Trash Heroes get creative with team-building!

by Lydia on 09/05/2022 No comments

At the very heart of Trash Hero, and indeed the driving force of it, are our volunteers. Every week hundreds of people across the world come together to help clean, educate, and work towards change within the communities they cherish. Trash Hero is formed of over 170 chapters and hundreds of volunteers who are dedicated to fighting plastic pollution.

One of the highlights of our year is the opportunity to gather together our volunteers by hosting ‘Trash Hero Family Meetings.’ This is where we come together, in our core countries of activity, to brainstorm ideas about zero waste, identify work to be done and to celebrate and thank those who have been organising cleanups and educational activities. It is a fantastic opportunity for volunteers to meet other like-minded individuals and allows lifelong connections and friendships to be formed.

It is also our opportunity to learn from them, as their local knowledge is invaluable and is used to inform our programmes and the way in which we work. Over the past two years we have had to move these gatherings online, which has seen record numbers of attendance but ultimately could not match the energy of an in-person event.

So, as restrictions started to ease at the end of 2021, we decided to offer our volunteers the opportunity to host their own mini family meeting within their local chapter. These team-building events, which we called “Chapter Family Meetings”, were funded by Trash Hero World. The chapters were given a budget and guidelines, but each had the freedom to plan whatever they felt would be a suitable celebration for them.

It was amazing to see the incredible ideas they came up with: camping trips; inviting community leaders to discuss reducing plastic in the area; mountain hikes; coffee meetings; lobbying to reduce single-use plastic; open discussions and brainstorming for future plans. Every event was filled with inspiration, community spirit, a passion for the natural world, and, of course, all were planned as zero waste events.

Here are a few highlights from the Chapter Family Meetings:

Trash Hero Mas

Trash Hero Mas has conducted over 75 cleanups since November 2020! They used the Chapter Family Meeting as an opportunity to open a conversation about zero waste with their village leaders – one of which is the Kepala Desa – and the leaders of local youth organisations. In Indonesia the Kepala Desa is the ‘head of the village’ and is an extremely influential and highly respected member of the community. These leaders have the power to implement and encourage change in their villages and can assist with finding real, long-term, solutions. By inviting them to take part and learn about our work, Trash Hero Mas have taken an important first step towards their goal of a zero waste village. The leaders have now agreed to support their activities.

Trash Hero Perlis

Trash Hero Perlis is located in Malaysia and was started in 2019. Since then they have conducted over 90 clean ups, removing over 33,000 kg of trash! For the chapter family meeting they organised a memorable camping trip. The agenda included: looking at ways to reward their volunteers, expanding their core team and how to improve outreach and promote ideas of zero waste. This was all done against a stunning backdrop with some fun activities. The event provided a great opportunity to bond while also conjuring up ideas to achieve their goals.

Trash Hero Pejarakan

Trash Hero Pejarakan is located in Indonesia and has been running regular cleanups and activities since 2019. For their Chapter Family Meeting they decided to take some youth groups on a trip through the mangroves. Mangroves are an essential part of the ecosystem and face many threats, one being increasing plastic pollution. Using traditional boats they toured the mangroves learning about the important role that they play.

This was a fantastic and educational tour that ended with a plastic-free snack and drinking water from a refillable water tank (rather than individual plastic bottles!) It was also a treat for the Trash Hero Kids that join the cleanup activities regularly, helping to reignite their passion for protecting our natural world.

Trash Hero Sukawati

Trash Hero Sukawati is located in Indonesia and was set up in November 2020 – already completing over 60 clean ups! For their Chapter Family Meeting they decided to look at how you can reduce waste in the kitchen. They found one of the key things is using local ingredients that are readily available and don’t come wrapped in plastic. Pak Imam Budaya, the chapter leader, was able to introduce these ideas to his team and their families while cooking together. He shared his passion for zero waste and, during the meal they prepared, they discussed future plans and goals. Cooking and eating together always brings joy!

So far the Chapter Family Meetings have taken place in 5 countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Czech Republic and The Netherlands and here are the numbers of how many chapters and people have taken part:

Indonesia: 43 chapters with 464 adults and 172 kids

Thailand: 8 chapters with 49 adults and 16 kids

Malaysia: 4 chapters with 53 adults and 4 kids

Czech Republic: 2 chapters with 17 adults

The Netherlands: 1 chapter with 15 adults and 2 kids

Overall, the idea of these events has been well-received by our chapters. They enjoyed both the opportunity to be creative and the benefits brought to their volunteers. We can’t wait to see what celebrations the remaining chapters come up with and what will be done next year – as this will now be a regular fixture.

