclusions may be uncomfortable, the tool allows people to understand the reasons why these are so-called false solutions. In essence, they do not reduce or prevent waste. They merely offer a delayed or alternative means of disposal, or a different material to throw away. They distract from the problem with quick fixes, rather than deeper, structural change.

In the live sessions, we also learned what would pass the test and be considered a real solution – and that these are often very simple ideas that do not get the same media coverage. It’s part of our mission at Trash Hero to make sure these real solutions are more widely known and adopted.

We’ll publish the full course in four languages on social media and here on this site over the coming weeks. In the meantime, we are sharing the PDF version of the tool here in different languages for anyone to use. We’d love to hear how you get on – ping us @trashheroworld. Please do read the notes before you attempt any assessment, and remember this is only a guide!

False Solutions Tool – English
Petunjuk Solusi Palsu – Bahasa Indonesia
เครื่องมือประเมินแผนการปลอดขยะ – ภาษาไทย

Our thanks to Dr. Enzo Favoino from Zero Waste Europe, Kadri Kalle from Let’s Do It Foundation, Miko Aliño from GAIA Asia-Pacific and Dr. Nattapong Nithi-Uthai of Trash Hero Pattani, whose input in shaping the final version of the tool was invaluable.

“การเก็บขยะ” ด่านแรกสู่ชุมชนปลอดขยะ

by Seema on 12/05/2021 No comments

เขียนโดย ซีมา พราบู, ผู้อำนวยการโครงการของแทรชฮีโร่เวิลด์

การเคลื่อนไหวของแทรชฮีโร่ แสดงให้เห็นว่า การเก็บขยะในพื้นที่สาธารณะ สามารถขยายการเปลี่ยนแปลงในสังคมได้

อาสาสมัครแทรชฮีโร่ได้ทำการเก็บขยะทุกสัปดาห์มาเป็นเวลามากกว่า 7 ปีแล้ว มีกิจกรรมถึง 12,000 ครั้ง ในกว่า 170 พื้นที่ทั่วโลก และเก็บขยะได้กว่า 1,870,000 กก. จากชายหาด, ริมแม่น้ำ และพื้นที่สาธารณะอื่น ๆ

นี่เป็นตัวเลขที่น่าตกใจ ซึ่งเป็นผลจากการทุ่มเททำงานอย่างหนัก แต่มันก็เป็นเพียงหยุดน้ำในมหาสมุทร หากเทียบกับจำนวนพลาสติกที่ผู้คนทั่วโลกทิ้งในแต่ละวัน ไม่ว่าจะใช้พละกำลังคนอีกกี่ล้านเท่า เราก็ไม่มีวันแก้ปัญหามลพิษพลาสติกนี้ได้ ด้วยแค่เพียงการเก็บขยะ เราต้องป้องกัน หยุดปัญหาที่ต้นเหตุด้วย แล้วทำไมเราจึงเลือกหนทางนี้ล่ะ?

ฮีโร่ มูบา, อินโดนีเซีย

คำตอบก็คือ เพื่อจะหยุดปัญหาที่ต้นตอ คุณต้องเห็นก่อนว่าปัญหามันร้ายแรงขนาดไหน ในประสบการณ์ของเรา การเก็บขยะเป็นเรื่องง่าย ทำให้ผู้คนได้เข้าถึงและเข้าใจปัญหาแรกเมื่อเราพึ่งพาพลาสติกมากเกินไป ทำให้ผู้คนรวมตัว รวมพลัง และแรงผลักดันสำคัญอื่น ๆ เพื่อที่จะ “ทำอะไรสักอย่าง”

แรงผลักดันนี้เมื่อส่งสารด้านบวก ก็จะเกิดประโยชน์ในการเปลี่ยนพฤติกรรม หรือหากมีการเก็บรวบรวมข้อมูลจำนวนมากได้ ก็สามารถนำไปใช้ในการกระตุ้นนโยบายได้อีกด้วย เช่นในโครงการแบรนด์ออดิทขององค์กร Break Free From Plastic

แทรชฮีโร่เลมบาตา, อินโดนีเซีย ทำแบรนด์ออดิทในเดือนกันยายน 2563

>กุญแจสำคัญก็คือให้กลุ่มอาสาสมัครในชุมชนที่มีอิสระ จัดการเก็บขยะเป็นประจำทุกสัปดาห์ โดยไม่เกี่ยวข้องกับธุรกิจหรือการเมืองใด กลุ่มสาขาของเราสามารถรับการสนับสนุนของใช้ในการเก็บขยะ และมีคนใหม่ ๆ เข้ามาเป็นอาสาสมัครอยู่เรื่อย ๆ จนกลายเป็นกิจกรรมประจำสัปดาห์ของชุมชน และเกิดการพูดคุยกันในท้องถิ่นเกี่ยวกับการจัดการขยะและการใช้ซ้ำ

