Four Family Meetings and a Book Launch

by Seema on 14/05/2018 No comments

Over the past three weeks, more than a hundred of our amazing local leaders across Southeast Asia came together in their countries for a series of summits, that we call “family meetings”, due to the incredible spirit and emotional connections that they foster.
Exchanging news, knowledge and ideas, they left energised and excited to do even more in their communities to take action on waste.

We kicked off in Bangkok, Thailand, from 27 – 29 April; then moved on to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from 1 – 2 May; Bali, Indonesia from 4 – 6 May; and finally Yangon in Myanmar from 11 – 13 May.
Alongside presentations on Trash Hero’s progress, values and objectives, we enjoyed lively discussions on community waste banks; burning trash; water filters; and greenwashing.

And we were able to start the process of registration of legal entities to represent Trash Hero within each country – a step that will allow the movement to professionalise and scale under the governance of Trash Hero World.

The family meetings also provided the opportunity to launch and distribute our kids’ book and activity program, sponsored by last year’s crowdfunding campaign. The response from our chapters was overwhelming, with all 3000 books snapped up – and in some areas, such as Trash Hero Candidasa below, already in use!

Trash Hero Candidasa kids

Trash Hero Expands to 52 Chapters Globally

by Leslie Finlay on 22/02/2018 No comments

It’s true that not all heroes wear capes. In fact, many of them wear yellow – more than 63,000 of them to be exact!

Until the end of 2017, 52 Trash Hero chapters around the world rallied 63,098 volunteers who removed more than 408,137 kilograms of waste from our beaches, waterways, and communities. Reports estimate that most of this debris would inevitably find its way to the ocean, where it accumulates en masse and is much more difficult to remove from the environment. Much of this waste our heroes removed is plastic, which scientists agree never truly degrades but fragments into smaller and smaller bits, sustaining within the world’s ecosystems for thousands of years. Plastic of any size can be ingested by wildlife, killing the animal or cycling chemicals into the food chain.

That’s why our Trash Heroes didn’t stop at participating in 2,459 cleanups, but made active efforts to live a more sustainable, zero-waste lifestyle that eliminates trash from entering the ecosystem in the first place. More than 44,900 reusable water bottles were sold at over 256 participating businesses, saving an estimated 16-million single-use plastic bottles; 5,400 Trash Hero reusable bags were also sold, reducing single-use plastic bag use by at least 540,000 by some estimates.

Our heroes also spoke at three TEDx Talks around the world, relaying their own stories about the impact of waste in their communities and the importance of moving toward a waste-free lifestyle. Trash Hero is committed to active waste management and removal, but our mission encompasses the importance of education – spreading the attitude of sustainability. In fact, about 14,206 of our heroes in 2017 were kids, whose involvement is an enormous bright spot and the key to a cleaner future.

Talking trash in Yangon | Phone Kyaw Moe Myint | TEDxYangon

All in all, 2017 was an exciting year for us! Will you be joining the yellow-shirted heroes this year? Get in touch to find out how!

A breakdown of our 2017 numbers:

52 active chapters in 9 countries – Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar, USA, Czech Republic, Switzerland, China, Singapore
63,098 heroes attended 2,459 cleanups, removing 208,137 kilograms of trash from the environment
14,206 of those heroes were kids
44,900 reusable bottles were sold at 256 participating businesses – this means that more than 16 million plastic bottles were not produced
5,400 Trash Hero reusable bags were sold, keeping 540,000 single-use plastic bags out of the environment
Speakers at 3 TEDx Talks spread the philosophy of sustainability and zero-waste to their communities at large

THANK YOU to all of our incredible heroes, and we hope to see you in 2018!

Schnarwiler AG and Trash Hero World fight plastic waste in the hotel industry

by Rahel Schaub on 05/02/2018 No comments

Schnarwiler AG and Trash Hero World launch four refillable beauty products with 100% natural ingredients. Together they make a valuable contribution to reduce plastic waste in the hotel sector.

–Für Deutsch bitte runter scrollen–

Love Earth, Love Water, Love Air and Love Fire – these are the sounding names of the four new products that Schnarwiler AG and Trash Hero World are launching together. The reusable glass dispensers contain a hand and body soap, a shampoo, a conditioner and a body lotion.

