Dr.Panom Winyayong, Vice President of Mae Fah Luang University and Asst. Prof. Dr.Panate Manomaivibool, Head of the Circular Economy for Waste-free Thailand (CEWT) research group recently attended the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding between the Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand, Mae Fah Luang University and Prince of Songkla University. The MoU aimed to jointly solve island waste issue under the “Sustainable Waste Management on Islands” project which was a part of the Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand’s Keep Thailand Beautiful Plan.
The representatives from the Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand were Mr. Thongchai Sirithorn, Board of Directors and Mr. Nuntivat Thamhatai, Board of Directors and secretary. Also, the representatives from Prince of Songkla University were Asst. Prof. Dr. Wasin Suwannarat, Vice President for Hat Yai Campus and Asst. Prof. Dr. Chanisada Choosuk, lecturer of Faculty of Environmental Management.
In the first period of the Sustainable Waste Management on Islands project (August 2021 – July 2022), the Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand and Mae Fah Luang University implemented the project on islands of the eastern Thailand including Ko Sichang, Ko Chang, and Ko Mak. Additionally, in the second period (August 2022 – July 2023), the Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand and Prince of Songkla University has implemented the project on islands of the eastern Thailand: Ko Lan, Ko Samet, and Ko Kut as well as in the southern Thailand’s islands: Ko Libong and Ko Lipe.
Under this cooperation, the Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand provided funding for the Circular Economy for Waste-free Thailand (CEWT) research group to study and develop the effective waste management system covering storage, collection, transfer and recycling. The project also encouraged local communities, tourism entrepreneur, and government organisations to engage in waste sorting. The stakeholder engagement provided opportunities to further align practices with societal needs and expectations and is a key to drive long-term sustainability.
Asst. Prof. Dr.Panate Manomaivibool, Head of CEWT and head of this project stated that the main limitation of waste management in the remote areas such as islands is the high costs of transportation of recyclable materials. Market price at the mainland collection point is often not high enough to cover the entire cost of collection, segregation and transport from the island. Therefore, the project team tried out to offer financial support for transport to the recycling shops in order to motivate them to collect and transport recyclable materials to the mainland.
The cooperation between Coca-Cola Foundation Thailand, local communities, government organisations and entrepreneurs has made the project a huge success. There are 13 entrepreneurs who participate in this project, as a result, the recyclable materials especially glass collected during the first seven months of 2022 were transported to the mainland recycling stations. In addition, the project team trained local citizens to promote and encourage tourists and visitors to reduce and correctly sort waste in tourist destination. Asst. Prof. Dr.Panate Manomaivibool believed that the model of this island waste management system can be applied and adapted to suit other islands’ need.
Altogether, MFU has strong determination to help solve waste problem on islands through the active engagement and awareness of integrated waste management among tourists and local communities in order to reduce waste, promote ocean health and restore natural scenery.