Read more about what Trash Hero has been doing in our Annual Report 2021

Trash Hero volunteers, coffee meeting, zero waste — Big smiles from Trash Hero Tumpanel

Are we all plastic people now?

by Seema on 14/04/2022 No comments

Until recently, coverage of the impact of plastic pollution has tended to focus on marine debris and harm done to wildlife. Recent developments, however, indicate that the species most widely affected by plastic could well be us: humans.

A series of reports published over the last month highlight how far plastic has travelled – not only into the Antarctic, or the Mariana Trench, but deep inside our own bodies.

On 24 March, it was announced that 4 out of 5 people may already have tiny pieces of plastic circulating in their blood. 77% of the samples tested in a study funded by the NGO Common Seas came back positive for plastic – mainly PET, polystyrene and polyethylene – common plastics found in clothing and food packaging.

Common Seas admits the finding raises more questions than answers. Does the plastic accumulate in our bodies over time? Can it travel into our organs? Will it trigger diseases such as cancer? It has called on the UK government to invest £15 million (USD 19.7 million) in further research to uncover the links between plastic and our health. This research is urgently needed as many scientists believe that plastic may be the next public health crisis, much like asbestos and smoking in the past. Findings in lab conditions have already shown that microplastics cause damage to human cells.

In early April, another British study found that 11 out of 13 people sampled had microplastics lodged deep inside their lungs. The study was the first of its kind conducted on tissue from living people, who were undergoing surgery. Here, the most common particles found were polypropylene (23%) and PET (18%), again both common types of plastic to which we are exposed on a daily basis. Two previous studies had found microplastics at similarly high rates in lung tissue taken during autopsies.

Although it has been known for some time that microplastics can be inhaled, this is the first time that they have been found in the lower regions of the lungs. According to one of the report’s authors, Laura Sadofsky, they should normally have been trapped or filtered out of the airways before getting that far.

The final report, released by Plastic Soup Foundation (PSF) on World Health Day, 7 April, gives us an indication of another way plastic may be entering our bodies. We are literally rubbing it into our skin, hair and teeth! PSF’s analysis of 7,704 cosmetic products from popular brands in the EU revealed that 9 out of 10 contained some form of microplastics.

Microplastics are commonly defined as solid particles, under 0.5mm in length. They usually come from textiles (fibres shed from synthetic clothing, carpets etc.), larger pieces of plastic that have degraded, or – in the case of cosmetics – “microbeads”. Microbeads are tiny pieces of plastic (usually polyethylene and polymethyl methacrylate) added to products to aid exfoliation.

What PSF discovered was that there are also plenty of invisible microplastics in our products. Liquid and semi-liquid polymer-based ingredients are routinely and deliberately added to help foam, smooth and bulk out various toiletries and treatments. As these are blended in, they can’t be seen: they are only discovered by reading the small print on the ingredient list. In some cases, up to 90% of a cosmetic product may be comprised of microplastic ingredients.

In the report, Plastic: The Hidden Beauty Ingredient, PSF calls for the EU to expand its current definition of microplastics, which will be used to regulate the cosmetics industry, to include liquid and semi-liquid plastics as well as solid plastic particles. This will, they say, close glaring loopholes and make our personal products safer for both the environment and our health.

The cosmetic industry in Europe alone uses 8,700 tonnes of microplastics every year, with an estimated 3,800 tonnes going down the drain and into the waterways. At least some of the rest will be in our bodies – and the health impacts remain unclear. Right now, reducing the amount of plastic we produce and use, in both products and packaging, is the safest option to protect ourselves and future generations from harm.

If you’d like to take further action, both Common Seas and Plastic Soup Foundation have petitions to which you can add your voice. Click on their names to sign.

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.

Trash Hero Chapter Handbook now available in Vietnamese

by Martyna Morawska on 10/10/2021 No comments

Trash Hero World is happy to announce that our Chapter Handbook has recently been translated into the Vietnamese language! In addition to Vietnamese, our handbook is also available in English, Thai, Indonesian and Burmese. This comprehensive document provides our future chapter leaders with recommendations on how to form a team, find sponsors and carry out the activities in accordance with our values.