4 tons of plastic waste for a hotel with 200 beds – per year
Trash Hero World and Sandro Schnarwiler, Managing Directors of Schnarwiler AG, are both aware of the increasing amount of single-use plastic that pollutes our environment. Schnarwiler sees great potential in saving plastic in the hotel industry: “Many hotels provide guest-amenities in small plastic bottles and tubes – most of them end up as trash even though they are still half full”. He calculates that a hotel with 200 beds and 80% occupancy provides around 500 such plastic containers per night. This results in more than 180,000 pieces per year and thus almost 4 tons of plastic waste. For this reason, Trash Hero World and Schnarwiler decided to launch a joint beauty line.

Hotels will equip all rooms with refillable dispensers rather than small plastic bottles and tubes. By placing small brochures in every room, they will inform their guests about the global plastic pollution and increasing usage of single-use plastic. Schnarwiler and Trash Hero World hope to sensitize the guests for the issue and thus expect that guests will appreciate the dispensers.

Each year, about eight million tons of plastic end up in our seas. Studies from Plastic Soup Foundation in Holland prove that out of these eight, two million come from microplastics from cosmetics and car tires. “To prevent our seas and fish from filling up with more and more tiny pieces of plastic, we all must switch to cosmetics free from microplastic.” says Lea Allemann from Trash Hero World.

Become a Trash Hero at home
But refillable dispensers in hotels are just the beginning – hotel guests and everyone else can buy the products at the reception in participating hotels, on schnarwiler.ch, and from the Swiss online shop siroop.ch. Refills can be ordered on schnarwiler.ch or by simply returning an empty dispenser to Schnarwiler. Furthermore, Trash Hero World and Schnarwiler plan to cooperate with Zero Waste Shops in Switzerland to make the distribution and purchase as simple as possible. For each dispenser sold, Trash Hero World receives a certain amount which is then used to fight global plastic pollution.

Schnarwiler is a Swiss manufacturer and distributor of exclusive brands for health, beauty and sleep and primarily supplies hotels, spas, pharmacies, drugstores, and therapists. Their promise “100% natural products” was made 30 years ago and is still the common denominator of all products.

Medienmitteilung

Inwil, Luzern, 4. Februar 2018

Trash Hero World und Schnarwiler AG sagen dem Plastikmüll den Kampf an

Trash Hero World und Schnarwiler AG lancieren gemeinsam vier nachfüllbare Beauty-Produkte mit 100% natürlichen Inhaltsstoffen. Damit leisten sie einen wertvollen Beitrag gegen Berge von Plastikabfall im Hotelsektor.

Love Earth, Love Water, Love Air und Love Fire – das sind die klingenden Namen der vier neuen Produkte, die Schnarwiler AG und Trash Hero World ab sofort gemeinsam vertreiben. Die wiederverwendbaren Glasspender beinhalten je eine Hand- und Körperseife, ein Shampoo, ein Conditioner und eine Bodylotion.

Pro Jahr 4 Tonnen unnötiger Plastikmüll für ein Hotel mit 200 Betten

Trash Hero World und Sandro Schnarwiler, Geschäftsführer von Schnarwiler AG sind sich beide der zunehmenden Verschwendung von Plastik bewusst. Schnarwiler sieht insbesondere bei Hotels grosses Potential: «Pro Gast und Nacht fällt eine grosse Menge an kleinen Plastikfläschchen und -tuben an – die meisten wandern noch halbvoll direkt in den Müll». Er rechnet vor, dass ein Hotel mit 200 Betten und 80% Belegung pro Nacht rund 500 solcher Plastikbehälter benötigt. Pro Jahr ergibt das über 180’000 Stück und somit knapp vier Tonnen Plastikmüll. Vor diesem Hintergrund haben Trash Hero World und Schnarwiler die gemeinsame Beauty-Linie lanciert.

Hotels werden in allen Zimmern die Spender anstelle der kleinen Plastikfläschchen- und tuben für ihre Gäste bereitstellen. Genau gleich wie bei den Handtüchern, werden sie ihre Gäste mit Informationstafeln über die globale Plastikverschmutzung und zunehmende Verschwendung von Plastik informieren und auf die Spender aufmerksam machen.

