GILI MENO, INDONESIA: MAY 2017- One Trash Hero was visiting Gili Meno in Lombok, Indonesia, and encountered a cleanup underway. 
“If this is an indication of what Trash Hero can do, the world is in good shape.”
The group of volunteers attracted attention from tourists, as well.
“I saw at least a couple of tourists who spontaneously joined in by throwing something in one of the sacks. Later in the evening I met a couple of newly-weds from Britain. They had seen the group – pretty hard to miss! – and thought it was a good way to also meet people. The couple had been on the island all day and hadn’t spoken to anyone else than each other, as people (many couples) seemed mostly in to each other. This would be a good thing to start in the UK, they said.”
The weekly cleanup attracts many locals and their children, as well. Educating children on a waste-free way of life early on is a tremendously important part of Trash Hero’s mission.
“One man on the walk came every week for the clean-up from neighboring island Lombok. And the group of kids did this every Sunday, on their one day off from school.”
Local residents understand the value of up-cycling as well. Adina came across a man who has constructed a garden wall out of 9,000 plastic bottles, all filled with soft plastic of different colors.
“The house owner even wants to make bungalows with this, for tourists to stay in. Garbage turned into a tourist attraction! He looked very pleased when I told him plastic doesn’t break down for 200 years.”
Keep up the great work, heroes of Gili Meno!
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