Trash Hero Myanmar | Trash Hero World

The key to volunteer motivation: Trash Hero Family Meetings

by Lydia on 26/06/2024 No comments

What keeps Trash Hero volunteers organising regular cleanups year round? Perhaps the secret lies in our regular Trash Hero Family Meetings. Here, our chapter teams can network, share and better understand the “why” behind our actions. It’s an intense and often deep experience. As one volunteer from Thailand put it: “there is no other seminar as worthwhile to the soul and to the world“.

These meetings bring volunteers together for 3 days of:

knowledge building: workshops and presentations on the issues surrounding plastic pollution
skill strengthening: building capacity for community leadership
boosting motivation: creating positive energy and inspiration through sharing and connecting with others

This year’s Family Meetings, held in Indonesia and Thailand, centred around a fundamental question: why do we do cleanups?

The answer – which is not necessarily what people expect – shaped the rest of the content: to provide education about zero waste and build community engagement.

Workshops encouraged volunteers to think critically about waste. We explored the big picture, understanding that litter is just a symptom of a larger systemic problem.
Informative presentations shared new knowledge about the impact plastic has on the climate and our health.
Group sessions looked at building trust in communities, leadership skills and effective communication.
Games and quizzes helped keep everyone energised while also reinforcing the learning material.
A group cleanup showed the possibility for education, best practices and (in Indonesia) a brand audit.

The Indonesian gathering saw almost 60 participants travel from all corners of the country to Sanur, Bali from 31 May – 2 June.

In Thailand, the event took place from 7 – 9 June in Bangkok. It brought together participants from across Southeast Asia, including Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar. Sessions took place in parallel in Thai and English, with volunteers happily mingling during the breaks and cleanup activity. As one volunteer from Malaysia said “language was no barrier at all when you feel and see the same things”

The sessions with guest speakers, leadership coaches Pak Made Pay (Indonesia) and Khun Amnat (Thailand), proved very popular, with their insights into team building and the qualities needed for effective leadership. Thank you to both for sharing their wisdom, which will no doubt have an impact on our chapter teams. We hope to provide similar training to all volunteers soon.

Following the meetings, we sent out a feedback survey to all participants and the response was overwhelmingly positive. 100% of volunteers who replied felt more knowledgeable about both zero waste and plastic pollution, and 96% felt their motivation increased. One volunteer from Thailand commented: “the event made me know more about plastic waste, from the source to the solutions, with activities that connect people from different regions.”

Trash Hero World fully supports the family meetings, covering the travel, food, accommodation costs for all participants. We also handle the logistics and content design, creation and delivery.

In July, volunteers from Trash Hero in Switzerland and Germany will hold a zero waste picnic to celebrate their hard work and support new chapter leaders. The shared experiences, the learning and the connections – these are the things that keep us all motivated in our mission to create a world free from plastic pollution.

Let’s keep the momentum going.

Trash Hero Indonesia Family Meeting 31 May – 2 June

Location: Sanur, Bali

Participants: 57

Chapters: 27

Trash Hero Family Meeting Thailand 7-9 June

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Participants: 40

Chapters: 22

Group of volunteers smiling at the camera. ll are wearing Trash Hero -shirts

Our Impact up to 31st December 2022

by Lydia on 15/02/2023 2 comments

Every week volunteers around the world put on their yellow t-shirts and commit to working towards a world free from plastic pollution – but what does it really mean to be a Trash Hero?

It means that we are a global movement. Trash Hero is currently active in 139 locations in 17 countries. To date, our movement has mobilised 466,578 volunteers, 120,673 of whom were under 16! We are passionate about including a wide range of people in our activities, and we celebrate this diversity as much as possible.

Being a Trash Hero also means taking regular action against plastic pollution. In 2022 alone, Trash Hero volunteers organised 3,296 cleanups – an average of 9 cleanups a day and 45 kgs per event! This brings our total number of cleanups since 2013 to an incredible 18,206, removing a total of 2,302,862 kgs of trash

We help people reduce single-use plastic through our refill and reuse programmes. To date, we have distributed 106,188 reusable water bottles through our partner network, which includes 673 points where people can refill their bottle for free. This has prevented an incredible 38,8 million single-use plastic bottles from being used and has reduced 2017.572 tonnes of CO2 emissions. We have also distributed 29,520 reusable Trash Hero bags, preventing the use of 10.8 million single-use plastic bags

Trash Hero is also committed to inspiring a new generation of activists! Our dedicated kids programme, which began in 2018, has helped 23,330 kids build sustainable habits. This is done through our story and activities book

As well as hands-on action within communities, Trash Hero is committed to collecting data that can be used to influence policy change on plastic. Trash Heroes have conducted 402 brand audits that have been included in reports holding corporate polluters responsible. These reports have been submitted to the UN negotiations for a Global Plastics Treaty.