Geschätzte acht Millionen Tonnen Plastik fliessen jährlich in die Weltmeere. Studien von Plastic Soup Foundation aus Holland belegen, dass zwei Million Tonnen davon von Mikroplastik aus Kosmetikprodukten und Autoreifen stammen. “Um zu verhindern, dass sich unsere Gewässer und Fische immer mehr mit Mikroplastik füllen, sollten wir alle nur noch Kosmetikprodukte ohne Mikroplastik kaufen.” meint Lea Allemann von Trash Hero World.

Auch zu Hause zum «Trash Hero» werden

Aber Nachfüllbare Seifenspender in Hotels sind längst nicht alles – Hotelgäste und alle anderen können die Produkte in teilnehmenden Hotels an der Reception, auf schnarwiler.ch und im Schweizer Onlineshop siroop.ch kaufen. Nachfüllungen bestellt man ebenfalls bei schnarwiler.ch oder man retourniert ganz einfach die leeren Spender an Schnarwiler und erhält die gefüllten Spender per Post zurück. In Zukunft möchten Trash Hero World und Schnarwiler auch mit Zero Waste Shops in der Schweiz zusammenarbeiten, um den Vertrieb und die Nachfüllungen noch einfacher zu machen. Mit jedem verkauften Spender geht ein Beitrag an Trash Hero World und wird zur Bekämpfung der globalen Verschmutzung durch Plastik eingesetzt.

Schnarwiler ist Hersteller und Distributor von exklusiven Marken rund um Gesundheit, Schönheit und Schlafen und beliefert vor Allem Hotels, SPAs, Apotheken, Drogerien und Therapeuten. Ihr Versprechen «alles 100% natürliche Produkte» wurde vor 30 Jahren abgegeben und ist auch heute noch der gemeinsame Nenner aller Produkte.

Trash Hero World ist eine Nonprofit-Organisation, sich für eine Welt frei von Abfall und insbesondere für eine Reduktion von Plastikabfall einsetzt. Trash Hero World ist mit unterschiedlichen Projekten an 42 verschiedenen Orten in 9 Ländern (Thailand, Indonesien, Myanmar, Malaysia, Tschechien, USA, Schweiz, China, Singapur) aktiv.

Trash Hero Indonesia Joins Zero Waste Indonesia 2020 Movement at National Jamboree

by Leslie Finlay on 19/01/2018 No comments

Last November, Greeneration Indonesia hosted the 4th annual National Zero Waste Jamboree 2017 in Banda Aceh. By participating in this jamboree, Trash Hero Indonesia is now listed as national movement that is supported by the Indonesian government.

“We are citizens of countries, but we are also citizens of the world,” said Trash Hero Rima Agustina, reflecting on the message of unity at the event. “Waste is not only a regional or national problem, but also world problem, as waste doesn’t recognize any political borders. Trash Hero Indonesia introduces the concept of collaboration between local people, local government, and volunteers from all over the world to create a better environment.”

Focus group discussion at the National Zero Waste Jamboree 2017 in Banda Aceh.

The event was held November 10-12 in coordination with Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Ministry of Maritime Affair and Fisheries, Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, Ministry of Public Works and Housing, and Ministry of Health of Indonesia. The 289 zero waste activists all over Indonesia gathered to share news and experience, and meet with government representatives. The event facilitated momentum of important stakeholders in the country to network and to collaborate to find sustainable solutions of waste problems in Indonesia.

At the end of the jamboree, all the participants read out loud The Declaration of Zero Waste Indonesia 2020:

“As an effort to provide the better environment for the future generations, we, Indonesian citizens determine to realize the target of Zero Waste Indonesia 2020.

Together we are ready to:

Reduce, separate, and put the waste in the proper place.
Responsibly manage our own waste.
Actively participate in waste management activities held by Indonesian government.”

To complete the trip Trash Hero Indonesia conducted a clean up at Lampu Ulee Kareng Beach, Banda Aceh, a day after the jamboree finished. Some new heroes came to participate and share some fun time at the beach and learned more about the Trash Hero movement. This kind of curiosity and collaboration is how new chapters are born!