การจัดกิจกรรมแบบนี้ ทำให้การเก็บขยะช่วยเปิดประตูสู่การปฏิบัติเพื่อความยั่งยืนในชุมชน เมื่อกลุ่มสาขาแทรชฮีโร่เป็นที่ยอมรับและเชื่อถือในชุมชน อาสาสมัครของเราก็มักได้รับเชิญให้ไปพูดคุยกับผู้นำชุมชน หรือด้วยแรงขับในชุมชนก็อาจทำให้มีพลังในการริเริ่มโครงการที่ใหญ่กว่าขึ้นได้

คำอธิบายภาพ [l-r] : แทรชฮีโร่แอนเด, อินโดนีเซีย ช่วยโรงเรียนในท้องถิ่นติดตั้งโครงการเติมน้ำดื่ม ; แทรชฮีโร่หลังสวน, ประเทศไทย ทำงานร่วมกับวัดในโครงการปลอดขยะ โดยเริ่มต้นจากการหมักปุ๋ย ; แทรชฮีโร่เกาะช้าง, ประเทศไทย ได้รับเชิญไปให้ความรู้ในโครงการคัดแยกขยะในครัวเรือน

จากภาพที่เกิดขึ้นในใจนี้ ทำให้เราได้เริ่มจัดการอบรม “แทรชฮีโร่ชุมชนปลอดขยะ” ขึ้นในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ ในช่วงปลายปี 2563 เพราะอาสาสมัครของเราส่วนมาก เป็นแค่คนทั่วไปที่อยากสร้างความเปลี่ยนแปลง ไม่ใช่ผู้มีความเชี่ยวชาญ แต่เราต้องการให้พวกเขามีอาวุธเป็นความรู้และทักษะที่มากพอในการนำทางให้ชุมชนพ้นจากหนทางเท็จ ไปสู่ระบบปลอดขยะอย่างแท้จริง

จากแนวคิดที่พัฒนาโดยมูลนิธิ Let’s Do It และดำเนินงานโดยผู้ให้ความรู้หลายท่าน การอบรมครั้งแรกมีผู้เชี่ยวชาญจากองค์กร Break Free From Plastic, Zero Waste Europe, GAIA เอเชีย-แปซีฟิก และ YPBB ร่วมด้วยนักวิชาการชั้นนำในท้องถิ่น

เราเชื่อมต่อพวกเขากับกลุ่มอาสาสมัครในไทย, มาเลเซีย และอินโดนีเซีย และด้วยสถานการณ์ไวรัสโควิด ทำให้การอบรมต้องจัดขึ้นแบบออนไลน์ เป็นเวลา 2 วัน ในเดือนตุลาคมและพฤศจิกายน และให้ความรู้กับผู้เข้าอบรมในเรื่อง

หลักการของเศรษฐกิจหมุนเวียน
การตรวจสอบขยะในชุมชน
สร้างทักษะในการโต้แย้งอย่างน่าเชื่อถือในเรื่องระบบปลอดขยะ (ภาพรวมของหนทางเท็จและการฟอกเขียว)
ตัวอย่างที่เกิดขึ้นจริงของโครงการปลอดขยะในเอเชีย

และยังมีการทำงานกลุ่มและการแลกเปลี่ยนความคิดเห็นกันด้วย

ความคิดเรื่องระบบปลอดขยะยังเป็นเรื่องใหม่ในประเทศเหล่านี้ ดังนั้นการอบรมทั้งหมดจึงใช้ภาษาท้องถิ่น โดยผ่านการแปล นี่ทำให้หัวข้อที่ซับซ้อนเข้าใจได้ง่ายขึ้น และประยุกต์ใช้กับบริบทของวัฒนธรรมท้องถิ่นได้

โดยสรุป มีผู้เข้าร่วมอบรมทั้งหมด 81 คน ในจำนวนนี้ 70 คนเข้าร่วมครบทั้งสองวัน และ 51 คนได้เข้ารับการติดตามผล และได้ประกาศนียบัตรในฐานะผู้ฝึกฝนระบบปลอดขยะ (ระดับพื้นฐาน)

มาเรีย เธเรเซีย วิลบรอดา เป็นอาสาสมัครแทรชฮีโร่ที่ทำงานอยู่ในชุมชนเลโวเลบา บนเกาะเลสเซอร์ ซันดา ประเทศอินโดนีเซีย เธอมักจะเข้าไปพูดคุยเรื่องการลดและคัดแยกขยะในกลุ่มเพื่อนบ้านและโรงเรียนต่าง ๆ อยู่เป็นประจำ “จากการอบรมนี้ทำให้ฉันมีแรงใจและรู้สึกรับผิดชอบมากขึ้นทุกครั้งที่ออกไปเก็บขยะ แล้วยังได้ทำให้เข้าใจความหมายของซีโร่เวสต์มากขึ้นด้วย ซึ่งสำคัญมาก เพราะมันมีอิทธิพลต่อชีวิตในแต่ละวันของฉัน”

