Community Waste Management Through Monastic Education

In the first years of the project, Prevent Plastics+ gave hands-on environmental awareness training at 12 Monastic Education Schools in Southern Shan State and the Mandalay Region. More than 273 people, including teachers, monks, nuns, and students, joined Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions. As a result, environmental awareness reached about 7,427 students.

Throughout the training, Prevent Plastics+ collaborated in harmony with teachers, monks, nuns, and students to transform school grounds. Together, they cleared away waste, sorted garbage, and created organised disposal areas, collecting an impressive 10.61 tons of waste. #SWITCH even greater interest in environmental care across rural communities, the sessions introduced hands-on activities such as composting, smart waste separation, reducing single-use plastics, and crafting homemade detergent and shampoo with fewer chemicals.

After the training, participants saw plastic waste in a new light. They swapped out plastic bags and bottles for reusable ones, brought their own bags and lunch boxes, sorted their trash, and began composting organic waste.

Teachers and students took their new knowledge home, inspiring their families to join in. At school, they created small gardens and farms nourished by composted waste. A survey revealed that by making and using natural soap and shampoo, they cut single-use plastic shampoo sachet use by an astonishing 772,408 packets in just one year.

Participants now make and use their own natural soap and shampoo, share them as gifts, and some have even launched small businesses. The enthusiasm and curiosity of teachers and students from monastic schools have truly driven this transformation.

Looking to the near future, Prevent Plastics+ is committed to spreading our knowledge even further. In the next project year, environmental awareness training and waste management systems will be implemented at faith-based schools and motivated communities.