Clean up at Lampu Ulee Kareng Beach, Banda Aceh – one of the places hit by the tsunami in 2004.

Trash Hero Koh Samui: A Growing Community

by Leslie Finlay on 14/01/2018 2 comments

One of the most impressive abilities of our Trash Hero leaders is their talent for collaborating and uniting an entire community against unnecessary waste, across cultures, languages, businesses, and a number of other interests. Last month, Trash Hero Koh Samui hosted a community-wide event to further network the organization alongside like-minded interests on the island and make way for an even more productive 2018.

Their goal is to bring community members together to educate all about recycling, waste-free living, and the dangers posed by trash. Full community involvement increases opportunities for effective clean-ups and fundraising to invest in initiatives like reusable bottles, bags, and water refill stations. Trash Hero Samui is also working to increase involvement of local students, including those from the International School of Samui (ISS), to empower them to assume leadership roles driving the cleaning and sustainability of their local communities.

In spite of inclement weather and heavy rains, more than 200 people joined to clean an area of Hua Thanon, including the Mayor of Koh Samui, representatives from major businesses and the Army, members of other local organizations like Samui Clean, and many Thai schools.

The Trash Hero Kids Book: On to Phase 2!

by Leslie Finlay on 08/12/2017 No comments

With your generous support, we have made it through the first stage of our project! Reaching the 8000 euro target means we can now CONFIRM that the Trash Hero Kids book will be printed, distributed and taught to kids in Thailand and Indonesia.

Now we aim to extend the project’s impact to include even more kids! Since starting the project, we have had interest from our teams in Myanmar and Malaysia to create local language versions of the project, as well as requests for more books in Thailand.

We still have a few more days to take this project even further. So let’s keep this momentum and continue to raise funds so your contribution has even more impact!

The Trash Hero Kids Book is a story and activity book with a powerful call to take action on plastic waste in the environment. Children will be inspired and challenged to change their behaviour, and receive incentives like the coveted Trash Hero T-shirt as a reward.

The book and shirt package will be distributed free to children in Southeast Asia, where plastic pollution is reaching critical proportions. Awareness of the issue in Southeast Asia remains low, and education is limited or not put into practice. Children are taught “don’t litter” at school, but don’t seem to make any connection between these words and their everyday habits. The real life consequences of plastic leakage are rarely explored; and there are no positive role models or clear paths to drive behaviour change.

The labour and skills overheads for this project – like all Trash Hero projects – is ZERO. Our dedicated volunteers have already prepared the book and its translations; and more volunteers in our local chapters stand ready to oversee the distribution and activities.
That means that every single Euro you donate will be spent on creating the physical products to put into the hands of children.

Contributions can be made at either of these sites:

https://www.100-days.net/…/projekt/trashhero-children-s-bookor https://www.paypal.me/TrashHeroWorld

Help us make our holiday dreams come true and reach even more kids!

Trash Hero Commits to I Care Initiative

by Leslie Finlay on 02/12/2017 No comments

Trash Hero is proud to announce our participation in the global I Care initiative among various organizations, companies, associations and individuals around the world dedicated to a cleaner ocean.

I Care participants commit to tackle the problem of marine plastic through three steps:

Reduce daily consumption of disposable plastic items
Remove of plastic waste from our shorelines
Rescue animals injured by or caught in plastic marine waste

All types of marine life are affected by plastic entering our oceans

As Trash Heroes, we can honor this commitment in simple, everyday ways. Choose reusable and sustainable alternatives to items like produce bags, straws, plastic bottles, single-use coffee cups, personal care products containing microbeads, and synthetic clothing. Each individual commitment means less kilograms of plastic waste entering our oceans.

Live more sustainably by using reusable bottles and bags and clothing made from environmentally-friendly materials

I Care is a commitment developed by OceanCare, an organization working toward marine protection since 1989 through research, campaigns, environmental education and participation in international committees. Their work has been recognized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and the organization granted Special Consultative Status on marine issues. Through this distinction, it advocates for updated policy and regulations to reduce plastic waste on national, regional, and global levels.

This video produced by OceanCare describes its mission and introduces I Care participants, including Trash Hero at the 10:00 minute mark! This compilation was recently shown to the 12th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species in Manila #cmscop12 on 26th October 2017.

