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.
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.
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.
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!
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
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In total the waste generated during the camp (4-6 Feb inclusive) was 31.6kg, with 16.6kg of organics and recyclables and 15kg of residual waste. 10.5kg of trash was picked up during the cleanup in the camp grounds. The trip was the sixth such event in Trash Hero Pattani’s “Zero Waste Camping” project, which they describe as a work in progress, refining the details each time. Already this year the amount of trash generated was halved, compared with the 2021 trip, where 95g of trash was logged per participant. Kudos to all involved, and for more information (in Thai) please visit the 
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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).
The pieces Fah presented included bracelets, belts, and earrings. Her intricate macramé technique is contrasted by long hanging unfinished ends that show the origin of the material. Together, the fashion and jewelry collection served as a reminder to appreciate the value of material and craft and to restore the inviolability of nature.
More than 1,000 volunteers assembled over the three-day cleanup, including participants traveling from all across Thailand who had seen reports about the flooding. A number of electricians, kitchen staff, and cleanup volunteers headed to Koh Chang to join the local community, eager to help restore the beautiful island quickly, brought together through a community spirit of collective action!
Making the switch from single-use plastics to reusable alternatives is critically important to the global fight against pollution. By teaching kids this importance, Trash Hero is actively working toward a sustainable future – and building the leaders of tomorrow!