Bring your own container campaign takes off in Trang

by Seema on 17/09/2018 No comments

Our amazing Trash Hero chapters are always going the extra mile to involve their communities. In Trang Province in Thailand, the team have recently launched a campaign to “bring your own” reusable bottle, bag, cutlery or container when out shopping or ordering takeaway food.

Their aim is to persuade local businesses – and not just the usual suspects like hip coffee shops, but market stalls and travelling street vendors, too – to offer a discount to any customer who brings a reusable container to take home their products, avoiding the use of a disposable, single-use plastic equivalent.

So far more than 30 vendors have signed up to the scheme, offering discounts of anything from 5 baht (15¢) to 10% off your purchase.

Jean-Luc, one of the Trash Hero Trang leaders (pictured top), reported a positive response to their efforts, saying “the issue [of plastic pollution] is now very big in Thailand. As well as being concerned personally, shop owners understand this initiative is another way to attract customers and also save costs”.

If you’re visiting Trang, check out the list of participating businesses on the Facebook link here : https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2188193051253079&type=1&l=e40f0258ee – and don’t forget to bring your containers!

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SeemaBring your own container campaign takes off in Trang

Trash Hero meets with Thai Prime Minister

by Seema on 30/08/2018 No comments

It’s been an extraordinary month for Trash Hero in Thailand.

We were delighted to see the Prime Minister of Thailand, Prayut Chan-ocha, highlight the growing problem of plastic waste within the kingdom on his weekly address to the nation. His second report on the topic, broadcast across all channels on 10 August 2018, outlined the various measures being implemented to tackle the crisis, as well as encouraging all stakeholders to do their part to help.

You can see the full report below:

During this segment (at 08:00), Mr Chan-ocha drew attention to the activities of Trash Hero, whose volunteers have worked tirelessly to bring issues of waste – and the solutions – to the forefront of public awareness over the past four years.

The Prime Minster held Trash Hero up as an example for the country’s youth and for the power of people working together. After presenting our latest waste collection figures to the country, he also asked a pertinent question, saying “these results were achieved by only 100,000 people. If all 60 million citizens would join in, how big would the impact be?”

Trash Hero is honoured by this recognition and support for our work and approach.

Shortly after the broadcast, we had the opportunity to meet both the Prime Minister and the Deputy Education Minister of Thailand in person at events in Chumphon Province.

On 20 August 2018, Clin. Prof. Udom Kachintorn, the Deputy Minister of Education, visited Ban Hin Kob to see the work of six local schools taking part in the Trash Hero Kids program – the highlight of which was a dramatisation of our story book by Year 4 and 5 students from Ban Don Takian School. The play was well received by the Minister and we presented him with a Trash Hero gift bag containing our shirt, bottle and kids’ books.

The following day, representatives of Trash Hero Chumphon, Trash Hero Kids and Trash Hero World were invited, along with other community groups, to King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (Chumphon campus), to meet the Prime Minister. He spoke warmly of Trash Hero, and posed for photos with many of our young volunteers.

We were able to convey information about our activities, not only to the PM’s aides, but to other government ministers and provincial governors who were also present. In a direct conversation we thanked Mr Chan-ocha for his support and assured him that we are ready to work together with all parties to increase engagement and cooperation on tackling plastic pollution at the source.

Trash Hero Thailand currently has 27 active chapters and is registering as a legal entity.

Picture credits: ไทยคู่ฟ้า, PMDU and A. Nestcharat Photography

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SeemaTrash Hero meets with Thai Prime Minister

Trash Hero Kids: The Movie!

by Seema on 26/08/2018 No comments

Trash Hero Kids at Ban Don Takian School in Chumphon, Thailand were inspired to produce a play of the Trash Hero story book. The kids made their own props, learned their lines and performed it in front of the Thai Deputy Minister for Education when he came to visit their area.

With their teachers, they also made their play into a movie, set on the beach. It was posted on YouTube to inspire other kids to take action on waste! You guys are awesome Trash Heroes!

