Trash Hero World has submitted a proposal to the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) ahead of the second session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) to develop a Global Plastics Treaty.
We worked together with Break Free from Plastic to submit the statement, which addresses the potential elements for the treaty and outlines a plan for dealing with plastic pollution in all environments. Drafted by their policy experts, its key objectives focus on the removal of unnecessary plastics that jeopardise the environment, while ensuring that the planet and its inhabitants are protected. Control measures should cover each stage of the plastic lifecycle – from raw material extraction to product production, waste management, and leakage into the environment. Some of the recommendations include stopping harmful chemicals and plastics, reducing the use of virgin materials and transitioning to a circular economy.
As stated by the UN Special Rapporteur, a human-rights-based approach must be adopted in the management of reducing global plastics. This means ensuring social justice for waste pickers and other workers in the global plastics value chain and environmental justice for communities that have been unfairly impacted by plastic pollution.
Trash Hero World was granted formal consultative status at the United Nations Environmental Assembly in March 2022. As an official observer, we are now among 500+ NGOs globally that can give input to policy discussions and participate in the UNEA sessions and those of its subsidiary bodies. Our proposal is one among around 200 that are publicly available on the UNEP website (under the “Pre-Session Submissions” tab). These proposals will be reviewed for inclusion in the official documentation provided to the negotiating committee at the INC-2 summit in Paris in May this year.
In November 2022, the five-year Brand Audit Report was submitted to the INC-1. Trash Hero was a major contributor of data to the study.
Using our platform to advocate for the reduction of plastic production and the adoption of zero waste systems is an important part of our ongoing commitment to “act local but think global”. By engaging with UNEP, and other key stakeholders, we hope to drive change and create a cleaner and more equitable world for future generations. We are proud to work alongside Break Free From Plastic in this goal.
Trash Hero World joined the Break Free From Plastic movement in 2018. Since then, we have collaborated on several important projects that aim to reduce plastic pollution worldwide, including being a top contributor to data in their annual Brand Audit reports.
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.”
Plastic coming into contact with our food has been a source of concern for many years, but it would seem the contamination starts much earlier than the final packaging
It is common knowledge that microplastics pose a serious threat to environmental and human health. Not only have microplastics been found in our drinking water, food supply and even the air we breathe, but recent studies have also found microplastics in human blood and lung tissue (you can read more about that here). Their presence in the cosmetic industry has been exposed and many countries have introduced, or are working to introduce, microplastics bans in cosmetic products such as toothpastes and face washes. However, something that has not been much discussed is the presence of plastic and microplastics in the agricultural industry. The Centre for International Environmental Law (CIEL) recently published a report on the role of microplastics in agriculture, and the information is concerning.
The use of plastic is visibly prevalent in agriculture – it is used to cover crops, package products, and construct greenhouses and landscaping. This use of plastic is obvious and clear for everyone to see. However, what is not so obvious is that microplastics are being intentionally used as part of the fertilisation process.
Marketed as being key to sustainable and ‘climate friendly’ agriculture, fertilisers are coated in microplastics to help control their release once in the soil. This is achieved through microencapsulation, the process of wrapping a nutrient or chemical in a synthetic polymer material (a form of plastic) to create a small pellet. Controlled-release fertilisers (CRFs) use these coatings to slowly release their contents over a longer period of time. The coatings remain in the soil once the fertiliser has been released and does not degrade. The toxins they contain accumulate in the soil, ready to be absorbed by the crops, or leaked into the air and water supply
This CRF technology is not new – it was introduced in 1970 1 – but recently producers have been strongly pushing its use as a ‘planet-safe option’. No mention is made in the new-style marketing of the impact on the soil and food chain; instead they claim greater efficiency, without any solid data to back this up. In fact, according to the CIEL report, these plastic-coated fertilisers are unnecessary. There are effective and more climate-friendly alternatives that exist, methods that reduce the use of synthetic (fossil- fuel- based) pesticides and fertilisers altogether
How much microplastic is being used?
It will likely come as a surprise to hear that it is not the cosmetics industry that is responsible for the majority of primary microplastics currently being used (primary microplastics are microplastics that are intentionally produced, secondary microplastics are those that come from plastic breaking down). In a 2019 report from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) it was found that microplastics intentionally added to fertilisers, pesticides and seed coatings accounted for an estimated half of the 51,500 tonnes of microplastics used each year in the European Economic Area (EEA). They estimated that 22,500 tonnes were used in fertilisers and 500 tonnes used in pesticides 2. These numbers show that, within the EEA, the agricultural sector uses more microplastics than any other industry.
Not only are they using more microplastics than any other industry, but these microplastics are being placed directly into the natural environment, affecting our health as well as that of the fauna and flora worldwide.
How do microplastics impact us?
