The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) continues to drive the 'Zero Waste Station@ Bang Kachao River Bend' Year 3 campaign, jointly with Chak Daeng temple, Saha Pathanapibul pcl, Osotspa pcl, and Principal Capital pcl, aiming to build environmental sustainability via waste management, quality of life enhancement, and community engagement. This year, more categories of waste are included, while promoting community participation particularly schools, and Subdistrict Administrative Organization (SAO), as well as providing more products and services for waste redemption, at Bang Kachao River Bend area, Samut Prakan province (east of Bangkok).
Wat Chak Daeng Abbot Phra Rachwatcharabunchid (Pranom Thammalangkaro) said that the temple is considered a community learning center in terms of waste management with ongoing study and development of waste recycle process to cover all types of waste as much as possible, and with training of garbage segregation via community leaders regularly to instill waste management behavior at household level, as such creating participation and realization among community dwellers regarding environmental issues and waste management. The temple has received cooperation from the private sector through this zero waste campaign for the third year, resulting in behavioral change of Bang Kachao community dwellers to get interested in and to understand the segregation process. This year, food waste has been added as one of the wastes that can be redeemed for consumer products at the zero waste station, as such waste is abundant and significantly increases but handled improperly. Wat Chak Daeng will put food waste into the production process to be turned into organic compost for the community to use in planting.
SET Executive Vice President Noppakao Sucharitakul said that SET has been implementing the Care the Whale "Zero Waste" project to help tackle environmental problems so as to reduce global warming and create balanced quality of life. In 2023, SET continues to work with partners to develop Bang Kachao river bend community in depth, making the most to create sustainable social change for the community. SET is confident that this will be a model community for great waste management, resulting from continuous waste management behavior cultivation. The collaboration is in line with the SET vision 'To Make the Capital Market Work for Everyone'.
Significantly, this year SET continues to support the Climate Care Platform to measure greenhouse gas emissions reduction results with zero waste stations, while conducting a proactive communication campaign jointly with partners to encourage communities, entities, shops, and schools to promote proper waste separation before delivering to the zero waste stations in exchange for consumer products. In 2022, there were 19,724 kilograms of sorted waste, most of which were clear and glass bottles, which could reduce the total amount of greenhouse gases by 34,427 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent, and equivalent to planting 3,825 trees, an increase of 38 percent from the previous year. This year the project has set a goal for the amount of waste sent to the zero waste stations to be increased by 40 percent from 2022.
In addition, SET has also provided pollution-free electric tricycles for this community to be "instant zero waste station" to facilitate the community by picking up the garbage and exchange for consumer goods, at the doorstep.
Saha Pathanapibul pcl Executive Vice President Chailada Tantivejakul said that the company is pleased to cooperate with SET, harnessing organization's potential to create change for the community in a sustainable manner. In the past year, on top of supporting consumer products for waste redemption, we were on-site to educate over 1,000 students in 11 schools about waste problems and waste management. This year, the company will focus on expanding into the practice, by encouraging the schools to be the links to collect and deliver the waste to the zero waste station at Wat Chak Daeng. Particularly, the company has the plan to provide consumer goods that are ingredients for students' lunch, and the essential items to be used in the schools.
Principal Capital pcl Chief Executive Officer & Chief Operating Officer Tanee Maneenut said that the Care the Whale project's zero waste station is in line with the company's aspirations in giving to the society. This year, the company is fully committed to providing in-depth support to the community in healthcare matters. In addition to supporting the community to sort out waste in exchange of products and health services, the company has added a plan to go on field trips to provide primary healthcare and provide home first-aid cabinets to six subdistricts in the Bang Kachao area, as well as producing and disseminating information on infectious waste management to the community.
Osotspa pcl Head of Corporate Communication & CSR Sutida Siamharn said that the company continues to focus on the management of glass bottle waste in the Circular Economy model, taking into consideration the glass bottle waste, which is one of the packaging materials of Osotspa products to reduce the use of natural resources to produce new glass bottles. This year, the company still offers products as gifts based on the gross weight of glass bottle waste, and also liaises with recycling companies to buy glass bottle waste from Chak Daeng temple for recycle.
The zero waste station has created the synergy of the Bang Kachao River Bend community, and welcomes the community dwellers to turn their trash for consumer products at the station via three channels: Chak Daeng temple in Samut Prakan province, the zero waste mobile station at Bang Nam Phueng market every Saturday at 1 p.m., and "instant zero waste station" with electric tricycles to pick up garbage and deliver consumer products at homes to facilitate the community dwellers. In addition, individuals, entities, and shops nearby this community are invited to participate in this "zero waste" operation by sorting out different types of waste and then delivering to Chak Daeng temple to be recycled to minimize garbage in landfill (Zero Waste to landfill), eventually to reduce global warming.
For more details, please visit https://www.setsocialimpact.com/carethewhale.