183 participants from 80 chapters join Family Meetings in May

by Lydia on 23/06/2022 2 comments

After two and a half years of online meetings, this year we were finally able to have our Trash Hero Family Meetings in person!

Family Meetings are our regular volunteer training and team-building events that celebrate our chapters’ achievements and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experience and skills that will benefit both their community and the wider Trash Hero mission.

It's great to know how people or companies contributing to pollution are distracting out minds, to know how to achieve our goals and know the extent of the situation or problem in each chapter. In addition, the whole meeting is very good for refreshing the slack spirit' - Mr Con, Trash Hero Tuaran, Malaysia, Mary 2022

Two trash heros at the meeting, one with a laptop the other smiling

Pre-pandemic they were held in person in our major countries of operation: Czech Republic, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Switzerland and Thailand.

In 2020 and 2021 we moved these meetings online, which allowed us to reach volunteers in other countries that had never previously attended a family meeting. They saw fantastic levels of attendance with 276 people in 18 different countries attending a series of online meetings in 2020. In 2021, 174 people from 15 different countries joined the Trash Hero global meeting, and Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Switzerland hosted their own Family Meetings. These meetings helped to keep our movement vibrant during a challenging period, but nothing could match the energy of in person discussion and interaction.

'It helped me develop my understanding of the essential meanings of Trash Hero - the importance of building consistency, commitment in doing an action and inspiring people while staying humble. The word "family" in “family meeting” showed its true meaning. We have never met, but it felt like we are old close friends, having fun without being awkward.' - Rara, Trash Hero Muba, Indonesia May 2022

Once restrictions eased, many chapters held their own Chapter Family Meetings which allowed them to build their local teams and address the particular issues they face in their communities.

Then, finally in May, we were able to plan and host a full series of face-to-face meetings with our volunteers in Svatý Jan pod Skalou, Czech Republic (13 – 15th), Batu Buruk, Malaysia (13-15th), Bali, Indonesia (20 – 22nd) and Chumpon, Thailand (27 – 29th).

After reviewing feedback from past Family Meetings, and from our own experience of our 2020-21 zero waste training, this year in Asia we aimed to increase the levels of interaction within the meeting – facilitating more discussions and increasing knowledge sharing.

“I enjoyed the opportunity to plan together with team members, in order to properly divide tasks and have people help each other – [it] makes the job a lot more fun and easier.”

Nan – Trash Hero Ao Nang, Thailand

The meetings started with introductions: after 2 and a half years there were some new faces joining us! It was fantastic to finally meet people in person who we had previously only met on a screen.

Then it was time to get to work! We explored our values as a movement, cleanup organisation, strategic planning, social media best practices, brand audits and the big picture of waste. The volunteers got to know Trash Hero World and the work we do globally and there were also sessions where they could share their experiences of delivering programmes on the ground. This provides essential input that helps to shape the way in which we work and our activities moving forward.

'The meeting was an inspiration. I made new friends sharing the same values. I received a lot of new knowledge and solved problems that had been weighing on me' - Chan, Trash Hero Patong, Thailand. May 2022

One of the most popular workshops was strategic planning, guiding the leaders through ways to increase the influence of their chapters and how to get more people involved. This started with a presentation, then a session to put their knowledge into practice and create a long-term plan. We encouraged the chapter leaders to assess their current situation, set goals and create a step-by-step plan for achieving their aims.

As well as being an opportunity to share knowledge, the Family Meetings help our volunteers form connections with each other – creating a fantastic network of support and ideas. The friendships formed at the events last far beyond the three days spent together.

Each Family Meeting was organised as a zero waste event. People who attended brought their own reusable water bottles, or there were glasses for use, and refill stations were readily available. All food and drink was served with reusable tableware and snacks were wrapped in banana leaves. Across the 4 events we had 183 participants from 80 chapters. This means, based on a conservative estimate of each participant having 2 water refills a day, at least 1,098 single-use plastic bottles were prevented from being used.

In Czech Republic, the meeting was held in an idyllic location just outside of Prague. The team listened to lectures from guest speakers, discussed ideas and visited the Bohemian Karst Protected Landscape Area. From their guide, Pavel Skala, who joined the Family Meeting as a representative of the Třesina association, they learned about local butterflies. Other guest speakers were Martin Trávníček from the Pestré Polabí association and Arthur F Sniegon from the non-profit organisation Save Elephant. It was also great to see a large number of the volunteers at the Family Meeting were Trash Hero Kids!

'We were so happy to see each other and we all agreed it was the best Family Meeting so far' - Monika, Trash Hero Czech Republic. May 2022

The feedback we received and the knowledge we gained during the events help us create a stronger global Trash Hero Family and will be used to shape our programmes as we continue our fight against plastic waste.

Malaysia: 27 Participants, 13 Chapters

Czech Republic: 35 Participants, 8 Chapters

Indonesia: 88 Participants, 45 Chapters

Thailand: 33 Participants, 15 Chapters

“I increased my knowledge about how polluted and how threatened planet Earth is. The most important thing for me from this meeting is how honest and transparent financial management is in THI and THW. I also felt the family atmosphere that is so close between the participants.”

