Our Hero Kayla Staples recently wrote this excellent article about the growing Trash Hero World movement:

Trash Hero began with a group of like-minded individuals organising a weekly beach clean up, and now, just two years later, what started as Trash Hero Thailand, has grown to Trash Hero Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Czech Republic, upcoming chapters in New York and  Morocco, and more local chapters starting up at an exciting rate. From the resident members of the community to those just passing through on a vacation, wanting to leave their destination better than they found it, nearly 12,000 sets of helping hands have become Heroes. Their undertaking? Simple. Keep our world clean and green for future generations. How? Well that’s where Trash Hero comes in.

Each week, volunteers come together with the goal to pick up the litter and plastic that’s trashing our environments. Taking to the beaches with bags in hand, it doesn’t take long before seeing the direct result of leaving plastic bottles behind on the beach or dropping that plastic wrapper instead of putting it in a bin. While many don’t think twice before flicking a cigarette butt to the ground, when following the Trash Hero creed: if you see it, pick it up, it’s safe to say you’ll definitely think twice the next time. Trash Heroes undoubtedly leave the clean-ups motivated to continue their heroic efforts towards making this world a better place.

With the combination of local businesses donating items like trash bags and gloves, generous restaurants sponsoring food and water, and the educational information provided by local chapters about the impact garbage has on our environment, it’s inspiring to see how the Trash Hero World community comes together each and every week and how many people leave (and keep coming back) with the commitment to be a full-time Trash Hero, on and off the beach.

The number of Heroes is growing, and the worldwide impact spreading with the help of each individual and every single piece of garbage recovered and removed. Thanks to Trash Hero alone, nearly 155,000 kilograms of litter have been collected, much of it being properly recycled, and that number is growing substantially each week. The global waste crisis is an increasingly urgent issue, and while it may seem like an overwhelming task to tackle, Trash Hero World is doing everything it can to make it easy to join the cause.

While cleaning the beaches is a large part of what Trash Hero World aims to do, this weekly contribution is just the beginning of how the organisation gives back. Information sessions for participants, educational programs for school children, workshops on turning rubbish into reusable objects, and partnerships with other organisations, festivals, and government officials, are all components in raising overall environmental awareness and giving people the information that will inspire life-long changes. With all that is has accomplished in such a short time, it’s not surprising that Trash Hero Thailand won Thailand’s Green Excellence Award in 2015, and has caught worldwide media attention, including a documentary expected next year. Without a doubt, Trash Hero World is is changing the way people think about waste and subsequently improving the world we live in.

Trash Heroes are also implementing projects that bring communities together to remove and better manage their current trash management. Bamboo trash bins have been placed in areas where they previously had none, and the “Bottles and Bag Program” produces reusable bags and stainless steel bottles, making it easier for people to make environmentally responsible choices. The Trash Hero bottles are sold in stores with clean water refill stations, and are also put in the local hotels for guests to use and reuse during their stay. The reusable Trash Hero grocery totes have been given to businesses to help put an end to the littering of plastic bags, which are some of the most detrimental to the environment.

Local chapters work far beyond the hours spent picking up garbage on the beach. They are proactive and creative, not only sorting and recycling in the traditional sense, but also finding new, innovative ways to turn trash into treasure and eliminating a percentage of the waste collected. By reusing plastic bottles to form bricks, Heroes are able to build boats and furniture. Old washed up flip flops are transformed into a new pair of sandals, and styrofoam blocks can become bean bag chairs.

The saying, “it takes a village” is no exception when it comes to keeping our planet clean, and in the case of Trash Hero World, that community involvement is contagious and inspiring. Trash Hero has grown from a small group with a goal, to a global cause. People are coming together to make a difference–one clean up, one person, one piece of trash at a time.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ―Margaret Mead