The Chemicals Business, SCG, hosted SD Day 2019 (Sustainable Development Day 2019) under the concept “Circular Economy: Circularity through Collaboration for Sustainable Communities,” to share with the participants knowledge on efficient resource consumption and at-source waste management and to promote a habit centering on resource maximization, correct waste sorting, and proper waste disposal with the goal of reducing the amount of waste released into the environment. Furthermore, working in collaboration with the government sector, private businesses, and communities to advance the circularity economy in Rayong sustainably, the company officially unveiled the Waste-free Community Project, an initiative built upon home-temple-school-waste bank networks and powered by SCG’s mobile application KoomKah, with the goal of increasing recycling and reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill. The event was attended by over 1,100 Rayong residents and representatives from various organizations and presided over by Rayong’s Vice Governor Yuthapol Ongarjithichai.
Tanawong Areeratchakul, President of the Chemicals Business, SCG, said that the circular economy revolves around resource maximization – or using resources as necessary to achieve maximum efficiency – and a make-use-return model, which will help us address the global issue of resource shortage. However, the key to better resource recovery lies in efficient waste management at source, including waste sorting and proper waste disposal, which will ensure that no waste is released into the environment.
“Waste management at source not only allows us to recover resources and make use of them again but also reduces the amount of waste that is sent to landfill or ends up in the environment, such as canals and rivers. It addresses the issue directly, as 80% of marine debris comes from waste leakage, In addition, waste management at source can also help cut the government’s waste collection, transferring, and disposal costs and generate income for waste sorters, while also reducing the energy required for manufacturing new products and thus the amount of carbon dioxide emitted, resulting into better quality of life and a better environment,” said Tanawong.
SCG has developed the Bang Sue Model, a waste management program implemented at SCG Headquarters that seeks to educate SCG employees and encourage them to adopt the habits of maximizing resources, sorting waste, and disposing of their waste appropriately. Lying at the core of this model is wet-dry waste separation and waste sorting by material type, which makes waste more readily recyclable and therefore more valuable. In addition, the company has developed a mobile application called KoomKah, which makes it more convenient for waste collectors and waste banks to process waste. The project has increased the amount of recycled waste from 10% to 45% and reduced greenhouse gas emissions by over 50%.
Following the success the Bang Sue Model, SCG has expanded its at-source waste management project to the communities around SCG’s plants to create model communities. An example is Ban Rang Phlub Community in Bang Phong, Ratchaburi, which has successfully fulfilled its “zero waste to landfill” commitment and won the Waste-free Community Award 2019 from the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion. Also participating in this project are Ban Sa and Muang Mai Communities in Jae Hom District, Lampang; Ban Mod Tanoi School and Community in Ko Li Bong Sub-district, Kantang District, Trang; and the schools and communities in Bang Sue in Bangkok.
Rayong is an industrial zone that has been selected for a pilot waste management initiative by the Public-Private Partnership for Sustainable Plastic and Waste Management (PPP Plastic), which the Chemicals Business is a member of and has contributed to the launch of the waste management model in Bang Wangwa in Klaeng District. Recently, the Chemicals Business has joined forces with Rayong and unveiled the “Waste-free Community” Project, an at-source waste management initiative driven by a network of homes, temples, schools, and waste banks that seeks to create a model for resource and waste management at source, increase recycling, and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, particularly in Map Ta Phut Municipality in Muang District, Rayong.
“The Waste-free Community Project is a collaboration of SCG, the government sector, and communities to devise a waste management model. It is found that of Rayong’s 306,000 tons of waste, only 7% is recycled. If the communities cooperate in sorting waste properly at source, I believe that we will able to increase the amount of waste that gets recycled,” stated Tanawong.
The Waste-free Community Project has been piloted in three communities, namely Khod Hin 2, Khod Hin Mitraphap, and Khao Phai communities, with over participating 80 households. In the initial phase, over 6,500 kilograms of waste was recycled. For 2020, SCG expects to welcome to the Waste-free Community Project 700 additional households and three more communities, namely Islam, Wat Chak Lookya, and Map Chalut-Chak Klang Communities and will continue to support community leaders in advancing sustainable waste management.
“Turning a circular economy into a reality requires cooperation from all sectors, including the government, private businesses, and civil societies. SCG is ready to serve as a change driver and help build a collaborative network with all sectors, both in Thailand and overseas, to bring about a robust and sustainable circular economy,” concluded Tanawong.
Yuthapol Ongarjithichai, Vice Governor of Rayong, said, “SCG has introduced and sparked an interest in the circular economy in Rayong, which addresses the issue of social and environmental sustainability in communities through resource maximization. The Waste-free Community Project, a waste management model by SCG in association with Rayong and the local communities, is a clear demonstration of the collaborative spirit of Rayong residents in the network of homes, temples, schools, waste banks, and municipalities and will serve as a model for the other communities in Rayong and over regions across the country.”
At SD Day 2019, the Chemicals Business of SCG held a talk entitled “The Waste-free Community: Joining forces to make waste valuable.” The panel of speakers who shared their experience with the audience consisted of Phra Mahanakrob Akhathammo, the abbot of Khod Hin Temple, Thawil Photibuathong, Map Ta Phut Mayor, Busaba Thanaporn, Director of Wat Khod Hin Mitraphap 42 School, and Pirom Chalawal, Community Chairman and Representative of Khao Phai Community Waste Bank.
The event also showcased the success of the Bang Sue Model and featured educational materials on different types of plastics and how to sort waste to command good prices. Various collaborative green projects for the circular economy were also presented to the attendees, such as the Litter Trap and Smart Litter Trap 4.0, developed in collaboration with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources to reduce waste leakage into the oceans; and the Recycled Plastic Road, jointly developed with Dow Thailand, first prototyped in RIL Industrial Estate in Rayong, and later expanded to Amata City Industrial Estate in Chonburi, 7-Eleven, and a residential development of SC Asset. Also featured were the Greenovative Lube Packaging Project, an innovative gallon made from plastic resins that are derived from used lubricant gallons, developed in association with Bangchak Corporation; and the Fish Home Project, in which SCG, in collaboration with the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources and local fisheries, uses leftover PE100 pipes from trial production and plastic waste found on the beach and local communities, such as bottle caps and plastic bags, to create “Recycled Fish Homes.”
SD Day (Sustainable Development Day) is an annual event that SCG has been organizing in Rayong every consecutive year since 2005 to promote and cultivate an awareness of sustainable development, with particular emphasis on the economy, society, the environment, and security.
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