Arnold – Trash Hero Nagekeo, Indonesia

By providing refill stations at our family meetings we prevented 1,098 plastic bottles from being used in just 3 days

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

Trash Hero brings The Story of Plastic to new audiences

by Martyna Morawska on 13/12/2021 2 comments

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)

Vietnam: (clip coming soon) Hiệp Nguyễn (translation and narration), 130TUN (video editing)

To view the original English version of “The Story of Plastic animated short” with subtitles in many languages, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iO3SA4YyEYU

Trash Hero kids’ book now in Malay!

by Seema on 09/08/2021 1 comment

The Trash Hero kids’ story and activity book has been translated into a sixth language – Malaysian!

With the help of Trash Hero Malaysia volunteers, 1000 children on both Borneo and the mainland will soon get the chance to be heroes through our hands-on learning programme.

17,830 copies of the book have been printed since its launch in 2018. It is currently available in English, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Burmese, Czech and German.

We are grateful to our local sponsors in Langkawi:

– Pelangi Beach Resort & Spa
– The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa
– Umgawa Legendary Adventures
– Langkawi Christmas Bazaar

who covered the cost of the Malaysian print run.

You can find more resources for kids in the dedicated section on our website.

174 volunteers join the first family meetings of 2021

by Martyna Morawska on 07/05/2021 No comments

With the pandemic still preventing meeting in person, our first round of family meetings for 2021 were again held online. Trash Hero World organised two global Zoom calls, while chapters in Indonesia, Thailand , Malaysia and Switzerland also hosted their own.

While we acknowledge that a remote meeting cannot adequately match a face-to-face discussion, we appreciate that it does increase accessibility and inclusivity by offering the opportunity to connect with people across borders.

This year’s series of family meetings were attended by 174 participants in 15 different countries. It was evident to us that although the pandemic may have reduced our capacity to organise and attend cleanups, it could not dampen the spirit, energy and commitment to the cause of our dedicated volunteers.

During our meetings, we were able to share new developments and updates regarding our programmes and global strategy. It also provided an excellent opportunity for our volunteers to get to know each other and develop a synchronised approach. We encouraged this by allowing participants to make use of the breakout rooms feature in order to discuss their experiences and ideas about advancing the operations of local chapters and cleanups, especially during times of crisis.

Trash Hero World would be nothing without our family of volunteers, so we would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued time and devotion to creating a plastic-free world.

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.

Almost 200 volunteers join Trash Hero Family Meetings

by Seema on 11/12/2019 No comments

Trash Hero’s greatest strength is its people. Our volunteers bring the energy, hard work and commitment that our weekly programmes demand. More, they live our values, spreading the message of reducing waste to their families, friends and work colleagues.

Twice a year, we gather these community leaders together in national “family meetings”, hosted by Trash Hero World. The three-day events are held in key countries in Southeast Asia and Europe, where we have a concentration of active chapters. Volunteers are invited to attend, free of charge, to receive training and education, as well as exchange knowledge and ideas with others in their country.

At the recent round of meetings in Oct – Nov 2019, we were able to train 197 volunteers from 95 different chapters. The breakdown by country can be seen below:

Trash Hero Myanmar | 4 – 6 October 2019 in Ngapali

Volunteers trained: 13
Chapters: 7
Many thanks to our sponsors:
– Yoma Cherry Lodge & Mummy Sue: food and tea breaks
– Vera Thomson English School: free meeting room

Trash Hero Indonesia | 11 – 13 October 2019 in Bali

Volunteers trained: 80
Chapters: 40
Many thanks to our sponsors:
– Baliwoso: discounted accommodation
– Paguyuban Saba Driver: discounted transportation
– I Nyoman Parta (Member of People’s Representative Council of Indonesian Republic – Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat Republik Indonesia)

Trash Hero Thailand | 19 – 21 October in Bangkok

Volunteers trained: 60
Chapters: 22
Many thanks to our sponsor:
– Ban Nam Pheung Homestay: free meeting room

Trash Hero Malaysia | 25 – 27 October in Mersing

Volunteers trained: 26
Chapters: 17
Many thanks to our sponsors:
– Mohd Faisial Abdul Rani & family: free accommodation / 2 houses
– Majlis Daerah Mersing (Mersing District Council): free meeting room and food
– Sustainable Business Network Association, Malaysia: 2000 MYR cash donation used for other food and transportation costs.

Trash Hero Czech Republic | 8 – 10 November in Prague

Volunteers trained: 18
Chapters: 9
Many thanks to our sponsor:
– Kavárna co hledá jméno : free meeting room

Special mention to Reisebüro Feriezyt, who regularly provide discounted travel for Trash Hero World.

We would also like to thank our volunteers who planned and organised each event; the speakers and workshop leaders who also gave their time for free; and our supporters, whose donations enable us to hold these important meetings twice a year. The total cost for all meetings came to US$27,700, or around US$140 per participant.

