They said single-use sachets were “evil” and vowed to stop producing them. Secretly, they lobbied against laws that would ban them. Find out why in Reuter’s new report.
EU agrees to common charger
No more unnecessary e-waste (and tangled cables)! The EU will enforce a “single charger” rule for all electronics starting from 2024
Circular economy predicted to create 250,000 jobs in London by 2030
New research shows that by working towards a circular economy, London could see an extra 250,000 jobs in less than ten years! Find out how in ReLondon’s report
The findings add to a growing body of research that says zero waste models have huge economic and social benefits.
Global plastic waste set to triple by 2060
If nothing changes, three times the amount of plastic will be entering our lives by 2060, says the OECD, with less than a fifth of it being recycled. Their new report claims the “business-as-usual” approach is unsustainable.
Packaging waste – how citizens pay for businesses’ irresponsibility
Dragana Katić, the founder of Trash Hero Beograd, explains why citizens are not to blame for the current plastic crisis and what can be done to improve the situation.Read the full article in Balkan Green Energy News
Plastic coming into contact with our food has been a source of concern for many years, but it would seem the contamination starts much earlier than the final packaging
It is common knowledge that microplastics pose a serious threat to environmental and human health. Not only have microplastics been found in our drinking water, food supply and even the air we breathe, but recent studies have also found microplastics in human blood and lung tissue (you can read more about that here). Their presence in the cosmetic industry has been exposed and many countries have introduced, or are working to introduce, microplastics bans in cosmetic products such as toothpastes and face washes. However, something that has not been much discussed is the presence of plastic and microplastics in the agricultural industry. The Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL) recently published a report on the role of microplastics in agriculture, and the information is concerning.
The use of plastic is visibly prevalent in agriculture – it is used to cover crops, package products, and construct greenhouses and landscaping. This use of plastic is obvious and clear for everyone to see. However, what is not so obvious is that microplastics are being intentionally used as part of the fertilisation process.
Marketed as being key to sustainable and ‘climate friendly’ agriculture, fertilisers are coated in microplastics to help control their release once in the soil. This is achieved through microencapsulation, the process of wrapping a nutrient or chemical in a synthetic polymer material (a form of plastic) to create a small pellet. Controlled-release fertilisers (CRFs) use these coatings to slowly release their contents over a longer period of time. The coatings remain in the soil once the fertiliser has been released and does not degrade. The toxins they contain accumulate in the soil, ready to be absorbed by the crops, or leaked into the air and water supply
This CRF technology is not new – it was introduced in 1970 1 – but recently producers have been strongly pushing its use as a ‘planet-safe option’. No mention is made in the new-style marketing of the impact on the soil and food chain; instead they claim greater efficiency, without any solid data to back this up. In fact, according to the CIEL report, these plastic-coated fertilisers are unnecessary. There are effective and more climate-friendly alternatives that exist, methods that reduce the use of synthetic (fossil- fuel- based) pesticides and fertilisers altogether
How much microplastic is being used?
It will likely come as a surprise to hear that it is not the cosmetics industry that is responsible for the majority of primary microplastics currently being used (primary microplastics are microplastics that are intentionally produced, secondary microplastics are those that come from plastic breaking down). In a 2019 report from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) it was found that microplastics intentionally added to fertilisers, pesticides and seed coatings accounted for an estimated half of the 51,500 tonnes of microplastics used each year in the European Economic Area (EEA). They estimated that 22,500 tonnes were used in fertilisers and 500 tonnes used in pesticides 2. These numbers show that, within the EEA, the agricultural sector uses more microplastics than any other industry.
Not only are they using more microplastics than any other industry, but these microplastics are being placed directly into the natural environment, affecting our health as well as that of the fauna and flora worldwide.
How do microplastics impact us?
These plastic-coated agrochemicals directly introduce microplastics into the environment and potentially into our food supply. Even prior to being coated in plastic, there are risks to the environment and our health from using synthetic fertilisers and pesticides – much like plastic itself they are derived from oil and gas and are seen as some of the most harmful and toxic substances used globally.3
Some of the health concerns from microplastic exposure include: increased cancer risk, cellular mutations or cell death, heart disease, chronic inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and more. 4
What can be done?
Primary microplastic pollution is preventable, however regulation is severely lacking.
‘The current level of action is not yet adequate for addressing sound management of intentionally added microplastics’
It is vital that as we go forward, as we continue our war on plastic, that those with the power to implement regulations and rules in regards to microplastics across all industries do so. The use of primary microplastics must be stopped in the agricultural sector, and indeed across all manufactured products. This cannot just be on the national level, but something that must be implemented globally. Global treaties are the key to impactfully reducing plastic and a comprehensive global approach must be developed and enforced.
