Image Galleries

A Dialogue on Extended Producer Responsibility & Training on Human Rights Based Approach in the Plastic Value Chain

UN Environment Programme (UNEP), in close collaboration with AIT Extension, Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), will organize the first regional dialogue series which compose of two sub-activities, namely (1) a Training Session on Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) in the Plastic Value Chain and (2) a Regional Dialogue on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). Both events are scheduled on Tuesday, 23rd August 2022.

SEA circular project aims to reduce plastic pollution and its impact through a multi-sectoral approach, working with actors across the value chain – from policy makers to communities. The project strives to promote market-based solutions and enable policies to end plastic pollution at source – ensuring impact that is sustainable and scalable.

One of the components of the SEA circular are series of regional dialogues. The regional dialogues are meant to act as a platform to exchange experience, enable collaboration and empower stakeholders to take actions. Each program shall combine a dialogue session and the launch of a pertinent knowledge product from the SEA circular project.

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_25

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_26

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_27

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_36

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_42

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_43

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_44

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_45

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_50

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_52

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_0

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_19

LINE_ALBUM_Regional Dialogue Series on Sea Circular 230822_220825_24

UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand Visits Chonburi Province Dumpsite

“Realising Bio-Circular-Green Economy targets will require Waste Wise Cities tool as well as community-led solutions. We cannot depend on dumpsites and landfills forever. Up to 800 tons of mostly household waste end up at Laem Chabang waste management site every day, which was just 500 tons per day two years back. Unless we change the way, we consume or manage waste, our planet will be swamped!

The United Nations Thailand has renewed support to Laem Chabang Municipality, including step-by-step guide to assess waste flows and leakage hotspots for better waste management planning. Next is also to study amount of emissions arising from dumpsites/landfills”, says Ms. Gita Sabharwal, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Thailand during her visit to the Laem Chabang Waste Management Site.

On May 18, 2022, UN-Habitat and UN country team organized a meeting with the Chonburi Deputy Governor Ms. Titilak and the provincial team to share the findings of the assessment on waste flows and leakage hotspot using Waste Wise Cities tool, which was conducted…

Food delivery

Case Study: Promoting sustainability throughout the food delivery value chain

This case study demonstrates market-based solutions towards “less plastic wasted”, exemplary solutions for transformational changes in the way plastic is managed in the value supply chain. Circular Economy approaches, including business incentives for plastic reduction and recycling, are used, leading to increases in plastic re-use and recycling, and to the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.

Plastics are widely used as packaging due to their convenience and aesthetic appeal, and as a result of sanitary concerns. With social distancing and the restrictions imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, online purchases with quick deliveries have skyrocketed and the food delivery service and e-commerce sectors have inadvertently become even bigger contributors of plastic waste in South-East Asia.

Background

Since it was created in 2010, ride-hailing giant Gojek has been serving millions of consumers and partners across South-East Asia. With courier delivery and two-wheel ride-hailing services, the privately owned on-demand multi-service platform has enabled the movement of documents, digital payments, people, and goods. Mindful of the opportunity it has to operate with sustainability, impact, and business longevity in mind, the company believes it can play an active role in addressing and prioritizing the issue of plastic use and disposal, while continuing to support the sustainable livelihoods of its drivers, merchants, and employees, ensure diversity and inclusion, and contribute to socio-economic development in Indonesia and the other countries in which it operates.

A young, driven, and passionate workforce (the average age at Gojek is 30 years old) provides the backdrop for resource-efficient and sustainable thinking in all of Gojek’s service departments and highlights the importance that the company founders and managers place on operating with environmental sustainability in mind, as well as financial success. Of its many services, GoFood, GoBox, and GoMall are those that have the greatest direct impact on the plastic value chain.

To ensure that sustainability sits at the core of its businesses, a dedicated Sustainability Department was formalized in 2020 and now provides the firm and structured approach the company needs to effectively achieve its economic, environmental, and social objectives. Under the banner of the #GoGreener campaign, Gojek is focused on limiting its environmental impact and enabling its stakeholders to live in an environmentally responsible manner.

In its work with its ecosystem, Gojek uses its popular mobile app platform, which has been downloaded 190 million times since 2015. With 900,000 merchant partners and over 2 million registered driver partners, Gojek uses this digital platform as a means to oversee its ecosystem and provide superior customer management, including encouraging its stakeholders to place importance on resource efficiency and sustainability.

The problem

In 2020, with nationwide hospitality closures and “stay at home” orders issued in response to the health risks posed by COVID-19, many more consumers began using digital channels to order food and products, which has resulted in a rise in the use of plastic employed as packaging. Deliveries reigned in 2020 and new research suggests that this sector is increasing and evolving. With the convenience of online ordering for everything from meals and groceries to clothes and household items, this pandemic-era behaviour is likely to remain — bringing with it this increase in single-use plastic.

Interventions

Gojek’s approach to managing single-use plastic waste involves providing education on (raising awareness), facilitating (enabling access to more sustainable alternatives), and accelerating (or leveraging innovation) its value chain’s transition towards sustainability. For its merchant partners, driver partners, and consumers, these include the following interventions:

The process

Drivers

Instilling a set of values that includes sustainability among its almost 2 million registered drivers requires education and onboarding modules that give these partners a shared understanding of their role in Gojek’s customer-facing arm. Before any driver partners are accepted, they are assessed by the company’s Driver Engagement Team on their knowledge of topics ranging from interacting with customers to eco-friendly practices. It is important that Gojek’s large mobile workforce have the same level of understanding and act with these values in mind so that the company’s objectives can be achieved.
Gojek provides its partners with delivery bags and tote bags that are reusable and easy to maintain. It has also promoted innovative solutions to support contactless delivery and social distancing with its temperature cards, which ensure that those handling orders (preparation, packing, and delivery personnel) do not have a fever.
Drivers also undergo continuous education through the Gojek app, which the company uses as a messaging and information portal to provide learning and helpful tips. As an example, drivers are reminded to pay attention to customers’ preferences for no plastic cutlery; drivers often default to adding plastic cutlery to online orders even when customers have opted out, so they are prompted to deliberately refrain from adding it when it’s not required.

Merchants

Gojek continues to support its merchant partners by giving them access to information that will allow them to reduce the use of plastic in their packaging and in takeout deliveries. As a platform, Gojek understands the role it can play in increasing volumes with more restaurants having access to more sustainable and eco-friendly packaging options. Gojek’s business development teams maintain formal and informal communication lines with merchants (using SMS and even WhatsApp) and with suppliers that provide these packaging options.
The company enables its merchants to purchase eco-friendly shopping bags.
Of all Gojek’s restaurant and food merchant partners, 96 per cent are small and medium-sized enterprises that would benefit from information on alternatives to plastic to fulfil their packaging requirements. One programme that was launched was making no cutlery the default setting in the app, so customers have to specifically indicate that they want plastic cutlery included with their food order or they don’t receive any. Coupled with efforts to educate consumers and remind them that plastic cutlery is not essential (campaigns with several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) such as PlastikDetox and the Plastic Bag Diet movement), this approach resulted in cost savings for merchants with a reduction in the amount of plastic cutlery delivered.
More recently, a business-to-business waste collection pilot was launched with Gojek’s cloud kitchen merchants* in Jakarta, Indonesia in order to trace food and plastic waste. The information collected allows the company to calculate its waste footprint and assess the waste collection system in use, and, when shared, enables merchants to identify the most suitable way for them to improve their plastic and waste footprints.
These cloud kitchen merchants are also taking part in a pilot for alternative packaging to determine consumer appetites for compostable options.

*Cloud kitchen merchants are partners that use centralized kitchen facilities owned by Gojek instead of setting up their own. This is especially useful for start-ups as they do not need to invest in their own kitchen facilities.

