world cleanup day | Trash Hero World

World’s Top Polluters Revealed by Break Free from Plastic’s 2019 Brand Audit

by Leslie Finlay on 24/10/2019 No comments

This week, Break Free From Plastic (BFFP) released their second global brand audit, Branded Vol. II: Identifying the World’s Top Corporate Plastic Polluters.

On 2019’s World Clean Up Day held September 21, more than 72 thousand volunteers from 51 countries around the world collected 476,423 pieces of plastic from coastlines, riversides, and within their communities – 43% of which were marked with a clear consumer brand.

In 2019, BFFP had over seven times as many volunteers contribute to this brand audit as it did in 2018, recording twice the amount of single-use plastic.

The Top 3 Global Polluters are the same as those from 2018: Coca Cola, Nestlé, and Pepsico.

The other seven companies the brand audit identified as top plastic polluters include: Mondelez International, Unilever, Mars, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, Philips Morris International, and Perfetti van Melle.

World Cleanup Day volunteers recorded the branded waste collected as they cleaned their communities, submitting a combined 484 audits to Break Free From Plastic. The Trash Heroes of Indonesia were even awarded a silver medal in recognition of their 7,520 volunteers!

The volunteers in Ambon, Indonesia were hit with a 6.5-magnitude earthquake and evacuated from their homes – and yet still retrieved their brand audits to submit their data to BFFP, a true, inspiring commitment to these heroes fighting to improve their communities and move toward a waste-free future.

Such brand audits are a powerful tool for holding consumer goods companies accountable for their role in the global plastic waste problem, revealing just how widespread and damaging their throwaway plastic business model has become.

“There is a great need to better understand the sources and priority products that contribute to plastic pollution closer to the source, so we can better intervene on solutions,” the BFFP report says.

For the second year in a row, Coca Cola came is as the #1 global polluter. In just one day, an incredible 11,732 branded Coca Cola plastics were collected and recorded – more than the next three top global polluters combined. In the past, Coca Cola has attempted to address its role in the plastic pollution crisis by promoting plastic packaging using plastic collected from the ocean, or using plastic bottles made from plants, or bioplastics. But these “solutions” merely reinforce the myth that single-use plastic can be sustainable.

According to the report, the #2 polluter, Nestlé, has announced its commitment to making all of its packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 – but with no clear plan for reducing the total amount of single-use plastics it produces. The company sells over a billion products a day in single-use plastic. In spite of these claims, on the shores of Lake Geneva, home to Nestlé’s global headquarters, Greenpeace Switzerland volunteers collected 1,124 plastic items in just two hours on World Cleanup Day.

Unilever, the #5 plastic polluter, has promised to reduce its role as a plastic polluter by using chemical recycling, according to BFFP’s report. This technology, however, is unproven, extremely energy intensive, and its adoption on a large scale is completely unfeasible.

These pivots and marketed alternatives made by global brands are ignoring the primary issue – we need to reduce our dependence on plastic altogether, and that starts at the source with these primary producers.

Overall, the most common types of plastics collected throughout the audit included:

PET plastics – clear or tinted plastic often used in drink bottles, cups, and pouches
HDEP plastics – white or coloured plastic
PVC plastics – hard or rubbery plastic used in building materials, toys, and shower curtains

We can make more sustainable choices as individuals, but the consumer is not fully responsible.

For years, the corporate narrative has been that plastic pollution is a problem caused by individual consumers. False solutions like recycling, incineration, and bioplastics are rampantly promoted, but fail to address the real problem – constant, large scale production.

The report addresses that in many cases, across many communities, it’s simply impossible to avoid plastic in our everyday lives. The responsibility simply cannot fall entirely on individual consumer choices. We have a powerful global plastics industry that plans to quadruple plastic production by 2050, meaning the environmental, social justice, and health threats associated with such high levels of plastic waste will increase dramatically.

“Plastic is not a litter problem, it is a pollution problem, and it starts as soon as the plastic is made,” the BFFP report states. “Faced with no choice but plastic packaging, people are forced to be complicit in the plastic pollution crisis.”

In the report, Break Free from Plastic also discussed zero-waste and policy solutions designed to address this systemic plastic production problem.

Highlights include examples of cities and organisations using surveys, audits, and citizen science methods to understand their local waste problem and demand that suppliers of plastic products take accountability for their role in unsustainable waste – as well as governments that set the policies to regulate these companies

Inspiring examples of community-led change from the audit include:

Tacloban City, a highly urbanised area in central Philippines, is well on its way to becoming a Zero Waste model city. In partnership with the Filipino non-profit organisation the Mother Earth Foundation, the city launched intensive house-to-house information, education, and communication campaigns about waste management and separation.
The 5 Gyres Institute in North America conducted scientific expeditions to study the global estimate of microplastics in the world’s oceans. The findings contributed to the eventual banning of plastic microbeads in America through the Microbeads Free Waters Act.
In Guatemala, a university student worked with local organisations to pressure the local government to rethink its policies toward single use plastic. Later that year, the Mayor placed a ban on the sale and use of straws, plastic bags, and polystyrene products. The municipality then ran campaigns to promote the use of traditional packaging like maxan leaves, sugarcane baskets, and reusable dishware and utensils, providing items throughout the community and its businesses.

Examples like these, and many others included in the full report, highlight how no matter where in the world you live, community power – and creating a culture of accountability – can lead to powerful, lasting change toward a plastic waste-free future.

Check out the full report and brand audit from Break Free From Plastic to learn more.

Massive 3-Day Cleanup Restores Koh Chang After Flooding

by Leslie Finlay on 24/09/2019 1 comment

Extremely heavy rainfall hit the small island of Koh Chang, Thailand over September 15-16 causing major flash flooding throughout the island. The flooding was so strong that dozens of homes were damaged, and more than 100 motorbikes and three vehicles were washed away, as reported by the local government. According to residents, it was the most dramatic weather seen in decades – as was the aftermath of destruction and debris. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and locals happily report that the island has already bounced back to normal – in no small part due to the huge, collaborative effort launched community-wide following the storm.

Clean-up efforts began across the island immediately, and Koh Chang’s Trash Hero representatives worked closely with the local government and officers from the National Park to coordinate an unprecedented three-day cleanup event – coinciding with September 21st’s international World Cleanup Day.

Debris and rubbish swept up in the floods emerged all across Koh Chang as the floodwaters receded. Runoff was particularly severe in areas like the beautiful Klong Phrao Beach, where water levels were reported to be up to 50cm deep during the storm. Without urgent removal, this waste would simply be carried by tides out to sea, where it enters the ecosystem and is unlikely to ever be recovered. Left unattended, this debris also carries health risks for humans, animals, and marine life alike.

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!

Thirty-five Koh Chang hotels donated rooms to accommodate these non-local volunteers, while dozens of restaurants and local businesses provided ongoing food, fresh water, and supplies. Local authorities continued to offer constant support to the effort, with both the Koh Chang and Trat Province mayors on-site for the cleanups, leading by actionable example.

Over the next three days, rainy drizzle abated opening up to sunny blue skies, revealing the immense progress made. In total, more than 13 tonnes – or 28,600 pounds – of rubbish was collected for proper disposal by this enormous collaborative effort.

Trash Heroes Gearing Up for Sept. 21st’s World Cleanup Day!

by Leslie Finlay on 19/09/2019 No comments

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.