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.
Trash Hero World is honoured to have been granted formal consultative status at the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA). This “observer status” is awarded through an accreditation from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which we received on 16 March 2022.
UNEP has been working for 50 years to protect the environment, fight climate change and support sustainable development. It sets the environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. UNEA is its governing body, comprising of 193 member states, representatives from civil society, businesses, and other major groups and stakeholders. It is the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment.
The full list of UNEP-accredited organisations, including Trash Hero World, can be found on the UNEP website.
As an official observer, we are now among 500+ NGOs globally who can give input to policy discussions and participate in the UNEA sessions and those of its subsidiary bodies. With the announcement of a legally binding global plastics treaty at the recent UNEA-5.2 in Nairobi, it is a very exciting time to join and to be able to give voice to the needs and views of our grassroots volunteer network, many of whom are working on the frontline of the plastics crisis in Southeast Asia.
In a new study, Empa researcher Dominik Brunner, together with colleagues from the Utrecht University and the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics, investigated the amount of plastic present in precipitation over the period of a month.
According to the study, nanoplastics can spread aerially over a 2,000-kilometre radius resulting in around 43 trillion tiny plastic particles ending up in Switzerland every year. This could equate to 3,000 tons of nanoplastics annually, ranging from the remote Alps to the urban lowlands. “These estimates are very high relative to other studies, and more research is needed to validate them”, according to Empa. Nonetheless, the results of Brunner’s work are the most accurate assessment of nanoplastic air pollution ever made.
To count the plastic particles, Brunner and his colleagues developed a method that determines the level of contamination in collected samples. The scientists examined a small area at an altitude of 3,106 metres at the top of the Hoher Sonnenblick mountain in the Austrian Hohe Tauern National Park. Every day and in all weather conditions, they removed part of the top layer of snow at 8am and carefully stored it to check for plastic residue.
The origin of the tiny particles was traced using European wind and weather data. It was established that the largest emission of nanoplastics into the air happens in densely populated, urban areas. About 30 percent of the measured nanoplastic particles on the mountaintop came from a radius of 200 kilometres, mostly from cities, while around ten percent of the particles were blown in from more than 2,000 kilometres away, partly from the Atlantic.
It is estimated that more than 8.3 billion tons of plastic have been produced worldwide, around 60 percent of which has ended up either in a landfill or the natural environment. This plastic is eroded by weather effects and abrasion into micro (less than five millimetres in diameter) and nanoparticles (less than 100 nmin diameter). Due to their size, their movement in air can be best compared to gas. This means they are easily inhaled into our lungs, as well as ingested through contaminated food and water sources. Once in the body, their size allows them to potentially cross the cell-blood barrier and thus enter the bloodstream. The health implications of this are only beginning to be studied.
Did you know that in 2021 alone Trash Hero organised 2,801 cleanups? That is almost 8 cleanups on every single day of the year! We have also welcomed 49,426 volunteers on board, including 11,531 under the age of 16. We collected a whopping 284,606 kg of trash, an average of 102 kg per cleanup. With our Bottles & Bags programme, we were able to distribute 1,401 bottles and 2,185 bags, equating to saving 797,525 single-use plastic bottles* and 511,365 plastic bags*. And 2,000 new Trash Hero kids books were printed, in 2 new languages – Malay and Arabic.
Where do those numbers come from? After every cleanup event, Trash Hero chapters weigh the trash they collected and post their results with photos on social media. The data is also uploaded to a central collection point. To be fully transparent, we make this data publicly available. Anyone can access it live on our website, by clicking on the chapter name: https://trashhero.org/our-network/.
This policy of data collection means that we can also calculate our impact since the very beginning of Trash Hero. Here is what we have achieved together thus far from December 2013 to December 2021:
We have mobilised 411,837 volunteers including 103,510 kids.
Together, they completed 14,910 cleanups and 266 brand audits.
2,154,134 kg of trash have been collected, including (in the last 6 months) 9,479 single-use masks.
Meanwhile, our distribution of 27,945 reusable bags has saved 10.2 million plastic equivalents*.
Our network is now active in 171 locations in 20 countries worldwide.
Of course, numbers are only one side of the story. Let’s not forget the positive energy, momentum and hope that our actions create – these things are immeasurable. We hope we have captured some of this Trash Hero spirit in our impact video above. Click play to see the magic – and thank you to all who have contributed to these achievements over the years!
