Trash Hero Malaysia | Trash Hero World

Sharing, learning and networking at the Family Meetings

by Seema on 07/12/2018 1 comment

“Gained new knowledge.”
“Sharing insight and ideas.”
“We know that we are not alone!”

That was just some of the feedback from our recent series of “Trash Hero Family Meetings” held in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia this autumn 2018.

These twice-yearly events bring together our local chapter leaders from each country with the Trash Hero World team, external speakers and like minded local NGOs, for three days of workshops, education sessions, informal networking and above all boosting our energy as a movement.

Although each country’s agenda is different, certain elements are the same: we have a “leaders’ academy” for new chapters to learn the ropes of weekly cleanups, the bottle program and so on, with our in-country mentor teams; advanced sessions on particular aspects of our work, for example quality standards or public speaking; and an education day where we meet others doing similar work, to network and learn from their experience.

Logistics for the events are entirely covered by our donations, so no volunteers need be out of pocket for accommodation, food or travel; we pay expenses for actual costs, rather than per diem. Of course, all the work of organising the meetings is done for free, by more of our volunteers (special thanks to Nan, Ulli, Rima and Fancy!); and no speakers are paid.

In Thailand, we stayed at Ban Sabai Hostel in Bangkok from 19 – 21 October; in Malaysia at Langkawi Dormitorio from 27 – 29 October; and in Indonesia at Michi Retreat, Kememai Hostel and Lagas Hostel in Ubud, Bali from 2 – 4 November: our thanks to them, our venue hosts Frangipani Resort (Langkawi) and Museum of Marketing (Bali), and our other sponsors for their support. A full report, with accounting, will follow in the New Year.

For the first time since we started the Family Meetings in 2016, we sent out a multilingual online feedback survey to follow up on participants’ experience of the event.

From the 44% of attendees who replied, we had an overwhelming endorsement for the meetings, with on average 98.4% of respondents saying they were satisfied or very satisfied with the outcomes.

There were also some helpful comments and great ideas about how to improve for next time, including moving the venues to different areas for chapters to “host”; more outdoor activities, such as joint “model” cleanups; and earlier communication of the agenda.

As technology is always a barrier to participation in Southeast Asia, we will also ensure there is an offline version of the survey available at the next meetings in April – May 2019, to enable higher participation.

Let’s round up with some of the comments from the survey.

“I am very happy, I get many new friends, new information. Later the information that I got, I will practice.”
“The information on WtE [Waste to Energy] and how other chapters run was very valuable. We know that we are not alone to solve problems.”
“It is really nice to meet all of the people who are working on this together. It makes you feel like you are not alone in this battle.”

See you next time!

Trash Hero goes down under!

by Seema on 13/09/2018 2 comments

G’day from the Australia International Dive Expo at ICC Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia!
Monica Chin, the co-founder of Trash Hero Borneo, represented Trash Hero World at the annual event for scuba professionals in August, giving a talk introducing our activities worldwide.
With reef conservation high on most divers’ agenda, the issues of marine debris and how to tackle plastic pollution was a popular topic of discussion.

The event garnered more than 60,000 ocean-loving visitors over a four day period, and Monica – an experienced diver herself – was able to network and reach out to many people who showed interest in the Trash Hero movement.

More outreach work in China!

The following month, Monica and Trash Hero Pattani co-founder, Padinya Aree, were on the road again, travelling to Beijing in China for ADEX (Asian Dive Expo) 2018 on 6 – 9 September. Here, the pair also gave conservation talks and took part in a panel discussion on a “Plastic Free Future”.

And of course, they manned the booth and networked with both Chinese and international visitors and exhibitors at the show. Our thanks to the local volunteers in Beijing who came along to support them!

Trash Hero Family Meetings Report | Apr-May 2018

by Seema on 18/06/2018 No comments

Special occasions call for a special report!
Read all about our recent #trashhero Family Meetings in Southeast Asia below (click on the link to view or download PDF), and find out how they were funded and supported.
Thanks to all our sponsors who made it happen and of course to all our amazing chapter leaders who brought so much knowledge, enthusiasm and love to the events 💛💛💛

Trash Hero Family Meeting Report – April – May 2018 [PDF]

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!