How do you demonstrate your commitment to a cleaner ocean?

Trash Hero launches first crowdfunding campaign

by Leslie Finlay on 02/11/2017 No comments

Education is so important to create lifelong sustainable habits. But we’re also all about teaching kids that being a Trash Hero is a lot of fun!

That’s the inspiration behind our latest exciting project: the Trash Hero kids’ book. This book is a beautifully illustrated story written by our heroes themselves, following the journey of a child dedicated to helping sea creatures escape harm from trash, and his plight as the amount of plastic waste in the oceans increases.

To empower hands-on, independent learning, the book also features activities and challenges that apply our story to the real world. Practicing behaviors such as attending a cleanup, using reusable bags and bottles, or upcycling earns points toward rewards and recognition such as a free Trash Hero t-shirt, certificates to display, or a Trash Hero Kids “Hall of Fame” designation.

Being a Trash Hero makes kids feel important and valued in their communities. Their participation and the celebration of these sustainable behaviors instil a sense of responsibility towards the environment that will last, especially if it’s fun.

But we need your help! To distribute at least 2,000 copies of the book in three languages – English, Thai, and Indonesian Bahasa – along with the accompanying kids t-shirts, we need to raise 8,000 euros. Broken down, that’s just 4 euros toward one child’s education.

The Trash Hero kids’ book is 100% not-for-profit and all contributions go toward printing and distribution. The books are also printed on 100% recycled paper and the project is designed to be financially sustainable through sales of English language versions to fund reprints.

Please visit our crowdfunding page to help fund this incredible project, and see what perks and free goodies you can get for your donation! Even if you cannot donate, a social media share greatly enhances the probability we’ll make our goal, so please support us through your voice.

แทรชฮีโร่ เปิดแคมเปญระดมทุนเป็นครั้งแรก

by Leslie Finlay on 02/11/2017 No comments

การศึกษาเป็นสิ่งสำคัญในการสร้างพฤติกรรมอันยั่งยืน แต่เราก็อยากบอกเด็ก ๆ ด้วยว่า การเป็นแทรชฮีโร่นั้น เป็นเรื่องสนุก!
และนั่นคือแรงบันดาลใจของเราในการสร้างสรรค์โครงการล่าสุด : หนังสือเด็กแทรชฮีโร่

หนังสือภาพอันสวยงาม เล่าเรื่องการต่อสู้ของเด็ก ผู้ได้ชื่อว่า “แทรชฮีโร่/ผู้พิชิตขยะ” ซึ่งอุทิศตนให้กับการช่วยเหลือเหล่าสิ่งมีชีวิตใต้ท้องทะเลให้หลบหนีจากขยะ และสถานการณ์อันเลวร้ายเมื่อขยะพลาสติกในมหาสมุทรเพิ่มขึ้นเรื่อย ๆ เขาได้รับการช่วยเหลือจากเพื่อน ๆ ในโรงเรียน ที่สัญญาว่าจะช่วยกันทำความสะอาดและลดการสร้างขยะ เพื่อให้งานของเขาง่ายขึ้น

แต่แค่เพียงสอนเรื่องคุณธรรมนั้นอาจไม่พอ : หนังสือจึงท้าทายให้ผู้อ่านได้ลงมือทำจริงด้วย โดยมีกิจกรรมที่พวกเขาสามารถลงมือทำได้ เช่น การเก็บขยะ, การใช้ถุงหรือขวดน้ำที่ใช้แล้วใช้ซ้ำได้, หรือการสร้างมูลค่าเพิ่มให้เศษวัสดุต่าง ๆ เพื่อช่วย แทรชฮีโร่ และได้รับรางวัล เช่น เสื้อยืด และประกาศนียบัตร เพื่อบอกให้โลกรู้ว่า พวกเขาก็เป็น “แทรชฮีโร่/ผู้พิชิตขยะ” เช่นกัน

หนังสือนี้จะแจกฟรีให้กับโรงเรียนและชุมชน โดยความร่วมมือของกลุ่มแทรชฮีโร่ทั่วประเทศ และกิจกรรมนั้นต้องทำซ้ำหลายครั้ง ก่อนจะได้รับรางวัล เพื่อกระตุ้นและสร้างแรงบันดาลใจให้เด็ก ๆ เปลี่ยนพฤติกรรม โดยได้รับการสนับสนุนและสรรเสริญจากชุมชนของพวกเขา

เพื่อทำให้โครงการอันสำคัญนี้เกิดขึ้นได้ เราต้องการความช่วยเหลือจากคุณ!