Consumers

Gojek reaches out to its merchant partners’ and its own direct customers through dedicated online communities that facilitate the exchange of knowledge and tools. The KOMPACT app allows people to share best practices and alternatives to plastic through online sharing sessions and organized webinars, enabling consumers to make more sustainable choices.
To ensure maximum consumer outreach opportunities, Gojek also uses other partners’ and influencers’ networks. Lessons learned from a previous successful campaign that asked consumers how they calculate their carbon footprint have given rise to a new programme that supports the company’s plastic footprint determination plan and is now asking consumers how they calculate their own personal/plastic footprint.

Challenges

• Keeping everyone on the same page

Since Gojek’s Sustainability Department was formally established in 2020 and the company published its sustainability commitments, work is ongoing to get almost 5,500 employees in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and India on the same page. Keeping onboarding programmes robust and ensuring that company values are effectively instilled on a wider scale remains a challenge.

• Ease of implementation

Gojek is not the direct source of the plastic waste that occurs within its food delivery value chain. The challenge for the company remains changing the behaviour of those using the platform, so that everyone in the value chain moves towards more sustainable actions and practices. Most of its partners are micro-merchants who care about the environment and already want to do better. However, because resources are relatively limited, there are not that many opportunities for these merchants, so Gojek is mindful that any actions to be carried out by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have to be simple, realistic, and cost-effective. Providing solutions that can be executed as easily as possible is a key factor for success in ensuring support. As such, giving these merchants access to practical and economical solutions remains a priority for Gojek.

• Enabling policies

Current alternatives to sustainable packaging are still considered expensive. Continued education and improved cost-benefit opportunities with options like reusable containers would support the transition away from single-use plastic. However, there is also a need for government policies to promote this and provide a level playing field for all players in the sector

• Access to innovation and alternatives

The company is always looking out for relevant innovations that can be applied at scale (not just for itself but also for its ecosystem of merchants, drivers, partners, etc.), as well as alternatives to be put forward for market testing.

Results - the impacts

Since August 2019, almost 13 tons of single-use plastic waste was prevented through a paid cutlery programme.
An additional 6.3 tons of single-use plastic bottle waste was also collected through various pilot programmes that ran in residential locations and schools in 2019.
In 2020, almost 97 per cent of consumers opted out of having cutlery included with their food orders, at a saving of 2 grams of plastic per customer.

Moving forward

Aware of the role that it could play as a thought leader in the space, Gojek started by consolidating its various sustainability and environmental initiatives that were scattered among each of its functional services. Learning from its GoGreener Carbon Offset feature (the world’s first business-to-consumer carbon-offsetting programme in the ride-hailing industry, which was launched in 2020 and allowed users to measure and offset their individual emissions), the company is now using its platform to enable consumers to do the same for their plastic footprint too. Furthermore, it has also committed to conducting an annual corporate plastic audit, starting this year, to help identify the best strategy for improving its plastic waste footprint. With a clear focus on preventing the
employment of single-use plastic, Gojek is aiming to attain zero waste to landfill by 2030.

Gojek is continuously improving its packaging materials options to remove all single-use virgin plastic by 2024. It will do this by engaging all its merchant partners through:

1. The use of scorecards and toolkits that evaluate the sustainability of their packaging;
2. Incentives that give preference to merchants/restaurants that have adopted sustainable packaging; and
3. The implementation of supplier improvement programmes for merchants/restaurants that have yet to adopt sustainable packaging practices.

In all these efforts, Gojek will use its mobile platforms to communicate the successes of its partners in packaging sustainability improvements to consumers, colleagues, and the broader community of merchants and stakeholders. Continued access to digital forums gives stakeholders the opportunity to share best practices within the ecosystem, which can reinforce behaviour change in the way we use and expect plastic to be used in our deliveries.

NATURE-BASED FOOD PACKAGING

Nature-based food packaging

Case Study: Alternatives to plastic for packaging food

This case study demonstrates market-based solutions towards “less plastic wasted”, exemplary solutions for transformational changes in the way plastic is managed in the value supply chain. Circular Economy approaches, including business incentives for plastic reduction and recycling, are used, leading to increases in plastic re-use and recycling, and to the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.

Background

Recognizing the severe health impacts that dangerous substances and chemicals in food containers and packaging can cause, Dr. Weerachat Kittirattanapaiboon, a medical doctor, made it his personal mission to find an alternative. After years of research and trials, he developed the technology to make containers and packaging products using natural plant fibres found in Thailand. He started the company Biodegradable Packaging for Environment (BPE) and its Gracz brand in 2005.

The problem

Single-use food packaging is taking a huge toll on our environment, clogging and filling landfill and waterways with plastic bags, polystyrene containers, disposable cups, coffee sleeves and pods, and more. The COVID-19 crisis is seeing more of this waste being created amid health and safety concerns, with used face masks, gloves, plastic gowns, and face shields adding to the existing issue of plastic waste from takeaway food.

The growing amount of waste finding its way into waterways and oceans is a huge concern that cannot be understated, but nor can the convenience and perceived safety and hygiene of single-use plastic be ignored. Hence, there is a pressing need to explore alternatives to plastic food packaging. For Gracz, this was an opportunity to see whether its own packaging materials, initially envisaged as an option for consumers to be exposed to fewer harmful chemicals in their food containers, could also help achieve less waste for the environment.

Interventions

After five years of research, bagasse (sugarcane pulp) was found to be well suited to use in packaging, while also being abundantly available in Thailand from its sugar production processes. Bagasse containers and packaging can hold both hot and cold food, and even hot oil. They are oven and microwave safe, leak proof, and can naturally decompose within 45 days. The quality, functionality, safety, and cost are far superior to other traditional disposable packaging products. Bagasse containers can withstand hot water and hot oil at temperatures of 100 degrees Celsius or cold temperatures up to minus 20 degrees Celsius, they are microwave safe at 1,000 watts for five minutes, and can even go in the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes (from Test Report from Intertek
Testing Services (Thailand) Ltd.).

The Process

Biodegradation is the dissolution of materials by bacteria or other biological means. The materials are decomposed and return to compounds commonly found in nature such as water, methane, biomass, and carbon dioxide. Gracz is made from natural plant fibre and completely decomposes back into natural elements during the biodegradation process.

Gracz is made from 100 per cent natural plant pulp, is 100 per cent uncoated, and is 100 per cent compostable within 45 days in a typical environment. Since it is made from agricultural waste, the process of transforming bagasse into food packaging, then into additional nutrients for the soil once it is composted, is truly a circular approach to resource use.

Gracz has since been able to provide biodegradable alternatives to polystyrene (the use of which was banned by the Thai Government in 2016) and, in recent years, to single-use packaging (which has increased astronomically with the COVID-19 pandemic). These “traditional” materials do not biodegrade easily and their management and disposal cost the country billions in Thai Baht annually.

As Gracz containers are leak proof, oven safe and microwavable, and can be used for hot and cold food, they are excellent for Thai food, which includes soups and incorporates a variety of sauces. The products are available and distributed to a broad range of customers, including institutions, hospitals, restaurants, and street food vendors and hawkers.

Challenges

Cost

At about average 3 THB/pc, Gracz food packages versus non-microwaveable plastic options cost about 20 per cent more. This cost is comparable to higher-grade, microwaveable plastic. Nevertheless, because of better consumer awareness and concern about single-use plastic and the plastic pollution issue, the price is becoming more acceptable. With pricing incentives from the government or higher-demand volumes, a lower price point could be reached to increase take-up among more street vendors and small restaurants or businesses.

Education

Consumer demand for single-use packaging and plastic alternatives drives market trends. Safety concerns around COVID-19 during the past year meant this demand dropped significantly in favour of more single-use plastic. Through awareness-raising and education using channels such as the Ministry of Health, social media influencers, and local television shows, the company is scaling outreach activities to attain pre-COVID-19 levels of consumer use.

