Mr. Worapong Nakchatree, Executive Vice President of Sustainability of PTT group and Dr. Savanit Boonyasuwat, VP of Sustainability Strategy & Management as well as Somchit Nilthanom, Division Manager of Sustainability Development, PTT Global Chemicals (PTTGC), shared with us their vision and practices in the circular economy.
Changing Consumer Behavior: Reduce & Separate Waste
PTT is conducting a pilot system equipped with image recognition capability located in its HQ to train staff to properly separate waste to improve waste management efficiency and effectiveness.
It also provides a scoring incentive for encouraging “bring your own cup” to reduce the usage of single-use cups. Within the huge PTT corporate complex, staff could borrow a reusable bag for shopping within the complex and return it at the drop off point inside the complex.
Waste Collection (PPP Plastics industry consortium)
Thailand launched the PPP Plastics consortium consisting of about 40 member organizations in a joint effort to address plastic pollution in Thailand. Thailand Environmental Institute (TEI) serves as a secretariat for PPP Plastics. It consists of working groups and task forces to conduct activities critical to solving the plastic pollution problem from source to recycling/upcycling led by major chemical companies, plastic research institutes, and industry associations.
It targets 100% plastic recycling by 2027 through proper segregation and collection. In particular, the Won project, managed by TPBI (leading packaging company in Thailand) has set up 350 plastic waste segregation and collection sites across major shopping malls across Bangkok, Rayong, and Supanburi area in the first phase of the project. Since 2019, about 4 tons of plastic bag and film packaging have been collected for recycling.
Plastic Upcycling - PTT Global Chemicals (PTTGC)
PTTGC, together with other major industry players in Thailand, coordinates and supports various ministries in creating new guidelines for the circular economy. It has been one of the circular economy standard committee members under the Thai Industrial standard institute (TISI) in launching the Circular Organization Standard in Feb. 2020.
PTTGC pioneered the upcycling of plastic waste in Thailand. It launched the Upcycling the Ocean 2 years ago in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism. PTTGC collaborates with its supply chain partners to produce various plastic-based products from textile, furniture to building materials using recycled plastics.
To scale up its production, in early 2020, it created a joint venture with ALPHA, ENVICCO, which will have a total capacity of 45,000 tons (for both rPET & rHDPE) in operation in Q4 2021.
Bioplastics: BioPBS coated paper cup and PLA bioplastic cups at Amazon cafe and more - PTTGC
When you order a hot drink in a cafe in Bangkok (Cafe Amazon, Inthanin Coffee, S&P, Good Good Cafe, True Coffee, Chulalongkorn Univ. canteen, etc), you are most likely served by BioCup which is a 100% compostable BioPBS coated paper cup. In all Cafe Amazon (owned by PTTOR) in Thailand, your cold drinks are served with bio straws made from PLA and BiioPBS.
PTTGC’s joint venture with Cargill, Natureworks, produces PLA at a capability of 150K tons/year in Nebraska, USA. While its joint venture with Mitsubishi Chemical, PTTMCC produces BioPBS 20K tons/year in Rayong, Thailand.