But it’s not just about the numbers. Being a Trash Hero means that we feel connected with your fellow volunteers, we are motivated to create change and we are thankful to everyone who supports and contributes to our movement.

And most of all, it means that we are family!

Thank you to all of our volunteers who have been part of the incredible impact that we have had. We can’t wait to see what 2023 brings!

We have been collecting data since December 2013; as of 31st December 2022 these are our numbers!

18,206 cleanups
139 active chapters in 17 countries
466,578 volunteers, including 120,673 under 16s
Responsibly collected and disposed of 2,302,862 kg of trash
As part of the Trash Hero Bottle program, 106,188 reusable bottles have been distributed, avoiding 38.8 million single-use plastic bottles and reducing 2,107 tonnes of CO2 emissions
As part of the Trash Hero Bag program, 29,520 reusable Trash Hero bags have been distributed, saving 10.8 million single-use plastic bags

Do you want to be part of a movement that is dedicated to creating change? Trash Hero cleanups are open for everyone to join – no cost, no sign-up, just show up! Find your nearest chapter here.

Brand Audit Report 2022: the results are in!

by Lydia on 09/12/2022 No comments

In November, Break Free From Plastic released their 5th annual Brand Audit report. As well as documenting which companies are responsible for the majority of plastic counted this year, it analyses which corporations have been responsible for the majority of plastic pollution for five consecutive years.

The 2022 report consisted of 397 brand audits on six continents; 14,760 volunteers participated, counting and auditing 429,994 pieces of plastic from 4,645 parent companies.

The reports found that these companies were the top polluters for 2022!

The Coca-Cola Company
PepsiCo
Nestlé
Mondelēz International
Unilever
Procter & Gamble
Mars, Inc.
Philip Morris International
Danone
Colgate-Palmolive

Trash Hero contributed significantly to these findings. We submitted 30% (120) of the brand audits used in the report, 6.8% (29,504) of the plastics counted, and 18.2% (2,968) of volunteers that took part were Trash Heroes!

As this is the fifth annual brand audit report, Break Free From Plastic took the opportunity to analyse longitudinal data trends from the five years of data they have collected. They found that Coca-Cola, Nestle and Pepsico have consistently been the top single-use plastic polluters over that time.

Coca-cola has been the worst plastic polluter by a significant lead, with the amount of Coca-Cola branded plastic increasing each year! According to the report, they accounted for 31,000 pieces of plastic collected during the brand audits – representing a 61% increase since 2021! This is unsurprising as a recent report found that their plastic production has increased by nearly 10%!

Break Free From plastic members submitted data from this report at the first annual INC meeting – a meeting of UNEA member governments to discuss the global plastic treaty. This crucial meeting started the negotiation process for the treaty’s terms and included representatives from the plastics industry and civil society groups. The information from the report highlights the need for large corporations to take responsibility for their role in plastic pollution, and it shows that the only way to reduce plastic pollution is to reduce the production of plastic.

We are so proud to be part of such an important movement and play a role in influencing policies that will address the plastics crisis. We want to say a massive thank you to all of the Trash Hero volunteers who have contributed to this data over the years. We have been collecting data for this project since it began, and seeing it be part of such an important event makes the hard world worthwhile.

Thank you to Break Free From Plastic for analysing all the data and representing our views at the INC1 this week.

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.

Inspiring Myanmar Trash Hero Kids!

by Seema on 23/08/2019 No comments

Our volunteer, Aung Win from Trash Hero Ngapali in Myanmar, took the Trash Hero kids book to his class at the Vera Thomson School. He writes: “the books are totally great. The kids were really keen on reading them. Thanks million for the books. As you know, they have already finished reading them. We have asked the students to write about it what they have learnt , why they should keep the ocean clean. They all have done some essays about it.”

And we are very proud to publish some of them here. The children not only learned about the environment, but are learning English via the books. Great job!

Above: Kay Thawe Lwin, 14

Above: Ei Ei Nwe, 15

Above, Mee Mee Lay, 13

Above, Lin Lin Than, 14

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.

Trash Heroes in Myanmar Integral to Nation’s Ambitions for a Sustainable Future

by Leslie Finlay on 05/06/2019 1 comment

Our Trash Heroes in Myanmar met President U Win Myint at a World Environment Day event in Nay Pyi Taw. The President was originally introduced to Trash Hero in 2018, then honoring the growing national movement and its local chapters for their fantastic work, and for promoting the spirit of sustainability within their individual communities.