Fake News

Misleading information about the meaning of ‘biodegradable’ confuses consumers. Support from the government, from scientists, and from material experts to convey clear and harmonized messaging to the public about the term can reduce confusion. Terms such as ‘degradable’ or ‘compostable’ have to clearly indicate how they create micro plastics, and how these respond to conditions including temperature and time. The time period to achieve biodegradation, i.e., years versus months versus weeks, should be explicitly conveyed by producers of biodegradable items.

Results - the impacts

Employment:

The use of bagasse from sugar production processes extends work opportunities for the agricultural workforce. Gracz’s factories are located in Chinat Province, in close proximity to raw material sources. This allows for the creation of jobs in the area, generating incomes for the local communities. Almost 600 people are currently employed in the factory.

Health impacts:

Chemical additives that give plastics their pliability (i.e., phthalates) or special coatings that allow cardboard to contain liquids (perfluorinated chemicals) or that coat aluminium cans (bisphenol linings) determine if a material can be recycled or not, as well as if it can be extremely dangerous to human health. The use of natural plant fibre and materials makes containers and packaging products safer as they are free of substances that can cause cancer. While the direct impacts of plastic use on health cannot be easily quantified, one impact that could be extrapolated would be the raw materials from agricultural waste or the amount of bagasse that would have had to be burned, producing fine particles or PM2.5, which would have contributed to air pollution. Five-hundred million pieces of plastic-alternative packaging produced from almost 10,000 tons of bagasse saved these raw materials from being burned, which would have resulted in particulates being released into the air.

Less Plastic Wasted:

From 2010, most of Gracz’s products were exported to Europe, the US, and Japan, with only a residual 10 per cent for the local Thai market – about 50 million pieces. Over the last five years, however, this has increased so that currently about 80 per cent of production is for domestic use (or about 2 billion pieces), with 20 per cent allocated for export. This translates to an equivalent amount of avoided single-use plastic, which otherwise would have had to be collected (taxing formal and informal waste management systems) and / or would have eventually found its way into landfill or waterways.

Moving forward

In addition to coconut fibre, corn and rice husk, and water hyacinth – all of which are plentiful in Thailand – Gracz continues to develop other raw materials into products, staying true to the company’s objective of creating value from waste. The company is currently putting its efforts into developing face masks and hospital equipment such as single-use trays or disposable containers for medicines – items that are adding significantly to the country’s waste volume.

There is a clear opportunity to scale up the use of virgin agricultural waste and transform this into packaging resources, especially in the region where Gracz is based. As such, Gracz is also looking to support technology transfer as part of its vision to increase supply.

“Plastics are very useful and can do very good things. In my opinion, however, it is not ideal for single uses. That plastic has a very long life means that the uses for it should be equally as long lasting.”

Dr. Weerachat Kittirattanapaiboon

Gracz CEO

Download

GIVING OLD CLOTHES NEW LIFE

Case Study: Empowering inclusivity, and reusing plastic

This case study demonstrates market-based solutions towards “less plastic wasted”, exemplary solutions for transformational changes in the way plastic is managed in the value supply chain. Circular Economy approaches, including business incentives for plastic reduction and recycling, are used, leading to increases in plastic re-use and recycling, and to the reduction of single-use plastic packaging.

Background

Woven into the clothes that we wear, the towels, blankets and bed sheets, the cushions, curtains, and even the carpets that we use in our homes and places of work, plastic-based textiles are part and parcel of how we live. Mass production of synthetic fibres from petroleum-derived chemicals has led to low production cost for modern clothes, meaning that they are produced and consumed in large quantities (from 28 million tons in 2002 to 61.4 million tons in 2017, according to the Korea Chemical Fibers Association, Korea (2020)). With strong demand enabled by the allure of fast fashion, equally large volumes of discarded clothes and textiles currently end up in landfill, which is a big source of plastic leakage that poses a challenge in the quest for circularity.

Low production cost for

modern clothes, means they are produced and consumed in large quantities

The problem

The financial crisis of 2008 made it harder for millions of parents to provide for their families. For young Pamela Mejia, however, this provided the inspiration to finally expand a T-shirt printing business she started when she was 17 years old, into an online clothing store on Facebook. Managing the business meant constant exposure to the world of clothing, shoes and accessories – and yes, the inevitable question of where old clothes ended up, given the fast turnover of fashion and trends.

This reflection led the young entrepreneur to create a social enterprise that could help address the growing bulk of hand-me-down, donated, or even discarded clothing: a textile recycling business.
Phinix Textile Recycling, or simply Phinix, is a play on words indicating where Pam’s business is located (Philippines), and phoenix, which aptly conveys something rising from the ashes, or a thing of beauty and renewed use from something old or that had already been discarded.

The Process

Phinix is a textile recycling centre that collects textile wastes and transforms them into higher-value products such as footwear, fashion accessories and lifestyle pieces. The whole process for this transformation takes an average of three to four months (collecting and conceptualization, prototyping and quality assurance (QA), and production) from the time where enough material is available to produce a line.

1. Through word of mouth, donors bring old clothes from households and schools, as well as textile wastes such as fabric scraps and fabric rejects from clothing factories and fashion companies. Where distance is not an issue, requests for pick-up can be arranged with private households, small businesses (furniture companies that give their leather straps, or offcuts from carpets), and hotels or department stores (linen and bedsheet brands, test products, etc.).

2. The materials are stored and aggregated in a warehouse, which is currently Pamela’s family’s garage. The textiles are grouped primarily according to colour. Storage is a critical component as items of old clothes/scraps of material of one colour in small amounts may need to be stored for longer periods, or until there is a quantity that could support sufficient production volumes.

3. Even then, the process is highly bespoke. Upon reviewing the available materials, Pamela creates the design theme for the products. The materials are then laundered or washed by hand, and then handed over to either the shoemakers or the weavers:

Old velvet for example is good for turning into footwear. Phinix works with shoemakers or zapateros from Marikina (a city once known as the ‘Shoe Capital of the Philippines’, but whose industry has been slowly dying due to the import of cheap shoes from China), who produce lovely pieces.
Cotton or polyester is cut into long threads/strips, which are then used as raw material to loom and interweave with other natural materials (e.g. abaca, or Manila hemp) into new bulk material. To make these, Phinix works with a community of women with disabilities who not only earn money from the process but, more importantly, benefit from the meditative and relaxed state that can be induced by a handweaving style inspired by saori, or weaving in a manner to express oneself freely.
Phinix has lately been given almost 200 old and authentic Japanese kimonos which were destined for landfill. These were recycled and given new life in the latest line, Hinotori, which literally means bird of fire

4. Marketing for the finished clothes and accessories is done using social media (Facebook and Instagram). Until COVID-19, Phinix was also selling in pop-up stores in Manila and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Challenges

Storage

Sourcing raw materials and old clothes is not a problem. However, storage space is limited and will have to be scaled up with a larger warehouse to accommodate the higher volumes of donations and clothes that are being given to Phinix. Due to space limitations, Phinix has had to turn down many donations.

Volume

The lead time from collection to upcycling the actual output (either cut directly from the fabric or cut into strips) can be longer (meaning the stay in storage is longer) than ideal. It would be shorter if the minimum volume requirements were easily met with adequate volumes of homogeneous colours.

Growth

As a sole proprietorship, Phinix is faced with issues related to Pamela’s schedule and all the tasks that have to be managed directly by her. Nevertheless, there is the possibility to grow with business partners at the right time in the future, if only to expand impact and “save” more textiles destined to be burned or thrown into landfill.

Funds

Availability of funds and capital for Phinix would allow for more permanent storage space to be acquired, as well as for machinery to support future plans. Pamela remains very active participating in challenges and incentive programmes to increase visibility of her work and possibly even access impact funding that could support the enterprise’s vision and reach.

Results - the impacts

Less wastages:

(Avoided waste) Since starting in 2015, Phinix has facilitated the re-use of almost 4,000 kilos of textiles, saving it from being sent to landfill.