Having our handbook translated to multiple languages supports our new and existing volunteers by providing guidance on our programmes. This in turn, allows more people to have the chance to take on prominent roles within Trash Hero World, and supports our network in building a sustainable, plastic-free future.

We are proud to witness the expansion of our organisation and the increasing engagement of our volunteers in Vietnam. None of this would have been possible without the help of our amazing volunteers with Trash Hero Song Cau, Trash Hero Hoi An and Trash Hero Ho Chi Minh, who completed the translation work.

You can find the Vietnamese version of the handbook here.

The triple threat of single-use masks

by Seema on 04/08/2021 No comments

One of the main – and most effective – measures to control the spread of COVID-19 is the use of face masks. Placed over the nose and mouth, their function is to contain respiratory droplets which transmit the virus and stop them spreading to other people. There are various grades of mask, but it is widely accepted that outside of a clinical situation, fabric, non-medical masks provide an acceptable level of protection – single-use, surgical masks are not necessary.

Yet globally we are using an estimated 129 billion single-use masks every month. Assuming each of these weighs 4 grams, that’s 516,000 metric tons of unrecyclable, hazardous waste generated every 30 or so days. If only 1% of this ends up as litter (a conservative estimate), that means 23 billion masks have entered our rivers, oceans and forests in the 18 months since the pandemic began. And of course, there are hundreds of thousands of tons of additional contaminated waste for municipalities to handle, assuming they have the capacity to do so.

These are frightening statistics – and ones that are borne out by our experience doing cleanups all over the world in 2020 and 2021. Trash Hero chapters pick up single-use masks and other PPE every week – and their findings have been covered in the media. This month, we put in place a system to record the number of masks we find at the network level, in order to raise awareness about what we see as the triple threat of single-use masks.

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Research has shown that single-use masks not only have devastating impacts on the environment, but also on society and on our health.

WHERE DO THEY GO?
Single-use masks are made from plastic, usually polypropylene or polyurethane, and are considered unrecyclable. But they should not be disposed of loose in the general waste, due to the risk of contamination. According to the World Health Organisation, they need to be double bagged in yet more plastic.

Cities and local communities have had to deal with the outcomes: the health risk from incorrect disposal as well as a huge burden of non-recyclable waste – if a waste management infrastructure even exists, which is not the case in much of the Global South.

Face masks used in a clinical setting are handled by special waste management facilities that deal with medical waste – usually through incineration. It is unusual for separate PPE collection facilities to exist for the general public, but if they do, it means rates of unsustainable and toxic incineration have increased proportionally.

HEALTH RISKS
A recent study has shown that tiny microplastics are shed from single-use masks both during and after use. Aside from the wearer inhaling these microplastics at close range (with unknown impacts on their health), contaminated nano-particles are being released into the surroundings. Once airborne, these particles can be carried up to 95km away from the source.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus (responsible for COVID-19) is able to survive much longer on the surface of plastic (around 3 days) than in respiratory droplets (around 3 hours). This means that single-use mask fibres are a transmission vector for the virus, extending its reach over longer times and distances. According to the report’s authors, “the transmission route through airborne microplastics is expected to influence, not only individual countries, but also larger regions and the whole world.”

ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS
Finally the impact on the natural environment from single-use masks is much the same as any other plastic. Wherever they end up, on land or in the ocean, they can entangle wildlife and cause poisoning through ingestion (that is carried up the food chain). Their slow demise into microplastics happens over centuries, all the while leaching toxic chemicals into the water or soil.

ALL OF THIS IS AVOIDABLE!.
When not in a clinical environment, or not clinically vulnerable, switch to a reusable mask: wear, wash and repeat. If made from multi-layered thick cotton, a reusable mask can be used safely for years and has minimal impact on the environment, especially if made from material you already have.

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.

The Story of Plastic

by Seema on 22/04/2021 No comments

To celebrate Earth Day, we are sharing this great animated short from The Story of Stuff Project. It is a companion to the feature length documentary, “The Story of Plastic”, released last year.

It shows how litter on beaches and straws in turtles’ noses are just a tiny visible part of the problem with plastic. Discover the rest of the story here – and then check out how you can watch the full documentary.

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.