Trash Hero Partners with MAP
Environmental
Education Class at Bang Kang Khao School, Trang, Thailand
Education Class at Bang Kang Khao School, Trang, Thailand
Written by Kate Knight, Office Development & Field Project Assistant (MAP-Asia Intern)
Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing environmental
issues of our time. Scientists have tried to measure just how much plastic ends
up in our Oceans and found more than 8 million tones of plastic are dumped
in our Oceans every year. This
significantly impacts on marine wildlife, who often mistake marine debris for
food and clog their intestines or they become trapped in plastic waste and
discarded fishing nets. Plastic pollution affects nearly 700
different marine species with over 100 million marine mammals and
turtles in the North Pacific being killed every year by plastic in the Ocean.
The plastic problem is not much bigger anywhere else than in Thailand where
they are ranked 6th among countries in the world with the highest amounts of
plastic production and usage. Thailand
has been recently plagued with two high profile deaths of a rare pilot whale
and endangered green turtle whose autopsies both showed stomachs packed with
plastic. The whale, specifically, had around 80 plastic bags found in its
stomach!
issues of our time. Scientists have tried to measure just how much plastic ends
up in our Oceans and found more than 8 million tones of plastic are dumped
in our Oceans every year. This
significantly impacts on marine wildlife, who often mistake marine debris for
food and clog their intestines or they become trapped in plastic waste and
discarded fishing nets. Plastic pollution affects nearly 700
different marine species with over 100 million marine mammals and
turtles in the North Pacific being killed every year by plastic in the Ocean.
The plastic problem is not much bigger anywhere else than in Thailand where
they are ranked 6th among countries in the world with the highest amounts of
plastic production and usage. Thailand
has been recently plagued with two high profile deaths of a rare pilot whale
and endangered green turtle whose autopsies both showed stomachs packed with
plastic. The whale, specifically, had around 80 plastic bags found in its
stomach!
This led the basis for
MAP-Thailand’s most recent Environmental Education (EE) class on Thursday 19th
July 2018 held at Bang Kang Khao school, Sikao District, Trang. In total 25
children and 4 teachers took part in the afternoon class. We are, as ever,
grateful to our funder the LUSH Charity Pot Foundation but also to Trash
Heroes, Trang Chapter, who collaborated with MAP to provide a fun and
insightful Environmental Education class. Trash Heroes is an International Non-Profit
Organization, that organize beach clean ups across the globe as well as raise
invaluable awareness around waste reduction and waste disposal. The Trang Chapter,
organizes weekly clean-ups of Pak Meng beach in Trang and are involved in supporting
the construction of a bamboo school in Kanchanaburi by providing eco-bricks for
wall construction. The bamboo school is
not yet complete but has so far used over 2000 ecobricks, made from waste
collected by Trash Heroes Trang. You may
ask “What is an Ecobrick?” Please read
on to find out!
MAP-Thailand’s most recent Environmental Education (EE) class on Thursday 19th
July 2018 held at Bang Kang Khao school, Sikao District, Trang. In total 25
children and 4 teachers took part in the afternoon class. We are, as ever,
grateful to our funder the LUSH Charity Pot Foundation but also to Trash
Heroes, Trang Chapter, who collaborated with MAP to provide a fun and
insightful Environmental Education class. Trash Heroes is an International Non-Profit
Organization, that organize beach clean ups across the globe as well as raise
invaluable awareness around waste reduction and waste disposal. The Trang Chapter,
organizes weekly clean-ups of Pak Meng beach in Trang and are involved in supporting
the construction of a bamboo school in Kanchanaburi by providing eco-bricks for
wall construction. The bamboo school is
not yet complete but has so far used over 2000 ecobricks, made from waste
collected by Trash Heroes Trang. You may
ask “What is an Ecobrick?” Please read
on to find out!
Students and teachers attended
the Environmental Class organized by MAP and Trash Hero Trang.
the Environmental Class organized by MAP and Trash Hero Trang.
Trash Hero Trang Chapter: http://chapter.trashhero.org/chapters/trang
Trang Chapter’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrashHeroTrang/
The event started with a PowerPoint presentation from MAP,
that included provoking photos and videos about marine debris and plastic
pollution. Students sat engagingly and interacted by answering quick fire
questions from Ning, MAP-Thailand’s Field Officer and presenter on the day.
Students learned about how long it actually takes for plastic and other types
of waste to degrade and about how plastic pollution affects the environment and
wildlife. Stories from Thailand, such as that of the pilot whale that washed up
on the Gulf of Thailand with a gut full of plastic, was used to illustrate the
growing problem that plastic causes for the environment locally and across the
world.
that included provoking photos and videos about marine debris and plastic
pollution. Students sat engagingly and interacted by answering quick fire
questions from Ning, MAP-Thailand’s Field Officer and presenter on the day.
Students learned about how long it actually takes for plastic and other types
of waste to degrade and about how plastic pollution affects the environment and
wildlife. Stories from Thailand, such as that of the pilot whale that washed up
on the Gulf of Thailand with a gut full of plastic, was used to illustrate the
growing problem that plastic causes for the environment locally and across the
world.
