KEY POINTS
- SET and partners have launched the ‘Waste Exchange Station@Bueng Phra Ram 9 Phatthana Community,’ extending its proven waste management model from Bang Kachao to an urban setting. This initiative encourages residents to sort and exchange recyclable waste for consumer goods, reducing environmental impact and helping ease cost of living.
SET, in partnership with Saha Pathanapibul Pcl (SPC), Phra Ram Kao Kanchanaphisek Temple, Phra Ram 9 Kanchanaphisek School, and the Bueng Phra Ram 9 Phatthana Community, has launched the Waste Exchange Station@Bueng Phra Ram 9 Phatthana Community. Modeled after the “Zero Waste Station@Bang Kachao River Bend,” the project extends the initiative to an urban community, creating a mechanism where sorted waste can be exchanged for consumer goods and properly recycled under the Circular Economy concept.
Phra Ram Kao Kanchanaphisek Temple Assistant Abbot – Phra Khru Sirithammasarn (Chaiya Sirithammo), expressed appreciation for the cooperation, noting that the temple can serve as a hub under the “Bovorn” principle (Home-Temple-School), to connect the community, temple, and school, fostering environmental awareness and building a clean, livable, and sustainable community.
SET Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Legal & Risk Officer – Rongrak Phanapavudhikul, said that SET has been committed to integrating ESG principles across its operations. This project extends SET’s successful waste management model from Bang Kachao to an urban community nearer to SET, aiming to jointly care for the environment and improve the community, broadening SET’s coalition to include the private sector, community, temple, and school, working together to drive systematic waste management and raise awareness of the tangible benefits of waste sorting and recycling.
SPC Executive Vice President – Chailada Tantivejakul, said that the company has been a key partner in driving SET’s environmental initiatives. For this project, SPC continues to provide consumer products as incentives for waste sorting while helping to ease resident’s cost of living.
Bueng Phra Ram 9 Phatthana Community Chairperson – Wasna Chaengkrachang, said that the community’s goal is to shift residents’ mindset to see the value of waste. The community began by raising awareness, then encouraged sorting of easy-to-separate items, PET bottles, glass bottles, and milk cartons. Sorted waste would be exchanged for consumer goods, and proceeds from selling recyclables go directly to the community development fund.
The activity is run on the first Saturday of each month at the community recreational area. In three events to date, residents sorted and exchanged more than 1.5 tons of recyclable waste, reducing carbon dioxide equivalent by approximately 1,200 kilograms, reflecting the community’s capacity for source-based waste management and its active role in reducing environmental impact.
