Rayong - 20 December 2019 - Dow Thailand Group continues to raise environmental awareness of the opportunity to turn trash to treasure and promote circular economy by helping to increase knowledge about waste separation, in order to add commercial value to waste. The project set up by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resource (DMRC) highlights Rayong province as a pilot project to demonstrate integrated waste management with cooperation from local communities and promote sustainable conservation of the environment.
Dow joined hands with the DMRC, Wangwa community, Thabma Administration and Mhee-Me-Tung, to organize an exhibition and demonstration of integrated marine waste management with the cooperation of the local community at Khodepor Park, Noenphra, in the city of Rayong. The demonstration project was set up to transfer knowledge about managing marine waste by “Circular Economy”, which is one of the solutions for tackling the marine waste crisis sustainably, and protects the sea from waste by recycling. The project emphasized the importance of waste separation at source, by providing knowledge about different types of plastic and plastic recycling processes, as well as an exhibition about recycled plastic products.
The event comprised several environment conservation presentations, including marine waste cleanup at the International Beach Cleaning Day, which Dow and its partners have been holding for 17 years. Dow and its partners have been reforesting mangroves and cleaning up the sea at the Prasae estuary for about 11 years. Dow also presented Dow for Sustainable Industry, which transfers technologies that help reduce waste from SME production processes, and Dow Circular Economy Promotion, which is teaching recycling methods to students in Rayong, as well as the Plastic Road project, in which Dow is cooperating with SCG in building roads from plastic waste.
Mr. Narin Wongtanasirikul, Responsible Care Leader of Dow Thailand Group said : “The United Nations has forecast that the world’s population could rise by more than 2 billion over the next 30 years and that should alert us to the fact that our limited resources should be conserved and used efficiently. One of the easiest ways is to re-use plastic bags and other things that can be re-used. In addition, waste separation at source also helps with recycling. If you want to get started with waste separation, you can just separate compostable waste from plastic and other recyclable wastes. Then, you will find that not all the waste that is dumped in landfill is trash, and that some recyclable resources can be reused and still have value.”
This is one of several projects that Dow Thailand Group has joined in cooperation with government and civil sectors to promote waste management and support environmental conservation in Rayong province. This is a noteworthy model in the Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) area of how to eliminate plastic waste, equipped with a recycling infrastructure that will be ready for the expansion of the city in the future. The project is also aligned with government policy to reduce marine plastic waste, in the Roadmap on Plastic Waste Management 2018-2030.
Dow Thailand Group is determined to take part in tackling Thailand’s waste crisis, particularly plastic waste, as we believe that plastics have particular value instead of being just waste. As a result, Dow has launched several projects such as reducing plastic waste by using non-recyclable plastic as raw material to help strengthen foundations under layers of asphalt road. The projects are implementing circular economy with several plastic recycling technologies that help recycle 100% of plastic packaging. Those projects will eventually create positive impacts as well as increase cooperation among all parties in society, and along with the Public-Private Partnership for Plastic waste project (PPP Plastic) will help to achieve the target set in 2017 to cut Thai marine plastic waste by 50%.
About Dow
Dow (NYSE: DOW) combines global breadth, asset integration and scale, focused innovation and leading business positions to achieve profitable growth. The Company’s ambition is to become the most innovative, customer centric, inclusive and sustainable materials science company. Dow’s portfolio of plastics, industrial intermediates, coatings and silicones businesses delivers a broad range of differentiated science-based products and solutions for its customers in high-growth market segments, such as packaging, infrastructure, automotive and consumer care. Dow operates 109 manufacturing sites in 31 countries and employs approximately 36,500 people. Dow delivered sales of approximately $43 billion in 2019. References to Dow or the Company mean Dow Inc. and its subsidiaries. For more information, please visit www.dow.com or follow @DowNewsroom on Twitter and www.facebook.com/DowThailandGroup/.
For further information, please contact:
Apiradee Poopirom
Dow Thailand Group
Tel: 02-3657296 / 081-8026933
papiradee@dow.com
Suttipong Krotintakom
Dow Thailand Group
Tel: 038-673315 / 081-7919626
skrotintakom@dow.com
Lalida, Tisadondilok
Dow Thailand Group
Tel: 02-365-7228 / 089-6687079
lalida@dow.com