ศุภวัฒน์ ชื่นจันทร์ (พี่ตุ้ม) ผู้นำกลุ่มแทรชฮีโร่ชุมพร กลุ่มที่ประสบความสำเร็จอย่างมากกับโครงการให้ความรู้แก่เด็ก ๆ และช่วยให้หลายโรงเรียนเป็นโรงเรียนปลอดขยะ เขายังจัดโครงการ “พี่ส่งต่อน้อง” รับบริจาคเสื้อผ้าและของเล่นมือสองมอบต่อให้กับเด็ก ๆ ที่ขาดแคลน พี่ตุ้มพูดถึงการอบรมไว้ว่า “เป็นกิจกรรมที่ดีมาก มีข้อมูลที่เป็นประโยชน์ การแลกเปลี่ยนความรู้ ดีที่ได้เรียนรู้ความสำเร็จของพื้นที่อื่น ๆ และดูว่าจะเอามาปรับใช้กับพื้นที่ของเราอย่างไร”

พวกเราทุกคนต่างก็รู้สึกตื่นเต้นกับการก้าวเดินไปสู่อีกขั้นของการอบรมที่จะจัดขึ้นในปีนี้ วางแผนโครงการริเริ่มที่เป็นรูปธรรมและชักชวนผู้คนให้เข้าร่วมมากขึ้น

ปัญหาของมลพิษพลาสติกเป็นสิ่งที่ซับซ้อนและมีหลายแง่มุม และไม่สามารถแก้ไขได้เพียงแค่ลงมือทำสิ่งใดอย่างเดียว ด้วยประสิทธิภาพในการเก็บข้อมูลของ BFFP โครงการเล็ก ๆ นี้แสดงให้เห็นว่า เราสามารถต่อจิ๊กซอว์แต่ละชิ้นเข้าด้วยกัน เพื่อความเปลี่ยนแปลงที่ยิ่งใหญ่และยาวนานกว่าได้อย่างไร

ดูเนื้อหาการอบรมโดย ดร.เอ็นโซ ฟาโวอิโน (Zero Waste Europe) และมิโก อลิโน (GAIA Asia-Pacific) ร่วมด้วย ดร.ปเนต มโนมัยวิบูลย์ และ ดร.ณัฐพงษ์ นิธิอุทัย

สนใจอยากเป็นส่วนหนึ่งของแทรชฮีโร่ไหม?

➡️ เข้าร่วมกิจกรรมเก็บขยะ

➡️ สร้างกลุ่มสาขาใหม่ของแทรชฮีโร่

– ซีมา พราบู ผู้อำนวยการโครงการของแทรชฮีโร่เวิลด์ เธอเริ่มต้นวิถีปลอดขยะด้วยการจัดโครงการทำความสะอาดชายหาดในประเทศไทย
แทรชฮีโร่เป็นการเคลื่อนไหวด้วยอาสาสมัครจากทั่วโลก ในการสร้างความเปลี่ยนแปลงในชุมชน สร้างแรงบันดาลใจ และสนับสนุนพวกเขาให้ช่วยกันทำความสะอาดและหลีกเลี่ยงขยะพลาสติก
แทรชฮีโร่เป็นสมาชิกหลักของ Break Free From Plastic ตั้งแต่ปี 2559

Zero Waste Communities volunteer training

by Seema on 10/12/2020 4 comments

With our cleanup programme now well established in dozens of locations around Southeast Asia, many of our volunteers are ready to take things to the next level: to move beyond picking up the trash and initiate community-level waste reduction programmes, in conjunction with local authorities.

It was with this in mind that we embarked on the “Trash Hero Zero Waste Communities” training programme, the first of hopefully many collaborations with our esteemed partners in the Break Free From Plastic movement. Based on a concept developed by Let’s Do It Foundation and organised by their educators, the programme brought together European and Southeast Asian experts from organisations such as Zero Waste Europe, GAIA Asia-Pacific and YPBB, as well as leading regional academics. The goal was to combine technical knowledge about waste management with the real life examples, skills and networking needed to kick start a zero waste project in participants’ own communities.

Due to the pandemic, the training was conducted online with volunteers in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia in October and November 2020. The 2-day sessions introduced topics such as:
– Principles of circular economy
– Community waste auditing
– Building convincing arguments for zero waste (overview of false solutions and greenwashing)
– Real life examples of zero waste projects in Asia
and also included group work and discussion. They gave a basic overview of zero waste principles and strategies and laid the groundwork for the next stage of the programme: planning their own initiative and getting people on board.