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 Borneo Receives Outward Bound Award

by Leslie Finlay on 01/10/2017 No comments

This week, Trash Hero Borneo was awarded recognition from Outward Bound Sabah for the chapter’s contribution and support toward Outward Bound’s nature conservation activities.

Outward Bound is an international organization focused on changing lives through challenge and discovery. Its unique projects are driven to create a more resilient and compassionate world.

Outward Bound Sabah invited Trash Hero Borneo to lead an awareness discussion and beach cleanup for local children. The event was the 24^th cleanup held by the quickly growing chapter started just this past March. In addition to weekly cleanups, the Trash Hero Borneo actively promotes the Trash Hero Bottles & Bags Program, helps facilitate community waste management, and develops projects in local schools to increase awareness about environmental problems and responsible waste practices.

Trash Hero Borneo has also agreed to be Outward Bound Sabah’s local conservation partner on projects and collaborations moving forward.

Congratulations to Trash Hero Borneo and keep up the incredible work!

Trash Heroes Join the International Coastal Cleanup

by Leslie Finlay on 18/09/2017 2 comments

This weekend was the International Coastal Cleanup, a global event organized by the Ocean Conservancy, and millions of volunteers worldwide took to the oceans and coastlines to remove waste.

According to the Ocean Conservancy, plastic has been found in 62% of all sea birds and 100% of sea turtle species. The organization records what types of trash are removed from the oceans to help guide awareness.

The top items collected globally are:

Source: The Ocean Conservancy

This year volunteers also found four drones, 56 toilets, eight microwaves, five selfie-sticks, and a piano.

Trash Heroes around the world were out this weekend, as they are every week, making big changes in their communities.

Trash Heroes in Borneo joining the International Coastal Cleanup on a camping cleanup trip

Trash Hero Kertalangu joined a cleanup event called AKSOMA at Biaung Beach in Indonesia removing more than 100kg of trash with community leaders, students of all ages, and the Indonesian National Army.
Trash Hero Bangkok hauled out their paddleboards to clean Khlong Bang Phli (Taco Lake,) removing 80 kilograms.
Trash Hero Borneo joined the International Coastal Cleanup for a two-day camping trip as part of the largest coastal clean up in Sabah. Volunteers gathered along Simpang Mengayau collecting waste along beaches spanning 8 villages.

Paddleboard cleanups in Bangkok.

Did your community participate in the International Coastal Cleanup? Let us know! We want to hear your stories and successes!

Planting Mangroves on Langkawi

by Amelia Meier on 18/12/2016 No comments

18 December 2016 – Trash Hero Langkawi

A team of 7 heroes didn’t collect any trash, but instead participated in a tree-planting event organised by Flag Langkawi (Friends of Langkawi Geopark). Flag had invited officials and people from a variety of organisations to join and plant mangroves on Pulau Dayang Bunting.

A total of around 50 people and representatives from the local authority (LADA) met at the pier and enjoyed a few talks on the importance of mangroves for maintaining the environment. Afterwards, shoes were removed and the volunteers dug holes in the mud and added seeds. In many areas that mud was knee-deep, so staying clean wasn’t an option.According to officials, a total of 1000 plants were planted. A huge success, and so much fun!

Happy Birthday Trash Hero Langkawi

by Amelia Meier on 17/10/2016 2 comments

October 17, 2016 – Trash Hero Langkawi (Malaysia) Celebrating One Year of Cleanups

Happy Birthday Trash Hero Langkawi, Malaysia. In the past year 42 cleanups have taken place, during which a total of 780 people volunteered to help and picked up 12’217 kg of trash.

Most importantly, many wonderful connections were made and a lot of young people could be reached in order to educate them about littering, burning trash, and how our daily lives affect this planet we live on.

All photos of the birthday event can be viewed here.