I am prepared to evolve.
The question is, are you?
Nature is mother to us all.
The earth is what we all have in common.
OUR PROJECTS
We believe that everyone of us can be a Trash Hero.
The programs we are supporting are action-based and very much inclusive. Together with the Trash Hero Thailand movement, we are always trying to engage the whole community.
At Siam Hills Coffee help them understanding how important it is to keep their environment clean. We are happy to show, how they can reduce their consumption of throwaway plastic.
And we make aware, how they can not only tackle the daily waste management in their environment, but also its source.
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN THAILAND
It is great to see that Thailand’s economy has significantly grown throughout the last two decades. Nowadays, people can enjoy a much higher life standard than two decades ago.
However, this dramatic economic growth has also caused numerous environmental issues the same time.
I feel sad to inform you but the country is facing various problems with air and water pollution. Furthermore, you can notice a significantly declining wildlife population, deforestation, soil erosion, water scarcity and waste issues.
Thailand has to be very careful that it is not becoming the ‘garbage bin of the world’.
WASTE MANAGEMENT IN THAILAND
As you can very well imagine, there are many standpoints we can generally analyze this problem from.
To be honest with you, Thai people are currently not very well educated in terms of waste management. They do not have proper knowledge on what recycling is. Therefore, they don’t really know how an individual’s action can make a difference already.
For example, only very few Thais find it strange that there are no dead battery disposals anywhere to be found. The vast majority of people is not concerned at all in throwing everything in the same trash bin. Regardless of the harm it can do to the environment.
Luckily, initiatives to raise general awareness are increasing. There are many education programs and online blogs. These public platforms aim to teach the idea of waste management to Thai people.
But, as you know, projects usually work better, if they can also be controlled. There are many reports that suggest that incentives are needed for making sure that Thai people actually recycle.
If people don’t want to follow the public rules, there should be moderate solutions of punishment set in place by the government, for example.
How many times do I drive past big piles of trash on my way back home and nobody is there to check and follow up on.
You might think that this may sound dramatic. But we believe that a cultural revolution is necessary. So, the situation can fundamentally improve.
And, in fact, the culture is slowly starting to change.
But the path towards a widespread recognition of the problem is still long. We are fully committed to be a big part of the change. To further drive forward the progress, we love working with initiatives such as Trash Hero Thailand.
WHAT IS TRASH HERO THAILAND
First of all, I would like to thank you for being interested in this topic in general.
Thank you very much!
Our actions have the power to inspire others to care for the environment and to hopefully change their own habits.
This change can spread through whole communities and societies. So that ultimately, we can all live in a clean world without major plastic pollution.
Trash Hero is a global movement. Volunteers are the main part and are basically running it.
The mission is to bring communities together to clean and prevent waste.
The project was founded in Thailand in 2013. Now, it is already active in more than 50 locations worldwide through a network of chapters.
The umbrella organization is registered in Switzerland as Trash Hero World, a non-profit association.
CLEANUPS
Trash Hero organizes weekly events where they pick up trash. For these events, they are inviting and motivating people to join, too.
They can become Trash Heroes themselves. Whenever I am on my home island, Koh Samui, I am happily joining myself.
HOW WE DO IT
The project of Trash Hero Thailand uses the five following principles for its approach.
BE POSITIVE
The focus is on solutions and not problems.
The main interest lies on the future and not the past. We get inspired by what is going well and not what was wrong and who is to blame for it.
BE INCLUSIVE AND NEUTRAL
We do like to work independently. The motivation is to bring communities together for one mission that benefits all.
SHOW, DON’T TELL. REPEAT
Trash Hero wants to lead by example. The belief is to take small easy steps, which, when multiplied, can result in great change.
With regular actions, the change becomes lasting.
THINK GLOBAL, ACT LOCAL
The team creates local chapters. These groups are the main part of the entire movement.
Trash Hero World provides training and materials but all activities are community-driven.
NO MONEY
All local chapters do not take or make money through their activities. Expenses are covered by donations, such as from Siam Hills Coffee.
But besides donating, we also love to physically participate ourselves.
It’s like a treasure hunt. Only that the treasure is not gold or jewels but trash for a clean and beautiful nature instead. 😉
WHERE DOES THE TRASH GO
This is actually a wider question we would want people to ask themselves on a daily basis.
It could become a general idea that can then stay with everyone and influence future actions. Not only when people are throwing things away, but before they even use them.
Where does the trash go? The answer will depend on your location and the waste disposal system in place there.
Whenever possible, the collected trash is getting separated and being passed along the recyclable waste to professional waste management companies for recycling.
Trash can be divided into ‘closed loop’ materials.
Closed loop materials can be recycled indefinitely without significant loss of quality, such as paper, glass and metal.
Open loop materials are lower-grade products with limited reuse, before eventually ending up in landfills.
It is also possible to ‘upcycle’ plastic into ecobricks, paddle boards and other useful items.
There can be many creative ways to reuse the trash we find.
WHAT ABOUT WASTE INCINERATION
This is kind of a tricky question, to be honest with you.
Trash Hero Thailand, for example, opposes the global trend to build incinerators everywhere. These incinerators usually turn plastic waste into energy, which also sounds very good.
However, burning plastic always produces toxic gases and wastes recoverable resources. To prevent this, many incinerators do have filters installed that are able to catch the toxins. But the problem is that the filters themselves are extremely toxic as well and very difficult to dispose.