These plastic-coated agrochemicals directly introduce microplastics into the environment and potentially into our food supply. Even prior to being coated in plastic, there are risks to the environment and our health from using synthetic fertilisers and pesticides – much like plastic itself they are derived from oil and gas and are seen as some of the most harmful and toxic substances used globally.3
Some of the health concerns from microplastic exposure include: increased cancer risk, cellular mutations or cell death, heart disease, chronic inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and more. 4
What can be done?
Primary microplastic pollution is preventable, however regulation is severely lacking.
‘The current level of action is not yet adequate for addressing sound management of intentionally added microplastics’
It is vital that as we go forward, as we continue our war on plastic, that those with the power to implement regulations and rules in regards to microplastics across all industries do so. The use of primary microplastics must be stopped in the agricultural sector, and indeed across all manufactured products. This cannot just be on the national level, but something that must be implemented globally. Global treaties are the key to impactfully reducing plastic and a comprehensive global approach must be developed and enforced.
All across the world Trash Heroes are getting ready to join the massive international cleanup effort this Saturday, September 21.
World Cleanup Day began in 2008 when 50,000 people united in Estonia to clean the country in 5 hours. Today, this effort has expanded, bringing together millions of people across 157 countries to address our shared problem of global waste by harnessing the impressive power of collective action.
This vision is led by Let’s Do It World, an organisation that believes in a spirit of unity to address the issues that come with unsustainable waste. We couldn’t agree more with this tenet at Trash Hero. Through collaboration and positivity, we can look beyond differences and come together under what unites us all – our planet, and the fight for its bright future.
These cleanups involve a rigorous data collection element, as do many Trash Hero cleanups, to provide ongoing analysis into the greatest challenges faced in reducing marine and coastal litter.
By recording what we collect, we can see over time the items that are most frequently wasted – motivating us to make everyday swaps to reusable, sustainable items like canvas bags and stainless steel water bottles and straws.
It’s been reported that up to 80% of environmental impact is generated by everyday household consumption, meaning its reduction – and the movement toward a waste-free future – is very much in our control!
To get involved, check for events organised by your local Trash Hero chapter, World Cleanup Day teams, or other organisations in your area. Or grab some friends and go! There’s no limit on how to make a positive change to your local area.
But don’t lose motivation after September 21st! Global waste is a growing issue, but it’s one that we can tackle together through collective, ongoing action and awareness.
Consider what reusable swaps you can make in your everyday life to reduce your personal plastic consumption. And help reduce the risk of plastic ending up in the marine environment – where it can be near impossible to recover – by disposing of it responsibly, and collecting it if you see it out in your local environment! The action of one individual may seem insignificant, but multiply that by the thousands of Trash Heroes of all ages across the world – and that impact turns into real, systemic change.
Tonight we had the honour of being invited to Swiss talk show “Aeschbacher”. Trash Hero (and one of our Founders) Roman Peter did a fantastic job in giving viewers a short introduction into the organisation… and found a fellow Trash Hero in the moderator, Swiss TV legend Kurt Aeschbacher.
The show will be broadcast this Sunday, 12 March 2017 at 22.05 CEST on SRF1. See the full program description here, and tune in on Sunday.
Watch a wonderful movie Trash Hero Myanmar made about their work here, or check a recent segment that was aired in the news here. Trash Heroes have been active in Myanmar since July 2016, when a first chapter was founded in Yangon, Myanmar. The movement has made headway quickly, with a further three chapters (Mandalay, Ngwe Saung, and Pyin Oo Lwin) created within 4 months, and the plan to have three more in place by the end of 2017.
Only half a year into Trash Hero Myanmar, many cleanups have already taken place: The capital Yangon has seen the most action, although events have also taken place in Ngwe Saung Beach, Mandalay, Pyin Oo Lwin, and Dawei. A dedicated team of volunteer led by Country Coordinator Phone Kyaw Moe Myint plans and realizes all events.
So far, around 1700 volunteers have picked up over 9000 kg of trash. The trash is disposed of at sites designated by the government for now, as efforts to recycle and reuse the waste are underway. Myanmar is going through a huge transition on many fronts and is facing many challenges. Trash Hero Myanmar’s main goal is to make a difference by effecting behavioral change among the people, so that littering is reduced.
For 2017, Phone Kyaw Moe Myint and his team are planning the addition of new chapters, among them Bagan. Meanwhile, Inle Lake and Minbu and are further strengthening the ties with local leaders. The next cleanup event in Yangon will be taking place on 29 January 2017, and volunteers will be cleaning Ngwe Saung on 9 February 2017.
Trash Hero Mandalay & Pyin Oo Lwin have created the most amazing video of their recent cleanup. Their work was supported by the Mayor of Mandalay and many local businesses, who -along with the dedicated organizers and volunteers- contributed to this success.