Trash Hero Myanmar Updates President U Win Myint on the year’s project successes

Addressing more than 400 stakeholders representing state and regional ministries, academic institutions, businesses, and special interest groups, the President urged the Burmese people to look at their own relationships with waste in their everyday lives. His message mirrored the spirit of the Trash Hero mission: that lasting, high-level change occurs from collective adjustments to our mindset and behaviours.

The President’s message is supported by a record of growing public action and awareness against waste. Myanmar’s first Trash Hero community clean was organized in Yangon in July 2016, coordinating 135 volunteers who collected more than 400 kg of rubbish. Today, Trash Hero Myanmar has expanded to 10 national chapters, who together have collected 46,517 kilograms of trash with the help of almost 17,000 volunteers – more than 5,000 of which are children.

The President’s support for movements like Trash Hero is predicated on a national ambition to develop the country as a climate-resilient, low-carbon, low-waste society.

Trash Hero Myanmar has grown quickly with 10 national chapters actively reducing the waste problem in their communities

He announced two new policies that recognize the increasing threat of extreme weather and other climate change impacts this economic and social development. These policies – called the National Environmental Policy and the Myanmar Climate Change Policy – recognize the need for collaboration among ministries, civil society, businesses, and academia. But the President also highlights the importance of public participation – through initiatives like Trash Hero – to establish a sustainable national mindset.

“I would like to urge Myanmar citizens, including all of you, to participate for the current and future sustainable development of our country by changing your daily lifestyles in order to support environmental conservation,” he said while addressing participants at the World Environment Day event.

The Heroes of Trash Hero Myanmar in Action!

Bag yourself the new Tasini x Trash Hero turtle

by Seema on 05/02/2019 1 comment

We are delighted to launch the Trash Hero edition of #tasini and #inibags, as part of our ongoing Bottles & Bags programme. The bags are a collaboration with the social enterprise Making Oceans Plastic Free, with the idea of reusing plastic bottles to help reduce plastic bag waste.

The branded resuable shoppers come in two versions: in a plain yellow pouch (Inibag) or with a cute turtle pouch (Tasini), to promote awareness of the ecosystem we want to protect.

⭐️ With this bag you save two✌️ plastic bottles from polluting the environment 👉 Each Bag is made from 2 recycled plastic bottles ♻️!
⭐️ Handmade in Indonesia!
⭐️ Attached to a keychain 🔑 so you won’t forget your reusable bag any more. Save 💯s of plastic bags each year!
⭐️ And the #tasini Trash Hero Turtle 🐢 helps you spread the message of awareness about plastic pollution and inspire the change in people around you!

Bags are distributed at cost by our chapters in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Switzerland, New York and Finland. Get in touch with your nearest chapter for more information.

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]

Myanmar President Calls Trash Hero “Fantastic”

by Leslie Finlay on 12/06/2018 1 comment

Last week for World Environment Day the Trash Hero Myanmar team with Myanmar President Win Myint during a nationwide event called “Beat Plastic Pollution,” a much-needed push by the government to seek unified support from citizens, volunteer groups, and government bodies to tackle the mounting problem of waste in the country.

In the capital of Nay Pyi Taw, heroes from Mandalay, Yangon, Lashio, and Ngapali chapters presented on their ongoing projects and efforts to an incredibly supportive response from government leaders. The President himself described their work as “fantastic,” highlighting the need for such young, active, energetic heroes committed to fighting the imminent threat plastic pollution poses to our environment.

Myanmar’s National TV – MRTV – showcased Trash Hero Myanmar’s activities along with the efforts of other local groups urging the government to follow through on its consideration of legislation to reduce waste and improve waste management systems.

mrtv news

၂၀၁၈ ခုႏွစ္၊ ကမၻာ့ပတ္၀န္းက်င္ထိန္းသိမ္းေရးေန႔ အခမ္းအနားကို ေနျပည္ေတာ္တြင္က်င္းပ‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗(Unicode Version)၂၀၁၈ ခုနှစ်၊ ကမ္ဘာ့ပတ်ဝန်းကျင်ထိန်းသိမ်းရေးနေ့ အခမ်းအနားကို နေပြည်တော်တွင်ကျင်းပ

Gepostet von MRTV am Dienstag, 5. Juni 2018

Kyaw Zin John Myo, a Hero from the Mandalay chapter, said that to date the chapter has attracted more than 1,000 volunteers and 150 kids who have collected 6,650 kilograms of trash over 28 cleanups, with more and more people showing interest each cleanup. This year, he said, the group aims to focus even more on education, having already held training sessions on “how to live a Trash Hero life” in Ostello Bello Hostel in Mandalay as well as a local Monastic school.

“This year we will focus on both ‘We Clean’ and ‘We Educate,’” he said. “We are actively working with young people, university students, and also the government.”