The English language presentations prepared for the training by Dr. Enzo Favoino (Zero Waste Europe) and Miko Aliño (GAIA Asia-Pacific), along with that of the Malaysian incinerator expert, Mr Lam Choong Wah, can be found on our YouTube channel:

Note: the English presentations are an incomplete set of what was shown, as other contributions were in local languages. To view the full set of training materials in Indonesian, Thai or Malay, please visit our channel playlists. These playlists also include the English presentations dubbed into local languages, which we did to facilitate understanding of the often quite complex subject matter.

Despite the challenges of holding an online training programme, we were able to recruit a total of 81 participants for the live events. Out of these, 70 completed the two days and a further 51 did a follow-up activity to gain a certificate as a Zero Waste Practitioner (foundation level).

Feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive regarding the opportunity to learn about these topics, and the quality of the content; however the limitations of online interaction, connectivity issues and the need to accomodate a wide range of time zones were felt by many to be obstacles to learning. We received multiple suggestions to hold the next training session in person to allow for more in-depth discussion.

Restrictions permitting, that is exactly what we intend to do in 2021. It is clear that there is an appetite for this kind of knowledge and, if provided in local language direct to our volunteers on the ground, the potential to create real impact is there too.

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.

Transforming trash into merit at a Thai temple

by Seema on 19/07/2019 No comments

Our Trash Hero chapter in Langsuan, Chumphon Province, Thailand, has come up with an ingenious scheme to motivate local residents to separate and recycle their waste.

In an area with no waste management infrastructure – not even basic garbage collection – most households either dump or openly burn their trash, as they have done for generations. The difference, of course, is that 20 – 30 years ago, the waste was mainly biodegradable. Now, the majority is toxic plastic.

Working together with sub-district adminstrations; local schools; hospitals; private sector representatives; and a local temple, our Trash Hero volunteers created a “waste bank” scheme, launched at an official ceremony on 24 June 2019.

Communal life in this mainly rural area is focused around Wat Ratchaburana, a royal monastery in Tha Maphla sub-district. So the headquarters of the “waste bank” is located here. With the support of the Abbot and the resident monks, the local villagers can bring their separated waste to the temple, or to 9 other collection points – one in each village in the district. Organic waste will be used to make biogas and fertiliser; cleaned plastic will be recycled, with all proceeds going to the temple.

A typical “waste bank”, such as those found in Indonesia, incentivises recycling through personal financial gain. People are encouraged to make “deposits” of their recyclable waste at a central location. Each type of waste carries a market value and is exchanged for a fixed rate. The waste bank administration then sells this trash on to local recyclers and places the income received (minus a small admin fee for running costs) into each person’s account. Records are kept in a “bank book” and withdrawals are allowed at any time.

In Langsuan, this concept has been taken and combined with the Thai Buddhist tradition of “merit-making“. One of the most basic ways to accumulate merit in this culture is to practice almsgiving to local monks. This involves making regular monetary or in-kind donations of food, clothing or household goods. Villagers can now instead donate their trash, and gain the same merit: the slogan of the Langsuan scheme, roughly translated from the Thai, is “Transform a pile of trash into a pile of merit”.

This is a very powerful association, providing an incentive to recycle that goes well beyond the monetary value of the waste. Recycling becomes not just a source of income that can be donated to the temple; but a source of good karma, a virtuous deed that will lead to a better next life for the donors and their families.

In addition, the “deposit days”, on which the bank is open for business, are on the Buddhist holy days, when it is customary to make a special offering to the temple. To make the link even clearer, the name has been changed from “waste bank” to “merit bank” (Thai: ธนาคารบุญ / thanakhan buh!n).

The poster above explains the scheme and shows the nine village collection points

Suttipun Suwanbundit, the leader of Trash Hero Langsuan, explained: “the heart of the issue we have here is that people simply will not separate their waste. It is mixed all together – rotting food and recyclable waste – which makes it impossible to do anything with. The use of law or fines is just not effective for Thai people. There have been big campaigns but then after the initial fuss, people would quietly go back to their old habits. We needed a continuous solution and one that showed people a clear benefit in waste separation, which would give them a reason to do it long term.”

Alongside the merit bank, Trash Hero Langsuan volunteers, in conjunction with the temple and related government departments, will be holding education sessions for local residents on how to reduce waste, in particular plastic. With the endorsement of the Abbot, who carries great authority in these deeply religious rural communities, the scheme has already seen a large uptake.

Trash Hero Langsuan is grateful for the cooperation and support of the District Health Committee, Quality of Life Development Committee, Waste Management Commmittee and all other stakeholders that enabled the project to come to life.