Community support:

Employment for five zapatero families in Marikina and support for the livelihood programmes led by the VSA Philippines Textile Weaving Community – a grass-roots organization composed of persons with disabilities who produce the saori weaving for Phinix’s clothes.

Moving forward

This year, Pamela is looking at ways to improve storage. A real warehouse would be useful, especially to receive and organize the textiles. This would allow for bigger volumes, which would have a knock-on effect of more raw materials for shoes and woven clothing and, therefore, more employment for shoemakers and weavers. Since it is still highly bespoke, there is a limit to the quantities that can be produced – which will continue to attract an online clientele that is looking for more meaningful and sustainable clothing choices.

Furthermore, in order to address the minimum volume requirement for recycling collected materials, Phinix has made plans to use new applications that do not separate by colour. Pamela has already determined that using the textiles as materials for making bricks would be the next step towards making her production processes more efficient, and is looking to acquire a mechanical textile shredder and moulding press. The upcycled products are to be sold online as well as in home improvement centres, where it will be possible to distribution to a wider public.

SUSTAINABLE FUNDING MECHANISMS THAT EMPOWER COMMUNITIES AND CLEAN THE OCEANS

SD Symposium 2020 Circular Economy: Actions for Sustainable Future

SD Symposium 2020 “Circular Economy: Actions for Sustainable Future” is a collaborative platform that invites all sectors to find solutions for a sustainable future with the Circular Economy, a concept that lays an emphasis on resource maximization covering the entire process from planning, designing, manufacturing, consumption, waste management to recycling. The platform aims to promote a radical shift in production and consumption and create a collaboration of all players, which are businesses, government, communities, and everyone in the society, together with expanding the partnership to support implementation in all sectors.

ECOSYSTEM BUSINESS MODEL FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES AND A RENEWED SENSE OF VALUE INHERENT IN PLASTIC

Case Study: Plastic Collective

ECOSYSTEM BUSINESS MODEL FOR SMALL COMMUNITIES AND A RENEWED SENSE OF VALUE INHERENT IN PLASTIC

A. Background

Plastic Collective started in 2016, when Louise Hardman decided to launch a start-up that would stop plastic pollution. Spurred to action by the sight of a turtle that was found to have ingested 30 different kinds of plastic in its stomach (the turtle died three days later), Louise decided on a plan that would make use of these same plastic wastes and turn it into a resource with economic value.

Louise launched her efforts designing, and then working with engineers to build a machine that could process plastic waste and recycle them into usable material. Armed with common sense and clear vision of what she wanted, the first Shruder, a combined shredder and extruder machine, was built not long after. With her passion and with this prototype, Louise pitched the plan to investors, and secured funds for the machine’s commercial development.

Today, Plastic Collective (PC) provides purpose-built plastic recycling machinery and the newly developed ‘Shruder Recycling Stations’, plus training and technical support that empowers remote and vulnerable communities. The areas PC works in includes Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Timor-Leste. The bespoke ‘hardware stack’ which makes up the Shruder Recycling Stations are an integral part of a business model that allows communities to take control of their plastic waste, keep their environments clean, and improve the health of their communities as they create and operate their own plastic recycling micro-enterprises.

B. The Issue

According to Ocean Conservancy, there are about 8 to 12 million metric tons of plastics entering our ocean every year, on top of the estimated 150 million metric tons already in our marine environments. 74 per cent of this plastic trash comes from Asia, with many communities burning, burying or dumping waste plastics directly into the oceans and environment.

Remote communities in Asia-Pacific often have low GDP’s, with people earning less than USD 5,000 a year. As such, these communities have no access to waste collection facilities, and no financial capacity to setup their own. This results in up to 100% of their plastic waste ending up in the ocean.

Marine pollution threatens biological ecosystems that support coastal livelihoods. The combined infrastructure problem and the decentralized nature of management in the islands and remote regions dictate the need to plan for small, remote infrastructure that can be run independently of irregular and unreliable electricity supply.

C. The Strategy

The strategy for market transformation involves coordinating both the supply and demand sides for recycled plastic.

THE SUPPLY SIDE

Education

Plastic Collective works with communities which are often forgotten by the rest of the world, as they struggle to hold back the tide of plastic waste engulfing their environment. These communities include three pilots which were organized in Mantanani Island (Borneo Malaysia), Les Village (North Bali, Indonesia), and Whitsunday Islands (Australia). The communities had population densities between about 1,000 and 40,000 people.

Community visits and education programs that encourage plastic to be a valuable recyclable resource rather than rubbish, were targeted to match people’s capacity to learn, and were integrated into schools and plastic recovery stations in these locations. Flexible online learning (pedagogy around communities that don’t have literacy but have high visual skills) support people in the communities who have been identified to learn and eventually are able to train the rest of the community.

Infrastructure

There are a number of off the shelf solutions that are easily scalable and fitted to the needs of the community. The Shruder machines and other equipment used are light enough and sized appropriately, to enable easy transport within containers onto the islands which often can be a challenge (as these small islands usually will have no harbors or ports, limited landing areas, etc.). This limitation in infrastructure availability also requires that any material that comes out from these islands needs to be small and compact enough in volume for easier handling.

Shruder Recycling Stations are mobile, robust, turn-key and fit-for-purpose. Easily transportable, they can fit into either a standard 6 x 4 trailer or a 20ft shipping container, depending on the equipment stack required. As electricity supply in these locations is mostly irregular and unreliable, the machines can be powered either by mains power (single phase) or by 3-phase generators. The machines are containerized, as usually there is the absence of decent, safe, dry locations to set up the equipment (single-phase).

The Business Model

With a package of technologies, machinery, training and support, these communities are in the process of establishing a profitable plastic recycling micro-enterprise that allows them to be part of the recycling supply chain.

In the pilot communities, plastic materials come through 4 collection areas including households, businesses, organizations or special programs, with various modes of transport delivery and personal collectors, making up a diverse combination of recovery channels available. These channels are evaluated, which helps establish the collection capacity of the communities. Given the low population densities, discarded plastic material volumes are also limited, at about 10 tons average, per month for up to 10,000 people.

Plastic materials are processed and sold to markets which have been previously identified. 60 per cent of the output materials are recycled plastic shreds, pellets or flakes, which can be sold. With more processing, the material prices can be higher by about USD2-3/kg.

40 per cent of the usable materials are turned into local products with values starting at $4/kg.

The collection and recycling process is certified according to the Global Plastic Standard, a plastic accounting standard which not only validates the material mass, polymer types and forms, location where collected, and the energy and water consumption to collect that plastic, but also ensures that the communities conform to the specified ethical, environmental and fair trade standards. A transparent and measurable means for determining the amount and value of plastic retired from the environment allows for a clear basis for the creation of the plastic credits.

THE DEMAND SIDE

Selling Plastic Neutrality

Through Plastic Collective’s plastic credit program, companies who are aware of their plastic footprint are introduced to a strategy that helps them reduce their plastic consumption. Plastic credits backed by the community projects from both Mantanani Island, Les Village and Whitsunday provide an option for companies to address the final balance of their plastic footprint, after implementing internal reduction, reuse, and recycle activities.

Companies like the Global Good Collective, for example, sought to purchase plastic credits to offset the sale of 1 million units of toilet paper. Using the anticipated number of units sold per year by the product plastic footprint of (or the plastic weight of the product unit = plastic in the actual product itself (TP) + plastic used in the primary (customer facing) packaging), a target for equivalent plastic credits was determined.

Purchasing credits supported product brand-neutral claims for 12 months. If the company sells less than it forecasts, the matching unused credits can roll over to next year. If more is sold, the company will purchase more.

The credits are sold on the website:

The profits from the sale of the recycled plastic and plastic credits are ploughed back into the communities as payment for the waste materials brought in by the community and for the maintenance of the equipment.