မႏၲေလးႏွင့္ျပင္ဦးလြင္တို့တြင္ မိိမိေဒသလွပ သန့္ရွင္း အမွိုက္ကင္းေစလိုေသာဆႏၵရွိသူအမွိုက္ေကာက္ သူရဲေကာင္းအေယာက္၃၀၀ေက်ာ္တို့သည္မိမိတို့၏တန္ဖိုးရွိလွေသာအခ်ိန္မ်ားကိုေပးျပီး Trash Hero ၏ ပထမဆံုးေျခလွမ္းကိုေအာင္ျမင္စြာ လွဳပ္ရွားစတင္ခ့ဲ ပါသည္ မိမိကိုယ္က်ိုးတစံုတရာမပါ အမ်ားေကာင္း က်ိုးကို ေစတနာသန့္သန့္ျဖင့္ ပူးေပါင္းပါဝင္လမ္းညႊန္ခ့ဲ ပါေသာမႏၲေလးတိုင္းေဒသ ျမိဳ႕ေတာ္ဝန္ေဒါက္တာ ဦးရဲလြင္ စည္ပင္သာယာေရး အဖြဲ႕ဝင္မ်ားႏွင္ ့္လိုအပ္ေသာေငြေၾကး ေထာက္ပ့ံသူမ်ားအားလံုးအား လွိုက္လွဲစြာေက်းဇူးတင္ပါသည္သူရဲေကာင္းဆိုတဲ့စကားလံုးေလးဟာ စိတ္ဓာတ္ခြန္ အား ျမွင့္တင္ျခင္းတခုပါ မိမိတို့ရည္မွန္းခ်က္သည္အမွိုက္ကင္းစင္ေသာေဒသမွသည္အမွိုက္ကင္းစင္ေသာနိုင္ငံဆီသို့ဦးတည္ျပီး ေနာက္ထပ္ေျခလွမ္းေပါင္းမ်ားစြာျကိုးစားေလ်ွာက္လွမ္းပါမည္A very big thank you to all those that took part in our very first Trash Hero clean up in Mandalay and Pyin Oo Lwin. This video is dedicating to all the heroes and organizations who spent their free time and effort to make these cities a cleaner place. A heartfelt appreciation to the Mayor of Mandalay who supported us and all the sponsors and Organizer to make this amazing event happen! Love and Respect to you all and lets make Myanmar a cleaner place!
Our recent launch of the Trash Hero @Work program has just been written about in a Swiss newspaper from Lucerne. Read it here.
Trash Hero World’s @Work program creates a solid basis for reducing corporate and business waste to a minimum. In a first step, all office waste on an average day is analysed in detail. One by one, steps are then taken to reduce waste to a minimum. Employees might all commit to using our stainless steel bottles, or use their own containers to pick up their lunches. Slowly but surely, employees can move towards implementing a zero waste philosophy and can see how small changes make a big difference.
Trash Hero Ban Krut has just launched the Trash Hero bottle. One more location in Thailand that has now joined! Bottles can now be purchased for 200 Baht, and those with a bottle in hand can then get free refills at the water stations at the Siriphong Guesthouse and the Gecko Bar Ban Krut (Gecko Bar Bankrut). OR, at any other one of the refill stations across Thailand.
The Trash Hero Bottle program aims to substantially reduce the amount of plastic bottles that end up on the beaches, in the sea, and in our communities by providing reusable replacements which not only benefit the environment, but also save those who own one money. Since March 2016, around 4000 litres of water have been bottled at the water station at Siriphong Guesthouse and the Gecko Bar. This means that more than 2600 plastic bottles (1.5l) have been saved… or 8000 bottles if we are counting in 0.5l bottles.
Trash Hero Chiang Mai has been going strong since August 2015, and we just read this fantastic report Shayne Rochfort, one of the Trash Heroes from Chiang Mai:
Have you had a great Trash Hero experience? I have. I have only done two of our Chiang Mai cleanups, and they have been fun. Who would have thought? The November cleanup was my first ever, and picking up trash with a group of people was very rewarding, and a great chance to get to know more about other Trash Heroes in Chiang Mai. Altogether, we picked up 1000 kgs of top quality trash.
My second cleanup was our last one on Christmas Eve. Again, we removed heaps of trash from our wonderful city, and had plenty of fun along the way.
Now I would like you to do something that is even easier… Ask you to help us grow the Trash Hero Chiang Mai? Here are my suggestions:
1. Tell everyone about your Trash Hero experience, here and in person.
2. Invite your friends to join you for the next cleanup and invite them to like the Trash Hero Chiang Mai Facebook page (and the Trash Hero World Facebook page while they’re at it).
3. Join the Trash Hero committee. A non-compulsory commitment of about 2 hours per month plus cleanups and putting your thoughts out in our group chats is what is required. We all lead busy lives, so we do what we can and keep the commitment low.
Our group consists neither of Thai people nor of foreign people. We are all just Trash Heros. Other chapters in Thailand have a lot more going on, and we would like to do more here in Chiang Mai as well. Trash Hero Chiang Mai can work towards an even brighter future for our beautiful city!
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