We have collected data on all of our activities globally since our founding. “Live” cleanup data is publicly available and the total numbers are shared twice a year. As of 31 December 2023, Trash Hero chapters have:

– Organised 20,838 cleanups

– Joined by 515,643 volunteers – of which 137,882 were kids under 16

– Collected 2,451,362kg of waste

– Distributed 108,688 reusable stainless steel bottles, avoiding 39,671,120 plastic water bottles

– Distributed 29,910 reusable shopping bags, avoiding 10,917,150 single-use plastic bags

– Printed 23,330 kids’ books in eight different languages

Check out the video above for the full impact experience!

The Trash Hero movement links communities all over the world. Trash Hero World is the Swiss-registered non-profit association that leads and governs the movement, with registered regional entities in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Czech Republic and the UK.

The volunteers who deliver our programmes are organised in informal “chapters”, based within a local community. As of 31 December 2023, we have 100 active chapters in Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Poland, Serbia, Germany, Kuwait and Cambodia. Anyone can join or start their own chapter and apply to us for training.

Volunteers are at the heart of everything we do and many have fascinating or inspiring stories to tell of their journey as Trash Heroes. Here are just a few examples – there are many more. In cases where English is not spoken, we can arrange a translator.

I Wayan Budiasa (Budi) – Leader, Trash Hero Candidasa (Indonesia)
As there was no waste management in his village, Budi campaigned for and then created a community waste bank. Local people can now bring their separated trash for recycling, in exchange for a small fee, greatly reducing the amount of waste being openly burned.

Dragana Katic – Leader, Trash Hero Beograd (Serbia)

Dragana is the founder of the first Trash Hero chapter in Serbia in 2017. Since then she has been a strong mentor for new chapters, receiving the Green Leaf award in recognition of her achievements in popularising environmental action in Serbia.

Suttipun Suwanbundit (Ood) – Leader, Trash Hero Langsuan (Thailand)

P’Ood set up an ingenious waste bank in his village in Thailand, partnering with the district temple. Instead of earning money with their trash deposits, the residents can earn “merit” – an important part of Thai Buddhist culture, usually obtained by doing good deeds and giving alms to the monks.

Suphawat Chuenjan (Toom) – Leader, Trash Hero Chumphon (Thailand)

P’Toom has created a large local network of 40+ Trash Hero schools. In 2020 he also set up a toy and clothing recycling scheme, whereby local people can donate their unwanted items. New homes are then found for them through the schools, thus avoiding landfill.

Roman Peter – Co-Founder & Managing Director, Trash Hero World

Roman co-founded Trash Hero together with friends in 2013. Since then, he has worked almost full-time to support, develop and expand the organisation globally, entirely on a voluntary basis. Even today he does not take any salary in his position as Managing Director of the movement.

There are many organisations doing cleanups. Why is Trash Hero different?

Trash Hero focuses on consistent actions (not big, one-off events), delivered entirely by volunteers. This brings a passion and an authenticity that is unmatched by any similar organisation. As one of our volunteers put it: “nobody is just talking, nobody is doing this for the money”: we truly believe in a clean world, free from plastic pollution and so we lead by example.

We are also happy! Our volunteers are always smiling and engaging others in their community with positive words and actions, not blaming or complaining. This energy is contagious, as anyone who has joined our cleanups will know, and key to building the movement.

Aside from the amazing people, Trash Hero has a unique position, bridging the very local with the global. As an organisation, we build partnerships with national and international groups working on the same issues, allowing them access to our grassroots insights and data while also translating their research and expertise for our volunteers.

Finally we are fully financially transparent: our volunteers are not allowed to take cash donations, relying instead on donations in kind; and all registered organisations that do receive funds have public accounting.

Cleanups are not going to solve the plastic problem, So why do them?

Cleanups are definitely not the long-term solution to plastic pollution, but they are a gateway to real change. You can read more about this in our featured article on the Break Free From Plastic website.

In summary, cleanups are a highly effective and easy way to give people a hands-on introduction to plastic pollution, and the perfect arena to start a dialogue about reducing waste. They bring people together in a fun and energising activity, presenting them with a problem that that they work together to solve. This then leads to discussions about long-term solutions. For some people, just picking up the quantity of trash they do is eye-opening in itself.

We encourage our chapter leaders to start conversations after each cleanup about the waste that is collected. Asking “where did the trash come from?” and “where does the trash go?” encourages participants to reflect on the bigger picture of waste. We aim to move the conversation away from ‘litter’ and ‘irresponsible consumers’ to discussions about systemic problems such as the overproduction of single-use plastic packaging and lack of refill and reuse options.

Doing the cleanups weekly allows us to reach a wide variety of stakeholders and, over time, builds momentum for change. It also supports uptake of our other long-term programmes such as the refill network and kids’ education.

How is Trash Hero World funded?

Trash Hero World is funded entirely by donations. All our fundraising activity is informed by our ethical funding and ethical fundraising policies. Trash Hero never has and never will accept funding or sponsorship from polluters.

For detailed information about our funding sources, please visit: https://trashhero.org/how-we-are-funded/.

Is Trash Hero affiliated with any other organisation?

Trash Hero is a core member of the global coalition, Break Free From Plastic, and we collaborate with various other members to share data and expertise. We are also accredited by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). More on our partners can be found here.

We remain proudly independent of any political parties or commercial organisations, and any others who have a vested interest in keeping the current linear economy.

For a high resolution copy of our logo and brand guidelines, please send us an email.

To use any of our images (free of charge), you can sign up for access to our Media Library. A few examples are given below.
Please note the terms and conditions of use and ensure the correct credits are given.

Trash Hero has been featured in numerous media outlets worldwide, including:

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Media highlights:

June 2022 Dragana Katić, the founder of Trash Hero Beograd, explains why citizens are not to blame for the current plastic crisis and what can be done to improve the situation. Read the full article in Balkan Green Energy News

March 2021 Trash Hero Bangkok volunteer, Warawat Sabhavasu (Bibb) is featured on the cover of Thailand Tatler magazine, along with other Thai “eco-warriors”. Inside, he recounts the story of how he was inspired to take action.

August 2020 Channel News Asia reports on the success of the collaboration between Trash Hero Thailand and social enterprise, Tlejourn, that creates new shoes from discarded flip flops found on our cleanups.

You can find the full media coverage list here: https://trashhero.org/media/.

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