D. The Challenges

Community buy-in

Community involvement is critical for the program to succeed. Working closely with the community on how to plan and approach the plastic pollution issue – and the potential for using these as resources for a collective micro-enterprise is part of the ongoing effort to build awareness. Community capacity is supported by providing training commensurate to the learning capabilities and style of the participants.

Scaling

Small and remote communities can’t pay for the cost of the equipment and hence, seed funding from patrons and sponsors are necessary to start the projects. For sustainability, it is crucial to demonstrate that returns from selling recycled materials and plastic credits can support the investments in the micro-recycling equipment. There is a clear need for a financing vehicle that will provide the capital upfront, to buy and install the equipment for the community, with the returns to be recovered from the sale of plastic credits.

Critical mass to justify economic returns

Plastic material volumes from many of the smaller communities are not enough to justify the investments. The experience from the two pilot projects highlights the fragility of the economics, given low plastic volumes, and limited opportunities with the recycled outputs and upcycled materials.

Hence, PC is looking at building capacity within a network of islands to have scale, where the main processing takes place in the biggest islands (or that nearest the mainland), which would be the ‘hub’. The smaller islands (or ‘spokes’) are organized to collect the material, undertake a light level of processing, and then send the materials to the hub.

Dramatic economies of scale are also realized with more participants, especially considering the cost of transporting the goods across islands.

E. Impacts

Creating employment and generating greater profit for the community.

The community can then employ local staff (6–12+ people) to run the resource recovery micro-enterprises, generating a profit for the good of the community. Educating and creating awareness among more families and their children helps in reinforcing the value of reducing single use plastic and recycling higher value plastics.

Social benefits

Co-benefits from the pilot project include better health and sanitation from a cleaner environment, empowerment through collective enterprises that not only address waste management but also provide a livelihood source for the community, and a sense of pride and the well-being it affords for the residents of Mantanani Island, Les Village and Whitsunday islands, are some of the social impacts the projects have resulted in.

F. What’s Next? - Moving Forward

Promoting a Hub and Spoke model

As not all island communities can justify the investment, or may not have enough plastic material available to match the machine capacity, it becomes economically unviable for communities to invest and expect returns. This is where the ‘hub and spoke’ model would enable these communities access to the solutions.

Smaller islands can be equipped with recovery: collection and sorting processes which allows for valuable and simpler processing. These island spokes would then send these sorted materials to the larger island hubs, where the Recycling Stations would concentrate and recycle materials into raw and finished products.

Machine improvements

The ability to upgrade the Shruder Recycling equipment to increase output and capacity is also an option, as the modular nature of the design would provide a range of suitable equipment from baling, granulating, extruding, compression moulding and injection, as well in increasing power consumption to 3-phase and other product options. A greater range of processing equipment would also allow for an expanded product portfolio, with product design, mould and dies also available with PC’s expert recycled product technicians

New Markets

Many FMCG companies are expressing interest to include plastic offsets in their arsenal of plastic use reduction efforts. Footprint calculation for products can be simpler, and hence is low-hanging opportunity for plastic neutrality.

Quotable quotes/ Messages (Louise Hardman):

The fly in the ointment is the license to continue, and what you have done, or how transparent your best endeavors are to do everything that is possible to reduce your plastic footprint before you take your license to continue with the credits.

The right to produce is a business issue. It’s buying businesses’ credibility by offsetting which can be controversial. I explain it as the option of last resort for a company: do everything first, then you do neutrality.

There is one element that needs to be really thoroughly developed with any plastic standard: the solution needs to be traceable and there needs to be highly qualified components of the certification (the best efforts to reduce).

EXPERIENCES IN PLASTIC OFFSETTING

Case Study: Starboard

EXPERIENCES IN PLASTIC OFFSETTING

This case study demonstrates market-based solutions towards “less plastic wasted”, exemplary solutions for transformational changes in the way the plastic is managed in the supply chain. Circular economy approaches, including business incentives for plastic reduction and recycling, are used, leading to increase in plastic re-use and recycle and to the reduction in single use plastic packaging.

More than 9 million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans, wreaking havoc to marine life and at least USD 8 Billion in damage to marine ecosystems.

Scientists tells us that the ocean is expected to contain more plastics than fish (by weight) by 2050. The founders of Starboard, being surfers have seen firsthand the impact of plastic pollution in our ocean and how it is increasing at an alarming rate.

In many developing nations, large populations and rapid urbanization overwhelm the local waste management infrastructure. Low waste collection rates and high littering trends produce substantial pollution both in the surrounding land and marine environments.

Fishing nets abandoned in the sea – experts estimate that roughly 640,000 tons are currently in the oceans, accounting for 10 per cent of all plastic waste in the sea (FAO-UNEP report). Starboard has incorporated the use of resins from recycled fish nets as fins for their boards.

People and organizations are becoming more aware about the importance of recycling plastic waste. Companies are embarking on innovations and technology, exploring alternatives to virgin plastic. Some are even incorporating recycling and collection into business models in a way that incentivizes the informal sector, provides income and livelihood, and encourages other businesses to apply circular approaches.

A. Background

Starboard, is a world leading watersports company founded by Olympic windsurfer Svein Rasmussen in 1994. Dedicated to innovation and quality ‘even as it pushes the limits of ocean athletic possibilities’, Starboard’s vision is to change how businesses and the world see plastic and to reshape the plastic economy into a safer and greener system, so that watersport enthusiasts can paddle clean waters and sail plastic-free seas’.

B. The Challenge

As a company that produces boards and related equipment for paddling, surfing, windsurfing and kiteboarding/kitesurfing which are exported to over 70 countries, Starboard is aware of its role in the use of plastic for its products. One of the means sought to address this contribution and become part of the solution is through the company’s determination to:

calculate its plastic footprint through their Plastic Disclosure Project

set up an internal plastic offset program

become Carbon Past Positive, or balancing not only the current carbon footprint, but that of entire 25 years that the business was in existence

C. The Interventions

In 2017, Starboard started foot printing their carbon and plastic use. Using the Plastic Disclosure Project methodology, Starboard understood and quantified the areas where recycled content, increased material recovery, or the use of eco-innovation changes could be made in their product line, and where its plastic footprint could be reduced within its operations.

Starboard went through the process of understanding its complete plastic use and waste footprint and was able to benchmark the amount for its boards, accessories, apparel, packaging, and operations for both 2017 and 2018. The Parley AIR Concept, a hierarchy of “Avoid, Intercept, and Redesign”, has been and still is being applied to review the items of plastic used within the company. This helps Starboard recognize where single-use plastic can be eliminated and replaced by other materials such as recycled plastic, bio-resins or natural materials including end grain balsa wood and pine technology.

For the carbon footprint, the Starboard environmental team calculates a Life Cycle Analysis for all boards each year. On average, the manufacturing of a board creates 100 kilograms of carbon dioxide. To offset this, Starboard works with Worldview International Foundation to plant mangrove trees in the Thor Heyerdahl Climate Park in Myanmar. Each mangrove tree is capable of absorbing 1,000 kilograms of CO2 within the first 20 years of its life, this means that the emissions of a Starboard board is more than matched, making it carbon positive. Starboard covers its carbon footprint for all areas across the company, including the travel of employees and team riders, electricity use of the various Starboard offices, the creation of all accessories and paper packaging and also from shipping. To verify all calculations, Starboard worked with Carbon Footprint UK and calculates that within the next 20 years, all of Starboards emissions since 1994 will have been absorbed.

For every board sold, Starboard collects part of the profit and sets it aside as a ‘plastic tax’ for each board produced. The company uses this tax to compensate the Plastic Offset Program clean up team for collecting 1.1 kilograms of plastic trash for each board sold. 1.1 kilograms is the equivalent to the amount of plastic trash entering the ocean, per person, per year. Starboard allocates part of its profit to generate action for the planet.