ในเบื้องต้นเราได้รับการสนับสนุนจากผู้ใหญ่ใจดี กล้วยน้ำไทมูลนิธิ ในการจัดพิมพ์หนังสือฉบับภาษาไทย แต่เรายังคงต้องการทำเสื้อยืดแจกให้แก่เด็ก ๆ ที่สามารถทำกิจกรรมนี้ได้สำเร็จ เพื่อเป็นแทรชฮีโร่คนใหม่อีกด้วย

นอกจากนี้ เรายังจะพิมพ์หนังสือในฉบับภาษาอังกฤษและภาษาอินโดนีเซียด้วย

โดยเรายังต้องการเงินอีกจำนวน 8,000 ยูโร หรือ 320,000 บาท เพื่อพิมพ์หนังสือ 3,000 ชุด และทำเสื้อให้แก่เด็ก ๆ

หน้าเพจสำหรับโครงการระดมทุน (เว็บในต่างประเทศ) : https://www.100-days.net/en/projekt/trashhero-children-s-book/project
หรือคุณสามารถบริจาคเป็นเงินบาทได้โดยผ่าน PayPal ที่ https://www.paypal.me/trashheroworld
เงินบริจาคเหล่านี้จะได้ผลแก่เด็ก ๆ ในไทย

ท่านสามารถช่วยบริจาคได้ และ/หรือช่วยกันแชร์โพสต์นี้ เพื่อให้เพื่อน ๆ คนอื่น ๆ ได้ร่วมบริจาคด้วย
ร่วมด้วยช่วยกัน เราสามารถสร้างแทรชฮีโร่/ผู้พิชิตขยะรุ่นใหม่ได้!

—–

โครงการหนังสือเด็กแทรชฮีโร่นี้ เป็นโครงการไม่หวังผลกำไร จัดทำโครงการผ่านการจดทะเบียนองค์กร แทรช ฮีโร่ เวิลด์ ในประเทศสวิตเซอร์แลนด์ และจัดพิมพ์หนังสือโดยใช้กระดาษรีไซเคิลทั้งหมด
ครู/อาจารย์ท่านใดสนใจเรื่องโครงการนี้ สามารถติดต่อแทรชฮีโร่ในพื้นที่ของท่านได้ โดยตรวจสอบได้ที่เว็บไซต์หรือเพจของแทรชฮีโร่ไทยแลนด์

Trash Heroes’ Work Increases Environmental Health

by Leslie Finlay on 24/09/2017 No comments

September 26 is World Environmental Health Day.

In March, Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), said that air pollution is a “major public health issue of our generation,” and that poor air quality affects more than 80% of the world’s population.

While industrial carbon outputs, motor vehicle exhaust and coal emissions account for a large portion of poor air quality, the practice of burning plastic waste is incredibly dangerous to both environmental and human health. Estimates indicate that about 40 percent of waste globally is dealt with by burning. Historically, small and rural communities burn biodegradable waste, but the introduction of nonrenewable items like plastic have added a new danger.

The toxins released by burning waste have been linked to lung and neurological diseases, as well as heart attacks and some cancers.

Trash Hero Amed has been a leader in community waste management. Last year, they collaborated with a local non-profit, Peduli Alam, and developed a collection system for non-organic waste, provided to the community free of charge. Peduli Alam has built and installed more than 200 public rubbish bins and another 350 individual bins across 700 families, local restaurants and schools. The waste is collected almost daily and transported by Peduli Alam to a regional sorting station and a landfill site. Trash Hero World supported Peduli Alam to finance a new truck so they can continue the waste removal service for the Amed community.

Is trash burning a problem in your community? Contact us so we can help collaborate to work toward a solution.

Estimates indicate that about 40 percent of waste globally is dealt with by burning.