Students eager to
answer questions on plastic pollution from Ning
answer questions on plastic pollution from Ning
After this, Trash Hero took over, to organize a series of
educational games. First, was an exercise on the correct way to dispose of
different types of waste. Students were split into teams and given a variety of
types of garbage. They had to place each piece into the right ‘bin’ – recyclable,
non-recyclable, electronic or hazardous waste and compostable. It became
apparent to MAP and Trash Hero staff that students actually had little
knowledge around this and most often did not differentiate between recyclable
and non-recyclable rubbish, despite having the different types of bins at the
school. Students learnt a lot from the exercise and they are now armed with the
knowledge to put into practice what they have learnt when at school, at home and
in their wider community.
educational games. First, was an exercise on the correct way to dispose of
different types of waste. Students were split into teams and given a variety of
types of garbage. They had to place each piece into the right ‘bin’ – recyclable,
non-recyclable, electronic or hazardous waste and compostable. It became
apparent to MAP and Trash Hero staff that students actually had little
knowledge around this and most often did not differentiate between recyclable
and non-recyclable rubbish, despite having the different types of bins at the
school. Students learnt a lot from the exercise and they are now armed with the
knowledge to put into practice what they have learnt when at school, at home and
in their wider community.
Secondly, students were given a demonstration on how to make
ecobricks from empty (PET) plastic bottles and plastic wrap, bags and waste. The idea is to utilize all those types of
plastic materials that are presently non-recyclable in Thailand and normally are
burnt or sent to landfill sites. Students really enjoyed making the ecobricks
using bamboo sticks to stuff the bottles and compress the plastic till the
bottles are very solid. The plastic must
be clean and dry and it was discovered a huge amount of plastic can be
compressed into a single 1.5 L bottle. Students
took home what they had started in the class along with the equipment needed to
complete the ecobrick. They now have the knowledge and materials to continue
making ecobricks from plastic waste at home and at school. Bang Kang Khao School
has agreed to set up a collection point for ecobricks made by the students that
MAP can collect when they visit the school and ensure they are handed over to
Trash Hero for construction of the Bamboo School in Kanchanaburi. Students can feel proud to actually help build
a school for orphans far away.
ecobricks from empty (PET) plastic bottles and plastic wrap, bags and waste. The idea is to utilize all those types of
plastic materials that are presently non-recyclable in Thailand and normally are
burnt or sent to landfill sites. Students really enjoyed making the ecobricks
using bamboo sticks to stuff the bottles and compress the plastic till the
bottles are very solid. The plastic must
be clean and dry and it was discovered a huge amount of plastic can be
compressed into a single 1.5 L bottle. Students
took home what they had started in the class along with the equipment needed to
complete the ecobrick. They now have the knowledge and materials to continue
making ecobricks from plastic waste at home and at school. Bang Kang Khao School
has agreed to set up a collection point for ecobricks made by the students that
MAP can collect when they visit the school and ensure they are handed over to
Trash Hero for construction of the Bamboo School in Kanchanaburi. Students can feel proud to actually help build
a school for orphans far away.
Students enjoying
making ecobricks from plastic waste and empty plastic bottles.
making ecobricks from plastic waste and empty plastic bottles.
Both girls and
boys took part in the activity.
boys took part in the activity.
A big effort was
noticed from all students, especially in compacting the plastic.
noticed from all students, especially in compacting the plastic.
Students were shown a video on ecobricks that included
footage of the ecobricks being used to construct the Bamboo School in
Kanchanaburi. This helped students conceptualize how plastic waste, ordinarily
a negative for the environment and huge eye-sore, can be repurposed to build
something constructive and positive. Trash Hero spent time to explain how
different waste is reused in different ways; plastic can be used to form
ecobricks and Tetra Pak packaging can be used to make roof tiles. TatraPak
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., are a leading manufacturer of UHT Beverage Boxes made
from plastic and aluminum foil that are extremely popular throughout Thailand
but also very difficult to recycle. They have partnered with other
organizations such as the Thai retail giant Big C to create collection points
for the UHT boxes, where they are then used to make roofs as part of their
Green Roof Project.
footage of the ecobricks being used to construct the Bamboo School in
Kanchanaburi. This helped students conceptualize how plastic waste, ordinarily
a negative for the environment and huge eye-sore, can be repurposed to build
something constructive and positive. Trash Hero spent time to explain how
different waste is reused in different ways; plastic can be used to form
ecobricks and Tetra Pak packaging can be used to make roof tiles. TatraPak
(Thailand) Co., Ltd., are a leading manufacturer of UHT Beverage Boxes made
from plastic and aluminum foil that are extremely popular throughout Thailand
but also very difficult to recycle. They have partnered with other
organizations such as the Thai retail giant Big C to create collection points
for the UHT boxes, where they are then used to make roofs as part of their
Green Roof Project.
Video on ecobricks link: https://youtu.be/RBplmic4XWc
Overall the environmental education was very successful. Students
were engaged and learned a lot about the ever-pressing issues of plastic
pollution, its impacts and some solutions to mitigate these impacts. Between
MAP and Trash Heroes Trang, the important three Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle –
were continually reinforced. Students who attended the class were given
stainless steel cups to use for drinking and explained how to use them to
reduce the use of single use plastic bottles. We hope to be able to collaborate
again with Trash Heroes Trang on other Environmental Education classes and also
on the possibility of creating a plastic free school model in the future.
were engaged and learned a lot about the ever-pressing issues of plastic
pollution, its impacts and some solutions to mitigate these impacts. Between
MAP and Trash Heroes Trang, the important three Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle –
were continually reinforced. Students who attended the class were given
stainless steel cups to use for drinking and explained how to use them to
reduce the use of single use plastic bottles. We hope to be able to collaborate
again with Trash Heroes Trang on other Environmental Education classes and also
on the possibility of creating a plastic free school model in the future.
To see more
photos from the event, check out the complete photo album on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/MangroveActionProject/posts/10156695044779756
photos from the event, check out the complete photo album on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/MangroveActionProject/posts/10156695044779756