นักเรียนและคุณครูจากโรงเรียนบ้านดอนตะเคียน อำเภอปะทิว จ.ชุมพร ได้สร้างภาพยนตร์ยอดเยี่ยมเกี่ยวกับนิทาน เรื่อง Trash Hero เพื่อใช้เป็นการศึกษาและรณรงค์ให้ผู้รับชมตระหนักถึงอันตรายจากขยะ และหลีกเลี่ยงการใช้ ถุงพลาสติก ขวด หลอด ขยะอื่นๆ ที่ย่อยสลายยาก และเป็นอันตรายต่อคน สัตว์และสิ่งแวดล้อม
ทั้งเด็กทั้งครูน่ารักมากเลย เชิญชมด้านล่างนี่

The movie is only in Thai language, but even if you don’t speak Thai you can see how well they do 🙂

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SeemaTrash Hero Kids: The Movie!

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]

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SeemaTrash Hero Family Meetings Report | Apr-May 2018

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

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SeemaFour Family Meetings and a Book Launch

Trash Hero English Camp

by Seema on 10/05/2018 No comments

90 kids became Trash Heroes at the TEFL Samui English camp in Thailand last month! Over the 3 – 4 day camp, they learned about plastic pollution and the effects of trash on marine life from the Trash Hero kids book.


 

They created art from recycled materials, played games and acted out the story from the book in English. You are #awesome!

If you have any projects you have done about trash or reducing waste that you would like to send us, please ask a grown up to send them in to kids@trashhero.org 🙂

 

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SeemaTrash Hero English Camp

Songkran Festival on Phi Phi

by Seema on 10/05/2018 No comments

Trash Hero kids on Koh Phi Phi in Thailand collected straws from the beach and made cool costumes for the Songkran (Thai New Year) parade on their island.


 

They wrote messages about keeping their island clean on each one. You are #awesome!

If you have any projects you have done about trash or reducing waste that you would like to send us, please ask a grown up to send them in to kids@trashhero.org 🙂

 

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SeemaSongkran Festival on Phi Phi

Koh Lanta Gets Creative with Upcycling

by Leslie Finlay on 02/04/2018 1 comment

Many countries around the world have banned the use of polystyrene – also commonly known as styrofoam – because of its extremely negative environmental impact.

For years the material was a popular packaging for food items, electronics, furniture, and disposables because of its light weight, low expense, and wide availability. However, the material is essentially non-biodegradable meaning it can take hundreds or even thousands of years to decompose, and can also easily break apart into little bits that are ingested by animals and sea life. What’s more, both the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have classified polystyrene as a possible human carcinogen.

Polystyrene is one of the most difficult nonrenewable materials to responsibly dispose of. Its light weight and bulkiness means it easily travels around via wind or waves.

In 2016, the Thai Office of Consumer Protection Board (OCPB) launched its Safety Without Polystyrene Foam in Food Packaging project to encourage the domestic food industry to quit using the product in its packaging. The government has also been open to discussions about subsidizing more sustainable alternatives for vendors like cardboard. The subsequent reduction nationwide has been dramatic in some areas, but our Trash Heroes continue to collect vast amounts of the discarded material washing up on the beach. The point source is almost impossible to estimate, as winds can waves can easily carry the lightweight chunks over hundreds of kilometers of ocean.

Trash Hero Koh Lanta meets every Sunday at 4:00PM at Long Beach park to preserve this stunning paradise.

Even when collected polystyrene is incredibly difficult to dispose of responsibly, especially considering that it’s usually quite bulky. So our heroes on Koh Lanta rose to the challenge and found this creative way to up-cycle the waste while making ultra-cosy bean bag chairs for lounging around after an afternoon clean!

With a little ingenuity and creative spirit, the team built this polystyrene shredder that easily breaks those large chunks down into useable pieces perfect for stuffing plush bean bag chairs. It’s a great answer to taking a local challenge and turning it into a cheap, new indulgence for their paradise.

Trash Hero Koh Lanta developed a polystyrene crusher to help dispose of the chunks they collect during cleanups, and create awesome new additions to their beachfront!

While these awesome methods help manage our waste in the present, the best option is to always aim to reduce our single-use waste in our everyday lives. Shop for items that aren’t wrapped in plastic and carry your own reusable containers and cutlery to limit the need for single-use takeaway items. It’s these small changes on the individual level that can help us all ensure a beautiful future.