Together with these ~200 volunteers who joined (some on their days of annual leave), we were able to strengthen our community base, reinforce quality standards and empower new leaders for the expanding Trash Hero movement around the globe.

Trash Hero Bintulu reaches a new audience

by Seema on 30/07/2019 No comments

The Trash Hero Malaysia network is growing, from four locations in 2017 to more than 20 active today. Let’s hear from the young leaders of one of our newest chapters, Trash Hero Bintulu!

“Last Sunday, our co-leader Jiki was invited as one of the speakers during Bintulu Townhall 2019. During the event we spoke about “Plastic Pollution and How Zero Waste Can Beat This Crisis.” We are immensely thankful to BDA for the opportunity to share with the people of Bintulu.

“We also received a certificate of appreciation for our participation during Gotong-Royong for Hari Sarawak 2019 – the certificate is dedicated to all heroes who joined us during the Cleanup.”

Every week, Trash Hero chapters clean, educate and drive change in their local communities. Every chapter is run by volunteers. Join us or support us today!

Putting volunteers first

by Seema on 26/06/2019 1 comment

The latest round of Trash Hero Family Meetings drew to a close this week in Zurich, Switzerland. The city was one of two new European locations that hosted our regular team-building, training and networking event for volunteers – the other being in Prague, Czech Republic, earlier this month.

The new additions reflect the rapid growth of Trash Hero within Europe: there are now active chapters not only in Switzerland and the Czech Republic, but also in Serbia and Romania.

Trash Hero Switzerland Family Meeting in Zurich, June 2019

However, the season kicked off in April, back in Southeast Asia where the Trash Hero movement began. Trash Hero Malaysia and Singapore volunteers gathered in Kota Kinabalu from 25 – 27 April, followed by Trash Hero Indonesia teams on 2 – 4 May in Bali. Our Thai chapter leaders met in Khao Lak from 10 – 12 May, while Trash Hero Myanmar hosted their volunteers in Yangon, from 15 – 17 May.

The family meetings have become key engagements in our organisation’s calendar: as a diverse and dispersed network, they provide us with the vital time and space for immersive, face to face communication that helps to equip and motivate volunteers for the coming months. They are normally held twice a year: in April – May and October – November.

Trash Hero Indonesia volunteers clean up with a local school at their family meeting in Bali, May 2019

This time, alongside our usual activities, our chapter leaders learned how to carry out “brand audits” during their cleanups, recording the volume of the plastic packaging we regularly pick up, as well as the companies who manufacture it. The data collected over the coming year will be provided to our partner organisations, who can use it to push for systemic change in the production and disposal of single use plastic.

Members of the Break Free From Plastic coalition, who are driving corporate campaigns and global policy change, kindly joined us in Thailand to help with this important training, as we increasingly focus on connecting our communities’ experience of plastic pollution to the bigger picture.

The Break Free From Plastic team helped to train our Thai volunteers in Khao Lak, May 2019

Below are some video highlights from the recent events in Southeast Asia and Czech Republic, created entirely by the volunteers who attended them.

[Czech language only]

In total, 213 chapter leaders from 93 locations were able to join this series of family meetings – more than 90% of our global network. The total cost for all six meetings (the majority of which last 2 – 3 full days) was under $29,500, or around $138 per volunteer. This includes travel, accommodation and food for all participants, including the Trash Hero World team and external speakers. We are very grateful for the many hours of work donated in kind, as well as the monetary donations, that allow us to organise these events and continue investing in our volunteers and the amazing work they are doing around the world.

Zero Waste Ramadan

by Seema on 09/05/2019 No comments

Many of our chapters across Southeast Asia are observing the holy month of Ramadan, which started on 5 May.

Cleanups for the most part have been suspended as communities will be fasting during daylight hours. However, our volunteers are still very active! The main focus is on the daily “Ramadan markets”, which provide easy, takeaway food for people who do not wish to cook during this time, as well as special treats only found during this month.

Usually a visit to the market will result in an average of 8 – 10 single-use plastic bags being used, along with an array of hard plastic boxes, cups and straws. All will end up in landfill, or worse.

On social media, and out on the streets, chapters in Malaysia and the south of Thailand have been encouraging shoppers to bring their own containers and bags for all food and drink purchases, to cut down on waste.

Trash Hero Pattani, together with Plogging Pattani are running a competition where people have to snap a photo of themselves at a market with their tiffin box, tupperware, resuable bag or cup and hashtag ‪#‎ramadanchallenge1440‬ to win their own Trash Hero t-shirt. You can join the challenge on Facebook.

Trash Hero Langkawi volunteers, meanwhile, are engaging shoppers at their local market, by bringing their own food containers and carrier bags for buying their breaking fast food. The idea is to set a good example, as well as start a conversation about waste and how to reduce plastic usage.

Their efforts have been reported in the New Straits Times and on local television.

We wish all of our Muslim volunteers a peaceful and blessed Ramadan.