Rescuing our oceans through upcycling
With the world’s oceans at risk of suffocating under tons of plastic, the Tourism Authority of Thailand is teaming up with PTT Global Chemical and the ECOALF Foundation to stimulate awareness of marine waste through the Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand Project.
The project has a focus on increasing awareness among stakeholders including tourists who want to volunteer to collect waste from the sea and coastal areas, as well as accurately separating plastic waste for recycling.
“Tourism is a key industry that brings a great deal of revenue to the country. Thailand was recently ranked at No 35 according to the World Economic Forum. We are well aware that several tourist destinations in Thailand are deteriorating due to environmental problems such as rubbish and wastewater pollution due to inefficient management. So we want to create a stakeholder collaboration network to give back to society while encouraging environmental sustainability,” says TAT Governor Yuthasak Supasorn.
The waste collection will cover many popular destinations on Thailand’s eastern seaboard including Samet Island in Rayong, Koh Tao off Surat Thani and Phuket’s Andaman coast.
“The ECOALF Foundation implemented its first Upcycling the Oceans project in Spain in 2015. By partnering with the federation of fishermen, we managed to transform plastic debris found in the Mediterranean into a fashion collection under the ECOALF brand, which received an overwhelming response from consumers. We are now expanding on the project’s success by replicating it in other countries affected by marine debris. Thailand is our first stop in Asia,” says Javier Goyeneche, the foundation’s founder.
“The entire process, from waste collection through the transformation into raw material, and making clothing and fashion collections, will be completely managed in Thailand. The project also aims to raise awareness of the negative impact of improper waste disposal in the oceans. Currently, there is about 269,000 tons of plastic waste in the world’s oceans, representing around 2.25 trillion pieces of litter.”
