WASTING NO WORDS
Life speaks to people from various professions on how they are adjusting to an eco-friendly lifestyle
GAME CHANGER
Eco designer and actor Pipat “Top” Apiruktanakorn does whatever he can to be environmental-friendly, but it’s impossible to do it 24/7.
“I don’t want to create any rubbish, so I carry a water container, a food carrier, cloth tote bags and a handkerchief with me. Nonetheless, when I buy a lot of stuff or hot food, I still sometimes need to use plastic bags. Generally, I say no to straws, but I sometimes forget to bring one, so I can’t avoid it when I drink a smoothie or bubble tea. When I get plastic containers, I try to reuse them. If there is a container or a straw I can’t reuse, I separate them from other kinds of rubbish and expect that they will be disposed of appropriately,” he said. Pipat, founder and owner of social enterprise Kid Kid, also said he sometimes rides a bicycle when he can. However, he doesn’t think it is a good idea to do so amid the current air pollution crisis.
“My health is the priority. Being eco-friendly shouldn’t be too extreme, to the point where we want to give it up,” he explained.
Pipat has turned the campaign against single-use plastics into a game app, Ecolife, which he launched in 2018. The app allows players to collect land and characters. Players who decline single-use plastic bags shops in partnership with Ecolife can earn points through QR Codes. These points can be used to get discounts on items such as Major Cineplex tickets.
“The application aims to encourage people to stop using single-use plastics. About 50,000 have downloaded it so far, leading to a reduction of almost a million pieces of single-use plastic,” he said.
In the future, Pipat plans to launch another eco app.
“We will work with large companies with lots of employees. Each company will promote their own campaigns and use our application. I’m glad that it’s becoming a trend and more people are saying no to plastic bags. I hope the government introduces a law to support this, so we can have proper waste management and a better environment in the future.”