Starboard initiated the world’s first Plastic Offset Program (POP) at the end of 2017 to reduce the company’s plastic footprint. This is done by assigning an internal price/tax on each plastic material, which is then multiplied by its usage in each of the Starboard products. The dollar value assigned to each of the plastic materials is based on: (1) duration of use (lifespan), (2) toxicity (harm to the environment), and (3) creation of waste (recycled/bio content). By accounting for these factors with an offset price, the Plastic Offset Program acknowledges the dynamic nature of the problems caused by plastics and further clarifies – and quantifies – the investment necessary to mitigate its impact through the Plastic Offset Program.

This tax is internalized in the pricing of its products and is used to fund the POP programme. Starboard also pays for the following ‘Plastic Net Positive’ activities, such as:

Advocating for legislation that taxes the use of plastic materials and bans several single-use plastics in Thailand. This means companies will be required to internalize the social cost of carbon and plastic waste into their production costs. This year, Starboard will be going through another footprint exercise for its new product lines. Each board, each accessory as well as each area in the company that utilizes plastic, will be dissected.

Research and Development of materials which can replace toxic thermoplastics like PVC, Avoid-Intercept-Redesign philosophy holds products to achieve high performance and lower environmental impact.

In many cases, the hotels found that local suppliers appreciated the reduced operating cost to their business by reduced packaging, and that what was initially resistance to change quickly pivoted to wholehearted adoption, as with container take-back programs. One food supplier, Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam, is now avoiding 20,000 delivery bags per year by using paper with reusable baskets.

funding support for NGOs to reduce plastic pollution impacts in waterways both in Bangkok and world-wide. Starboard works with organizations to collect and upcycle discarded fishing nets, which are fully recycled into material for use in its surfboard components like fins, fin boxes, Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) pumps and other structural parts in surfboards (Akulon Repurposed). Starboard is now doing this in India and will also work with NGOs based in Thailand (EJF) to recycle the collected fishing nets into resins which will be used in the production of its board fins.

D. Impacts

The POP program encourages Starboard to rethink and reinvent how plastic is used and further reduce the plastic consumption. Eliminating plastics from production or switching to less harmful varieties (and thus with lower offset prices) will lead to a reduced investment in the Plastic Offset Program, thereby incentivizing companies to reengineer and reduce their plastic consumption habits.

For each board produced, Starboard enables the collection of 1.1 kilograms of beach/ocean plastic trash, the equivalent amount of plastic trash entering the ocean, per person, per year.

By accounting for the plastic lifespan, harm to the environment, and recycled/bio content in its products with an offset price, the Plastic Offset Program acknowledges the dynamic nature of the problems caused by plastics and further clarifies – and quantifies – the investment necessary to mitigate the impact of plastic used. Such a pricing scheme also encourages companies like Starboard to rethink and reinvent how they use plastic in an effort to reduce the external cost of the plastics they use.

E. Results and Outcomes

Over the past 12 months (TBC), Starboard has already replaced over 21.2 per cent of virgin plastic with recycled plastic and reduced overall plastic consumption by 6.5 per cent by using more biomaterials.

It has also increased the amount of plastic collected from 43,000 kilograms in 2018 to 50,000 kilograms in 2019.

F. Challenges

Engagement of the people – Trash volumes in the beaches differ, depending on the season and the time of year. Retaining manpower can also be a challenge. Nevertheless, continuous efforts are made to educate the pickers. Training and retraining them to understand why they’re doing it, and the opportunities for income are always stressed.

G. Moving Forward

Starboard plans to work using the POP scheme with more communities in Thailand. Each year, the team identifies locations with large volumes of plastic trash needing removal and works with the local authorities to be granted permission to do so.

The company will also be launching a new clothing brand in 2021, which is heavily environment focused. The weight of the product will be matched with an equivalent weight of plastic to be removed from the environment. This cost will be reflected in the pricing of the garments and will be set aside from the sales proceeds for use in the collection efforts. This provides an opportunity for consumers to support a cause that reduces the amount of plastic pollution entering our oceans.

Quotes:

We’re outside in nature all the time. When we’re out in the water, we see what’s happening. And for us to be producing and contributing to this economy that uses plastic, we decided to show what we could be doing.

We want companies to join us. We already have the teams that go out every day (like adding to the fund for paying collectors)

People are choosing Starboard because of their work with the mangroves and the Plastic Offset Program

We want to change the social aspect, how people tend to view waste. There’s a disconnection of the waste that goes into the environment and human health. There’s no care. We need to look after what’s around us in order for us to have a better life.

Links to further information:

https://blue.star-board.com/news/starboard-launches-worlds-first-plastic-offset-program/

https://blue.star-board.com/news/plastic-offset-program-19-20-target-reached-what-have-we-learnt/

INFLUENCING THE VALUE CHAINS TO REDUCE PLASTIC USE

Case Study: Six Senses

INFLUENCING THE VALUE CHAINS TO REDUCE PLASTIC USE

This case study demonstrates market-based solutions towards “less plastic wasted” highlighting transformational changes in the way plastic is managed in the value chain. Applying circular economy approaches, including business incentives for plastic reduction and recycling has led to an increase in plastic re-use and recycling rate and reduction in single use plastic packaging.

A. Background

Six Senses Resorts was founded in 1995, with the vision of shaking up the luxury resort experience. Pioneering barefoot luxury, Six Senses works with both global and local sensitivities by engaging people, cultures and ecosystems in their locations to provide quality remote island experiences.

From growing its own organic produce to learning how to close the loop on waste to coral restoration and reforestation projects, the organization has been a leader in sustainability. The business case for Six Senses’ work on plastic begins with its positioning as a brand and its commitment to its guests and communities. With this, Six Senses hotels decided at the onset not to have single-use plastic shampoo and amenity bottles in their rooms since Day 1. ‘Why have plastic at all?’ has been a question it continuously challenges itself. In 2004, all Six Senses hotels were equipped with water bottling systems to avoid using plastic water bottles, and in 2016 the organization achieved plastic straw elimination in all of its resorts.

B. The Strategy

Defined baseline and metrics. Six Senses started by defining the plastic challenge for its resorts and identify questions and opportunities. Inventories are created for all plastic items, and over the years, efforts made to avoid or eliminate these inventoried plastic items. From the installation of water bottling systems, the elimination of straws, or minimizing the use of cling wrap by timing arrivals of food production quantities, such programs are usually piloted and tested in a few resorts first. This is followed by clear assessments vs the baseline, evaluations, including reports highlighting lessons learned are generated and shared. The pilots help define “plastic”, set priorities and methodologies, and establish the metrics and criteria for success (i.e., for “compostable”). These are then rolled out groupwide.

In 2018, an inventory was completed of all plastic items existing in every Six Senses hotel, resort, spa, and corporate office – from clingwrap in the kitchens to air-conditioning units in the guest rooms. These items are categorized as single-use, multiple-use and long-term. Today, this inventory continues to inform Six Senses’ implementation strategy.

The strategy does not focus on the weight or volume of the plastic waste, although such are already tracked for all types of waste as part of the Resort’s larger sustainability management program. The key metric for Plastic Free 2022 is the number of plastic items eliminated or avoided per year. By conducting an annual evaluation, this metric is naturally skewed towards single use plastics. By eliminating or avoiding the plastic items altogether, negative impacts associated with the entire plastic product lifecycle are reduced, and not only with waste disposal.

As Six Senses’ strategy continues to unfold, metrics on avoidance and elimination of plastic items are revisited, and every win along the way celebrated within the organization.

Training the Organization: Sustainability leadership workshops and training series take place regularly, designed to engage corporate team leaders, senior management, unit heads and hosts around the issues of plastic, how this relates to the organization and how it relates to families and individuals. Training Managers and Sustainability Managers at all Hotels have been delivering training covering topics as, ‘What is Plastic?’, ‘Microplastics, Wildlife, Human Health, and Solutions’, with the goal of 100% participation.

Work with the Community: Many hotel units have aligned with local community organizations to raise awareness and empowerment toward plastic free lifestyles. Each property has an Earth Lab, where guests interested in plastic-free lifestyles can learn through activities such as making beeswax wraps which can be used to replace cling films.

