At the end of September Trash Hero concluded a Brand Audit data collection for the year. A brand audit categorises the plastic collected at cleanups (food packaging, household products, personal care, smoking materials) and, most importantly, records the name of the parent company that manufactured it. This data is shared with Break Free From Plastic, who use it as part of their annual Brand Audit Report. So far this year they have conducted a total of 120 Brand Audits! These were completed by 57 chapters in 6 countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Switzerland, Poland and Georgia. There were 1,620 volunteers that took part, and they recorded 29,504 pieces of plastic. To find out more please check out their latest blog post.

In August Trash Hero hosted their first Family Meeting in Europe, in Svaty Jan Pod Skalou – a beautiful little village just outside of Prague, Czech Republic. It was attended by 26 participants from 11 chapters in 5 different countries – Switzerland, Serbia, Kuwait, Czech Republic and Poland. This was Trash Hero’s debut Family Meeting in Europe, bringing volunteers together for the first time meeting. This provided a fantastic networking opportunity, where friendships and support systems, something that is vital in the work that they do, were fostered

Trash Hero are delighted to announce that from January – July 2022, 26,666 volunteers (of which 8,098 were under 16) completed 1,615 cleanups, collecting 53,102 kg of trash. That’s an average of 9 cleanups and 265 kg of trash per day! During every cleanup, a chapter leader records data – the number of volunteers in attendance, the weight of the trash collected and how many kids have taken part – which is then published. Click here to view global beach cleanup statistics.

In July Trash Hero Indonesia helped to deliver 80 Trash Hero reusable bottles and 2 drinking water refill stations to a school in Bali. On the same day, they hosted a talk about the negative impact of single-use plastics and what to do at school and at home to reduce and reuse. Educating pupils and teachers to adopt a zero-waste culture. The bottles and filters were supplied to the school at cost price from Trash Hero Indonesia, with PT Jasa Armada Indonesia generously covering the costs.

After two and a half years of online meetings, this Trash Hero Family Meetings took place in person! The Family Meetings are their regular volunteer training and team-building events which celebrate achievements and facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experience and skills that will benefit both their community and the wider Trash Hero mission. In May, meetings were held in Czech Republic, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Across the 4 locations we had 183 participants from 80 chapters. Read more here.

Trash Hero Chapters across the world have been hosting volunteer team building events since December 2021. They were given a budget and guidelines, but each had the freedom to plan whatever they felt suitable. The events included a zero waste camping trip, inviting community leaders to discuss reducing plastic in the area; mountain hikes; lobbying to reduce single-use plastic and brainstorming for future plans. So far 58 chapters have taken part in five countries, with 598 adults and 211 children. More events are being planned for later in the year.

Trash Hero World is honoured to have been granted formal consultative status at the United Nations Environmental Assembly (UNEA). This “observer status” is awarded through an accreditation from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the world’s highest-level decision-making body on the environment.
As an official observer, we are now among 500+ NGOs globally who can give input to policy discussions and participate in the UNEA sessions. With the announcement of a legally binding global plastics treaty at the recent UNEA-5.2 in Nairobi, it is a very exciting time to join and to be able to give voice to the needs and views of their grassroots volunteer network, many of whom are working on the frontline of the plastics crisis in Southeast Asia.

Trash Hero Czech Republic‘s Jan Bares met with the Czech Minister of the Environment, Anna Hubáčková, as part of a delegation from Zálohujme.cz, a campaign to introduce a nationwide deposit return system for cans and PET bottles. They presented the government with a petition of 35,596 signatures calling for the introduction of such a system which would massively improve recycling rates and support the introduction of reusable containers. Trash Hero Czech Republic chapters have been providing the campaign with data from their cleanups to show how many bottles and cans are currently ending up in nature.

Trash Hero Pattani in Thailand organised a “zero waste camping” trip for 125 local residents, putting the concepts of reducing and separating waste into action over a weekend of family fun activities. The trip generated only 40g of residual waste per person per day, compared to the typical 1.3kg daily average per capita in Thailand. Best of all, the volunteers were able to demonstrate to local people that zero waste is possible in all kinds of situations.

Trash Hero is proud to announce their 2021 results of all the hard work volunteers have undertaken in 171 locations across 20 countries. From Dec 2013 – Dec 2021 they have mobilised 411,837 volunteers (including 103,510 children). Together, an incredible 14,91010 beach clean-ups have taken place, resulting in 2,154,143 kg of trash (of which there were 9,479 single-use masks) collected! The team have distributed 102,470 reusable bottles and 27,945 reusable bags – making great steps towards a cleaner world.