Roman Peter | Managing Director of Trash Hero World
Interview given to Ms Maria Louisa Vafiadaki
-In a nutshell, what is your vision when you say “cleaning and reducing waste” ? What are you aiming to achieve ?
Trash Hero uses community action (cleanups), led by volunteers, to bring diverse groups of people together and raise awareness about the problem of plastic. In parallel, we promote solutions to solve it (reducing waste). Our long-term goal is to build momentum for local zero waste projects and support a circular economy.
We mainly focus on plastic waste. First of all, there is too much unnecessary single-use plastic in today’s world which is harmful to the environment, to the climate and to human health. 99% of plastic is made of fossil fuels combined with toxic chemicals. In most cases, it is used only once and then discarded, where it will cause more problems. It is widely believed that plastic takes 400 years to “biodegrade”. But actually, it never biodegrades; it just breaks down into smaller pieces, called micro- and nano-plastics, which enter the soil, air, water and food chain.
Many people believe that more recycling is the solution but, while important, the focus should not be on this alone. Plastic recycling is not viable on a large scale as it is so expensive - both in terms of the logistics and the lack of market for the recycled material, which is usually more expensive than virgin plastic. Recycling rates remain very low globally (around 9%) and many soft plastics are not recycled at all. Only 2% of plastic packaging is effectively recycled, becoming the same material as it was before (Source: https://youtu.be/O4YzWDp3f_E). Even then it will eventually be discarded as, unlike metal or glass, plastic cannot be infinitely recycled.
Meanwhile, more and more plastic is being produced. So it is clear that the only solution is to reduce production - to turn off the plastic tap that is flooding our world.
Through our weekly cleanups, we try to engage communities and motivate them to reduce their consumption of plastic individually and collectively. This is done by helping them understand the alternatives - maybe switching to reusables or going back to traditional ways of selling food in banana leaves for example - and highlighting the systemic problems of waste.
-What are the key pillars of your activities and through which means do you strive to reduce waste ?
Our core activity is the regular community cleanups which occur on a weekly or monthly basis. If we do only one big cleanup event, the impact is not long-lasting, so we focus on consistent, visible and positive actions that keep the issues on the local agenda.
Alongside this, we run an educational programme for kids. We work directly with primary school children - almost 18.000 so far. Teachers use our story and activity book which presents the problem of plastic pollution in a simple way and shows children that they have the power to change this situation through their own actions. The kids complete a series of challenges to reduce and reuse plastic over several weeks, earning their own Trash Hero T-shirt in the process. The book is available in 8 different languages.
We also seek to reduce people’s consumption of single-use plastic bottles and bags by providing low cost reusable alternatives. Our Trash Hero water bottle is made from food grade stainless steel and sold at cost price - more than 100.000 bottles have been distributed so far with zero profit. Businesses can sell the bottle with a small markup and provide in return free water refills for anyone who has a Trash Hero bottle. So far, over 700 free refill stations have been added worldwide and we estimate that we have avoided more than 37 million plastic bottles with the scheme.
Another important part of our work is knowledge sharing. We provide training for our volunteers on transitioning to zero waste communities. We invite global experts to discuss topics such as waste separation, circular economy, greenwashing and behavioural change. Those presentations are in English and we translate them into local languages.
-In which countries is Trash Hero operating ?
By the end of 2021, we counted 171 active chapters in 20 countries worldwide. Most of our chapters are located in Southeast Asia. Trash Hero World is registered as a non-profit association in Switzerland.
-How do you make sure on an organizational basis that the Trash Hero formula is successful in all these countries ?
We have a global coordination team that provides the strategy, operational framework and monitoring for all chapters. Bigger countries such as Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar and Czech Republic have their own registered organisations and coordination teams that can localise our activities, while still providing a consistent experience and messaging. We have regular online calls to support all teams, keep them motivated and maintain the quality of our work.
While the front-facing work is always light and positive, in the back we are quite strict to ensure our work and reputation is not compromised. For example, we never take funding from any companies who are plastic producers. We would rather Coca Cola for e.g. would switch their delivery model to refillable bottles, instead of funding cleanups.
Another aspect is that being on top of our data and using it for greater impact. The results of every cleanup are recorded, with the number of volunteers and amount of trash collected, often also the type and brand. We check all the data monthly to make sure it’s consistent. And we report it publicly, both locally and globally, and share it with researchers and campaigners.
-Which do you consider your biggest success story until today ?
For the past few years already, our volunteers have been doing brand audits at some cleanups, sorting the plastic collected and recording the company who made it. We are proud that last year we did over 150 brand audits, which made up around 30% of the data included in the global Brand Audit Report from Break Free From Plastic (BFFP). We give this data for free and through BFFP’s campaign, pressure is put on big companies to publish their plastic footprint data and to change the way they package and deliver their goods.
In March 2022 we received an accreditation from the United Nations Environment Programme. We now have official observer status and may give our opinion at the UN Assembly which occurs every 2 years in Nairobi, particularly with regard to the upcoming negotiations on a global treaty on plastic, announced earlier this year. This is a huge honour for us, and the result of the hard work of thousands of volunteers. It proves that with our simple actions we have established a powerful movement
-In what ways are you funded ?
More than half (57%) of our funding comes from foundations, 38% from individuals while 2,5% comes from institutions and only 3% is sourced from companies. We make sure we do not collaborate with any company that is involved in the plastic industry. We have an ethical funding policy that means for e.g. we refuse donations from global FMCG companies because they are plastic producers and are not making real and significant changes towards a clean world. Even in the case of banks or others who are invested in plastic, we don’t want to be connected to them so that we can protect our brand and make sure we stay independent.
Since we are a non-profit organization, donations are essential to our work. Donations can be made through our website: https://trashhero.org/donations/ . For bigger donations, please get in touch with us directly for our full documentation via email fundraising@trashhero.org
-How does Trash Hero stand out from all organizations combatting plastic today ?
The power of Trash Hero lies in our consistent actions, delivered entirely by volunteers. This brings a passion and an authenticity that is unmatched by any similar organisation. Nobody is just talking, nobody is doing this for the money: we truly believe in a clean world, free from plastic pollution and so we lead by example.
We are also happy! Our volunteers are always smiling and engaging others in their community with positive words and actions, not blaming or complaining. This energy is contagious, as anyone who has joined our cleanups will know, and key to building the movement.
Aside from the amazing people, Trash Hero has a unique position, bridging the very local with the global. As an organisation, we build partnerships with national and international groups working on the same issues, allowing them access to our grassroots insights and data while also translating their research and expertise for our volunteers. It’s a win-win!
Thank you.