Focus on Supplier engagement: Six Senses focuses on waste avoidance rather than waste disposal, and this is executed with careful purchasing strategies and product selection. Packaging forms the bulk of plastic waste and thus defines the critical role of suppliers. Six Senses continuously works with them to address this. In 2019, the Purchasing Teams of all Six Senses hotel sent written notification to their suppliers, informing them of the organization’s goal to be plastic free. This letter solicited ideas and alternative products along with a pledge that suppliers were encouraged to sign to. There was great support received from some unexpected stakeholders in Six Senses’ supply chains, and alternative suppliers were sought to replace organizations that refused to participate.

Six Senses values its supply chain relationships and continues to seek innovative new products and suppliers aligned with their plastic goals. The organization continues to build in this area, seeking alternatives to plastic and planning additional training for its suppliers and Purchasing teams.

C. Challenges

Lack of alternatives to plastic. Some items like plastic-free air conditioners or cling film simply do not exist yet. This is not lost on the organization even as it nevertheless sets its vision on the innovations and developments happening in its chains, and the demand driven by Six Senses’ guests, the public, and local governments around the world.

Too much packaging is the default. Packaging is a huge hurdle representing a colossal and mostly unseen burden of single use plastic waste. Kitchen health and safety standards may need to adapt to allow a return to a world without single use plastic. Plastic has become so ubiquitous to everyday life that we tend to not even notice it.

COVID-19: The current situation where big plastic companies are seizing the opportunity to lobby for a repeal of government bans on single use plastic, is a big setback. Concern about whether the use of plastic gloves and wrappers reduces the risk of infection, or if natural fabrics pose less risk vs. plastic surfaces at spreading the virus, should also be addressed through reliable information from authorized health organizations to assuage fears.

D. Impacts

Based on the latest recount as of July 2019, Six Senses’ 18 hotels successfully eliminated or avoided 5.15 million pieces of plastic per year. Those figures include over 1.69 million water bottles, 1.12 million coffee capsules, 26,000 toothbrushes, 460,000 packaging items, 52,000 single-use bags, and over 320,000 plastic straws.

The hotels’ water bottling installations can expect a two-year payback period in locations with non-potable tap water, realized by the cost savings from not purchasing plastic bottled water.

Six Senses hotels benefit financially by not paying for handling and disposal of 5.15 million waste items per year, plus by strengthened relationships with suppliers.

Six Senses Laamu in Maldives for example is working with Air Seafood to avoid 8,500 Styrofoam boxes per year by shipping food in Biobiene wood fiber containers (FSC certified). In addition to saving on cost of waste, the hotel now has an excellent source of carbon to create healthy compost which eliminates the need to purchase chemical fertilizers, while supporting vegetable production from the hotel gardens.

In many cases, the hotels found that local suppliers appreciated the reduced operating cost to their business by reduced packaging, and that what was initially resistance to change quickly pivoted to wholehearted adoption, as with container take-back programs. One food supplier, Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam, is now avoiding 20,000 delivery bags per year by using paper with reusable baskets.

E. Lessons Learned

For any hotel unsure of where to start on their journey to eliminate plastics, water filtration is an excellent place to start. It saves operating cost, eliminates plastic bottles, while cutting down carbon emissions associated with transporting water across distances.

Packaging represents an immense volume of single use plastic and is difficult to tackle directly. Six Senses did not fully anticipate the complexity of working with multiple businesses within and throughout its supply chains, which is required to effect changes in packaging. Shorter, local supply chains are less complex and have other benefits for local economies. Longer, global supply chains may require industry level engagement or government regulation to solve.

An unexpected lesson learned is related to the metrics used by Six Senses. The plan was originally for an inventory of all plastic items used across the group to form a baseline, which then be periodically revised. The number of items eliminated or avoided is then calculated against that baseline. What they found though, was the inventory of plastic items kept growing, not shrinking, despite the acknowledged significant reductions of certain items. The reason? The teams got better at seeing and reporting plastic items. As a result of such engagement efforts, Six Senses Hosts have gained greater awareness of the plastic around us. To date, the metrics used now simply track the number of items eliminated and avoided and use the inventory data to inform strategy.

F. Moving Forward

Six Senses took a deep dive into the latest science to form their revised strategy on plastic: Plastic Free 2022. The organization set the extremely ambitious goal of eliminating not only single use plastic, but all plastic involved in its operations. Starting with single-use and disposable plastic as top priority, the aim is to carefully reduce exposure to this petrochemical material for guests and communities, being mindful of its harmful impacts to wellness and wildlife. This means transitioning to natural compostable materials in some cases, and to high quality reusable materials in other cases.

Management knows this is difficult, if not impossible to achieve. It nevertheless sees the goal as something to strive for, as a vision that not only supports and sustains the environment where the hotels are situated and the livelihoods that depend on it, but enhance the experience for guests and visitors of staying in a Six Senses Resort.

Quotes:

We’re taking a “Leap of faith” with the goal, and we’re going to push it as far as we can. It is an unorthodox position, and we don’t really know yet how we’re going to get there, but we will.

It’s important to note that world did exist prior to the 1940s and hotels and most commercial kitchens can operate safely without plastic.

LOCAL STRATEGIES TO EFFECTIVE PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT MODELS

Case Study: Wangwa Community

LOCAL STRATEGIES TO EFFECTIVE PLASTIC WASTE MANAGEMENT MODELS

A. Introduction

In many developing nations, large populations and rapid urbanization overwhelm the local waste management infrastructure. Robust consumption, low waste collection rates and high littering trends produce substantial pollution both in the surrounding land and marine environments. For smaller communities in peri-urban areas, solid waste management can be an even more complex and multi-dimensional challenge, mainly because of their geographies, limited resources, and economic activities. For one such community in Thailand, this challenge was addressed by a combination of practical interventions, community involvement, sustainable systems and relevant partnerships. This case study demonstrates exemplary approaches to the way plastic is managed within the community which led to an increase in recycling and reduction in single-use plastic packaging while improving the health and wellbeing of the people.

B. The Challenge – Baseline scenario

Wangwa is in the Kleang District of Rayong, an industrial province on the eastern Gulf coast of Thailand, about 220 kilometers away from Bangkok. The province is part of the country’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC), where both government and private sector’s focus is to develop the eastern seaboard area into a vibrant economic hub for the Mekong region.

The community is situated in an agricultural zone of the province and has a coastal frontage. About 8.1 hectares in size, the new Wangwa community was established in 2011 and has a population of 522 households (2,100 persons), with many of the community population working in the factories in Rayong City, about 50 kilometres away.

In the community’s early days, there was no waste management system in place. Families lived among piles of trash and filth and were at risk of catching diseases caused by the pollution that surrounded them. The local government had limited resources allocated to the community, with small garbage trucks doing once-weekly rounds to collect the garbage from the households. The services were clearly insufficient to keep pace with the population, which was rapidly growing as people moved to the area to live closer to the jobs in nearby Rayong City.

C. The Interventions (How was it done?)

It took some time before any clear and concerted action was established to address the critical waste issue. Through the crusade of some concerned residents, door-to-door visits were initiated in 2013, to solicit community members’ support in addressing the mounting pollution crisis they themselves had created.

The Wangwa waste management model was established in 2013. Mr. Sayan Rungreaung, a local environmental advocate, led community committee members on a program to work with each household to segregate their organic waste. Through this effort, at least 18 tons of organic waste were collected monthly, which were used to feed animals or as fertilizer. A recycling bank and a community-led organic waste management system were fully implemented in 2015.

Soon after, the municipal government and some businesses with local presence also joined the effort, helping to provide facilities, equipment, and roads necessary to launch the community’s recycling initiative. In 2018, the community engaged with PPP Plastics¹ to further improve on the model which had now become integrated into the Wangwa community’s way of life.