To sum up, the usual aim is to eliminate toxic impact on our planet in general. So, we regard reducing waste in the first place, rather than burning it after as the priority solution.
REUSABLE BOTTLES & BAGS PROGRAM
The project provides stainless bottles to local businesses at cost.
These businesses can sell the bottles for a small profit and offer free water refills in return.
Additional, Trash Hero also produces reusable shopping bags. Local businesses can request these and use at cost for their guests and clients.
SET UP A BOTTLE REFILL PROGRAM
The main goal of the bottle refill program is to offer an affordable, practical and reusable alternative to single-use plastic water bottles.
Less plastic water bottles would enter the environment this way.
Therefore, the program is providing stainless steel reusable water bottles at cost price to local businesses. These cooperating businesses can then sell them to individual customers for a small profit.
Furthermore, the program is using these profits to provide free drinking water for anyone with the bottle. For example, local business partners can hotels, cafes, shops, bars, dive centers or non-commercial places like community centers.
At any of place, you could go and refill your water bottles for free.
The more places join, the better and greater the refill network.
SET UP A REUSABLE BAG PROGRAM
Actually, the reusable bag program is very similar to the bottles program.
They also have the main goal to reduce the use of single plastic.
The Trash Hero reusable shopping bag is yellow, has the logo on it and is handmade in Indonesia.
Again, small businesses can partner up and sell these bags at a fixed price to make a small profit. If these business partner wish to, they can also hand them out for free.
EDUCATION & KIDS
Additionally, Trash Hero has its own kids’ story book with challenges and rewards. They visit schools and run workshops to increase awareness.
Simple solutions can easily be learned to environmental problems.
As you can very well imagine, children or young people in general and their families are a very vital part of the entire movement.
There are basic education materials for example. And additionally, there are also structured kids’ programs that groups can run to get them involved.
Above all, ensuring health and safety standards during any participating activities are the most important point.
ENGAGE THE WIDER COMMUNITY
It is very clear to us. The problem of waste can only be solved long-term if you engage your community and inspire others to join.
Besides fellow citizens, you could try to motivate local business or government agencies to lead by example. You could also create closed chat groups on social media to raise general awareness and knowledge.
Some people love to organize their own meetings or workshops. Others even go a step further and work with other environmental groups and movements.
With all of these initiatives, you could then map your trash collections. Eventually, you can share this data with organisations, such World Clean Up Day, TrashOut or Ocean Conservancy.
USE SOCIAL AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA
How important is social media to you?
To me it is very important and a big part of my daily life as for many others as well, of course.
We could also use for movements such as Trash Hero Thailand. We can engage, inspire, inform and show appreciation.
Therefore, it is great for external information sharing with others but also very helpful for internal communication.
Social media is there to connect to engage with each other. So, let’s do it! J
BECOME ACTIVE
BUILD A TEAM
Anyone can be a Trash Hero!
The strength of project such as Trash Hero Thailand lies in being inclusive and open to all. We believe that a shared love our planet and its future overcomes any differences between us.
One way would be to create your own team in your own community.
A good team is essential to the success of your chapter. It should have a minimum of at least three people and include at least one person who is well-connected to the local community.
Your team does not have to come from people you already know.
Ask around, or post on social media to see if anyone is sincerely interested in helping. Look for people with a positive attitude, energy and respect for the local culture.
CREATE MARKETING MATERIALS
Are you a creative person?
The Trash Hero brand is something they have worked hard to create.
It represents what the movement stands for. There would be a few guidelines for you to follow. But in general, if you have any ideas in terms of marketing material and design, feel free to share.
GET SPONSORS
Siam Hills Coffee is very happy to be one of the sponsors.
Local support is the key to the success of your own community work.
Use your own network or from others to find contacts and approach small or big local businesses. Prepare yourself well and try to explain your mission and the reason behind.
Go slowly and step by step. A little in the beginning can result in a lot in the end. Always stay positive and please don’t give up too easily. Some people and business need longer to understand what your mission and goal is all about.
You can find some useful presentations that can help you here.
DON’T GIVE UP
Keep on networking and find people with the same interests and visions.
Increase participations and encourage engagements, if you wish. Provide trainings, keep celebrating your awesome actions and also occasionally manage conflicts, if needed.
Not all people might agree with what you are doing. Stay relaxed and do not get angry, sarcastic or personal. This will only escalate the situation and its problem.
Stay open-minded and actively listen. Try to understand what the issues are and calmly explain your own policy in a respectful way.
Showing understanding and respect will open more doors and way than we all might think and expect in the beginning.
Sometimes, the path towards making a positive impact can be very difficult and challenging.
Believe in yourself and in your mission and accept that it takes time to start and change things.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
In case you would like to support projects such as the Trash Hero Thailand, you could simply just become a member. You can participate as volunteer.
If you are not able to join yourself, there are still other ways to help and support. One option would be to give donations.
If you are planning a visit to Thailand or are staying here anyway. Here are nine ways to travel or live sustainably in this beautiful country.
I don’t want to sound too cheesy but by drinking and enjoying our beloved Siam Hills Coffee. You would of course help and support as well. We very actively and enthusiastically are fully committed to this movement ourselves.
OUR OWN MOTTO
Making money is nice, creating and maintain a sustainable future for every living being involved is a lot more fun!
Have you ever joined a clean up? What was your impression and where was it?
What other projects do you find exciting or interesting to support?
Anything to add? Please let us know. We are always eager to learn more. 🙂