*based on an estimated average usage of 1 refill per day for a year (365 days)
Trash Hero World is proud to have been invited to become a new member of the Plastic Health Coalition. Together, we will work on preventing and resolving the harmful impacts of plastic pollution on the environment, as well as filling the knowledge gaps regarding the relationship between plastics and human health.
The Plastic Health Coalition was launched by the Plastic Soup Foundation, a non-profit organisation aiming to educate the public about “plastic soup” – the litter floating in the oceans and affecting marine life, the environment and our health. The coalition involves various national and international environmental and research organisations, whose scope of work focuses on the negative effects of plastics and microplastics on our health. As part of the initiative, a yearly Plastic Health Summit is organised with the focus being on exposing the devastating health impacts of plastics, and highlighting the benefits of a healthy environment.
By joining the Plastic Health Coalition, Trash Hero hopes to facilitate and support the process of spreading essential knowledge regarding plastic pollution and human health. Our expertise, experience and resources will enable us to bring this knowledge to international audiences in multiple languages. We are committed to supporting the Plastic Health Coalition in the fight for a healthier planet and, by extension, healthier people.
Billed as the film “Big Oil doesn’t want you to see”, the Emmy-Award winning documentary The Story of Plastic presents a cohesive timeline of how we got to the current stage in the global plastic crisis, showing how the petrochemical and FMCG industries manipulated the narrative around the pollution they were creating, successfully pinning the blame on the consumer and public infrastructure.
After its success, its producers, The Story of Stuff Project, released a short animated version of the documentary that summarises its main arguments and the need for systemic change in under five minutes.
Seeing the potential of this short to address misconceptions about the solutions to the plastic crisis, Trash Hero collaborated with The Story of Stuff Project to produce local language versions, with dubbed narration.
We have already released versions in Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian; several other languages will follow in 2022. This will allow the important messages of the film to be seen by new audiences in Southeast Asia and beyond. To date, the videos have reached more than 1 million people on social media! If you are connected to any of these language speakers, please do share the clip with them.
The original video files are also freely available to use offline for NGOS, schools and organisations; please contact us to get a download link.
We would like to thank the global Trash Hero Family and everyone who has been involved in the translation project. Special thanks to the volunteers and studio facilities who provided their time for free:
Malaysia: Muhammad Asyraf bin Rosmidi and Anne Vendargon (translation), Rosnani Nazri (narration)
Thailand: 130TUN (video editing)
Arabic: (clip coming soon) Arts Group Studio, Laila Al-Najjar (narration), Yousef Al-Shatti and Bader Al-Shatti (translation)
We are excited to share that our Trash Hero kids’ book is now available in an 8th language: Arabic!
Huge thanks to the Trash Hero Kuwait volunteers who helped to translate and do the layout and to Al-Sayer Group who sponsored the printing. The book and activity programme will now be available to 1,000 children for free, bringing the Trash Hero message to a new generation in Kuwait.
Three pilot classes have been implemented as part of the Trash Hero Kids’ Programme in Switzerland, with the aim of raising environmental awareness among children from 1st to 3rd grade and teaching them how to live sustainably and reduce plastic in their everyday life.
As part of the Programme we developed a book which tells the story of a fictional character who helps to reduce plastic waste, so that the animals and nature around them are not harmed. The book shows, in a simple and child-friendly way, the impact of plastic waste pollution on the environment and teaches that each individual can make a change every day and become a Trash Hero themselves.
In Bratsch in the canton of Valais, our book was read as a group in the morning circle over a period of several months. When doing handicrafts, more attention was paid to using recycled materials and creating something new from old things. In addition, focus weeks were held in various subjects. The content of the programme is in line with Curriculum 21 and the Kid’s Book is suitable for art, German maths, as well as for sports and music classes. A pogramme highlight was the Cleanup, with the whole school taking part across four villages. Divided into four groups, several full bags of trash were collected and then disposed of by the community.
The school concluded: “Thank you very much for letting us be part of the Trash Hero project. We will continue with it this school year and will take a deeper look at earthworm composting. The Trash Hero Kid’s Book is appropriate for children and sustainable for learning. We spend a lot of time outdoors and because of the story, it’s much easier to talk to kids about trash in nature.”
For more information on the Trash Hero Kid’s Book go to: https://trashhero.org/trash-hero-kids-book/
Want to implement the Trash Hero Kids Programme in your school? Contact us at: kids@trashhero.org
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