The already established community of practice in Wangwa allowed PPP Plastic to fast-track the development of a more effective local waste management system. It is this high degree of community involvement and commitment that formed the foundation of a system that was culturally appropriate, inclusive, sustainable, and transparent.

The Wangwa Model

The Wangwa community model puts the onus of segregation at the household level: households segregate their waste into four streams – organic waste, recyclable waste, hazardous waste and general waste.

Monthly waste collection is about 40,000 kilograms, where 75 per cent is organic waste, with the rest as recyclable and general waste. Plastics constitute most of the non-organic waste (2,000 kilograms per month). The community, working closely with the municipality and with PPP Plastics, manages the collection of data, with processes in place to measure the waste volumes.

Organic waste is collected daily by youth volunteers from each household and brought to the organic waste management facility located in the community, where it is processed to make organic fertilizer, liquid fertilizer and animal feed.

The monthly average of about 30,000 kilograms of organic waste can be processed into 12,000 kilograms of biological fertilizer and 3,000 kilograms of animal feed from food waste, 500 kilograms of organic fertilizer, 150 kilograms of fertilizer from earthworms, and 250 liters of liquid fertilizer. The products are used by the community or are sold to visitors.

Recyclable waste is collected by households and sold to the Recycle Storage Area every month. Elderly volunteers sort the items, and segregate and clean about 5,000 kilograms of plastic and plastic bottles, aluminum, and paper every month. These post-consumer items are sold to recycling businesses and factories requiring recycled materials or upcycled within the community into products for sale to businesses and consumers.

General and hazardous wastes (batteries, lighting, aerosols cans, etc.) are collected from the households every Tuesday by local waste services or can be dropped off by households at designated points in the community. These are segregated and then brought to the Provincial Waste Treatment Center located in Rayong City.

The Wangwa model for managing the waste is supported by infrastructure located in 800 square meters of common public space. The local government provided the land, and seed money from various partners and by PPP Plastics was made available to add or upgrade facilities for processing the organic waste into animal feed and fertilizer; a storage facility for plastic and recyclable materials; and a learning center for the community. A team of community members, supported by volunteers, runs and manages the entire set-up.

A team of 13 people manages the different fertilizer stations. Another team of 10 people manages the recycled materials. These are locals who have been trained through years of experience and through continuous learning with experts and by community volunteers who are paid or given incentives for their work.

The Learning Center in Wangwa is a venue for holding workshops and training in organic waste management, fertilizer production, and recycling and processing plastic into new products. It has become a tourist attraction and a learning center for the province as well. Last year for example, almost 15,000 visitors from nearby communities and even from the northern and southern parts of Thailand went to the Learning Center to attend workshops.

Elderly community volunteers sort the recyclable materials and are provided monetary incentives for their participation.

The incentives are derived from the income generated from the whole project: from sales of fertilizer, from recyclable materials to recycling businesses, and from workshops and visitor sales. This income also supports a community fund to use for the senior members of the community (logistics costs to hospitals), scholarship for the kids, and free WIFI for the 500 households, and even neighborhood security.

Waste that are sold in Wangwa but cannot be converted to fertilizer or recycled, is sent to the Rayong Waste Treatment Center and Landfill, an integrated system that has the capacity to handle 1,000 tons of waste a day. This provincial waste treatment center services Rayong’s 68 municipalities and 600 communities, in addition to a few other neighbouring provinces.

D. The Wangwa Model

Self-sustaining circular system. The model for sustainable waste management in Wangwa promotes material reuse, recycling, and transformation into new products, creating a circular economy that curbs waste entering the environment. This is driven by a community that is involved, understands the need to sort waste at source, and possesses the right knowledge.

Sorting out the organic waste and segregating in situ has also allowed Wangwa to send “higher quality” waste to the Rayong Treatment Center and Landfill. This supports the Rayong provincial targets for better management of the landfill, given the limited land area and the breakdown in waste processing equipment that result from unsorted, contaminated waste. A working model like Wangwa’s can be adopted and scaled, especially in communities where no segregation is taking place, not only to optimize investments in infrastructure (minimizing machine breakdowns) but also to prolong landfill life with lesser waste volumes.

Appropriate technology and local capacity. The waste management system should be affordable and simple, and something a community can handle. Easy, accessible innovation and technology can be sustained over longer periods of time. With support and seed money, communities can start with the basic organic waste treatment stations and proceed step by step. The main investment from local governments would be the common space allocation for the collection of organic waste. Good management and efficient technology that matches local capacity further enables the system.

Community commitment and partnerships. Big investment is not the key success factor. More crucial is a committed community leadership supported by its members, with a successful network of local authorities and related businesses united to collaborate on improving waste management and reducing plastic waste.

Partnership with the PPP Plastics has greatly supported the community and provides further opportunities for scale, and for transferring learning and experiences to other communities in Rayong and the rest of Thailand.

Enhanced community knowledge. Continuous efforts to educate and raise awareness among the constituents, especially the younger generation, on the management and sorting of waste including plastics are entrenched in the community of practice. Responsible consumption patterns are promoted among community members, encouraging them to segregate waste at home.

Income for the community. Recycling plastics and processing organic waste have brought economic benefits to the community. 30,000 kilograms of organic waste per month are processed into fertilizer that is sold to visitors and are used for community tree planting and gardening activities. This translates to a monthly income of about THB 21,600 (or USD680). These proceeds are ploughed back into the community and used for scholarships and for provision of free public WiFi. The income from sorting and selling recyclables range from THB12,000 to 15,000 THB per month.

Community behaviour that is predisposed towards managing waste at source resulted from first-hand experience of living with garbage and filth in the streets. This behaviour was further encouraged by a system that empowered the community to act and enjoy the direct benefits of their efforts.

Measurable impacts. Higher quality recyclables: Segregating organic waste from the other waste streams minimizes contamination and improves the quality of recyclable items such as plastic bottles, aluminum cans, etc. The Wangwa waste management system has resulted in an increase in the recycling rate of the community from zero, since the community’s establishment.

Reduced waste volumes to landfills: A reduction in the waste volumes, from 60,000 kilograms in 2015 (before starting this project) to 5,000 kilograms (2019) of contaminated waste a month has resulted from the higher take-up by the community of waste management procedures. By 2019, plastic waste sent to the landfills decreased by 20 per cent and the community is aiming for zero-waste by 2022.

Quotes from the Interview:

“Wangwa’s local approach started because they faced the problem: the community could no longer live with the bad odor and garbage on their streets.

The work starts with the community. It has to be done day-by-day until it becomes a habit for the community.

They (community) must start with themselves – and then other outside partners can support.

Facilities to manage the waste can’t be built in one to two months. That’s impossible. Partners like PPP Plastics need to expand things, to help set up the system and the infra that reflects the community context. But the community should grow together with any infra and system.

If the infrastructure is developed too fast while the people don’t have real or good understanding about running the system and the operation of the waste management center, then those infra will just (be) empty in the next several months.

The key point of this success story is the PROFIT SHARING. Unlike other communities, Wangwa can run it effectively because it not only pays money to people, but also thinks of other indirect benefits. This scheme can be shared, and a step-by-step profit-sharing process developed to be used as a model by other communities.

The community leadership and the system are very important. It is the community that should run things themselves. Organizations can support with knowledge and networks and markets, help to improve efficiency and more effective means to do things, to fill in the gaps. But the community has to do the outreach and education, raising their children to observe community practices.”

¹The Private Partnership for Sustainable Plastics and Waste Management (PPP Plastics) was launched in 2018 and is composed of more than 20 public and private organizations and civil society organizations committed to sustainably addressing plastic waste. Dow, SCG and PTT Global Chemical lead the PPP’s plastic waste management initiative in Wangwa which highlights the circular economy concept and undertakes to educate the general public on waste segregation with the goal of achieving 100% recycling by 2027 and to decrease ocean waste by half by 2027 in Thailand.