What local waste challenges does your community face, and what sort of ways have you found to manage it?

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Leslie FinlayKoh Lanta Gets Creative with Upcycling

Mein Trash Walk Durch Israel

by Leslie Finlay on 25/03/2018 No comments

/// BILD 1

Meine erste Begegnung mit Trash Hero hatte ich in Thailand, wo ich bei diversen Clean Ups mitgeholfen habe. Diese Bewegung hat mich dermassen inspiriert, dass ich auf meinen Trails wie z.B. dem Pacific Crest Trail in den USA, der herumliegende Abfall zusammengesammelt habe. So auch auf dem Israel National Trail, wovon ich euch heute von meiner besonderen Reise – meinem Trash Walk quer durch Israel berichte.

Der Israel National Trail zählt zu den zehn schönsten Fernwanderwegen der Welt. Mehrere tausend Wanderer und Pilger begeben sich jährlich auf diesen Pfad um die Schönheit und Stille des Landes zu geniessen. So wie auch ich, ausgestattet mit Wanderschuhen, einem Rucksack und: Abfallsäcken! Denn dieser Trail sollte nicht nur eine Bereicherung für mich werden, sondern auch für die Natur, welche mir überhaupt dieses Erlebnis ermöglichte.

Und so startete ich mein Abenteuer in Tel Aviv.

Stefanie Waser hiked 800km along The Israel National Trail, collecting 36 bags of trash.

/// BILD 2-4

Mich überraschte die Menge des Abfalls. Je näher man an ein Stadtgebiet kam, desto mehr häufte sich der Müll. Mir wurde schnell klar, dass ich nicht den ganzen Abfall auf dem Trash Walk mitnehmen konnte. So musste ich mich auf einen Abfallsack pro Tag beschränken.

/// BILD 5

Gewisse Hinterlassenschaften waren jedoch schlichtweg zu schwer und sperrig für meinen Abfallsack und musste ich schweren Herzens zurücklassen.

Stefanie unfortunately realised she would be unable to collect everything she encountered, so limited herself to filling one bag per day.

/// BILD 6-7

Auf dem Mount Tabor, eine einst berühmte vorchristliche Kultstätte der Antike, ging ich den Plastikflaschen an den Kragen. Gesamthaft 34 PET-Flaschen wanderten in meinen Abfallsack.

 

Mount Tabor is an important site to both Jewish and Christian texts. In spite of efforts by the country over the last 100 years to restore the area’s lush pine forests, Stefanie encountered heaps of rubbish discarded by visitors.

/// BILD 8-12

Der See Genezareth ist mit 212 m unter dem Meeresspiegel der tiefstgelegene Süsswassersee der Erde und scheinbar ein beliebter Picknickort auf dem Trail. Plastikteller und –besteck, welche praktisch bei jedem Einkauf automatisch ausgehändigt werden, füllten meinen Trash Hero Bag.

/// BILD 13-15

Vom tiefstgelegensten Süsswassersee zum höchsten Berg innerhalb der international anerkannten Grenzen, dem Mount Meron (1208 müM): Der Abfall ist der Gleiche.

/// BILD 16

Not macht erfinderisch. Ich erleichterte mir die Müllsammlung mit einer Grillzange.

/// BILD 17

Der Norden ist geschafft! 200km und 14 Abfallsäcke später erreichte ich die kleine Siedlung Kibbutz Dan. Im Süden, in der Wüste, erwartete mich weitaus weniger Müll. Dies ganz zu meinem Glück, da ich bereits viel Gewicht mit gefüllten Wasserflaschen bei mir trug.

Stefanie combines her passions: hiking and preserving the world’s natural beauty.

/// BILD 18-20

Nach über 800 intensiven Kilometern und 36 gefüllten Abfallsäcken blicke ich auf meinen Trash Walk im malerischen Israel zurück und wünsche mir für die Schönheit des Landes, dass es künftig von herumliegenden Abfall etwas verschont bleibt.

“Denn dieser Trail sollte nicht nur eine Bereicherung für mich werden, sondern auch für die Natur, welche mir überhaupt dieses Erlebnis ermöglichte.” – Stefanie Wasser

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Leslie FinlayMein Trash Walk Durch Israel