HOW TO APPLY THE 7RS OF WASTE MANAGEMENT TO DIFFERENT TYPES OF WASTE

Bubble wrap: Reduce and reuse.

Clothes: Reduce and reuse. Clothes can be reused by other people at secondhand markets. But shopping moderately is the best solution.

Electronic waste (discarded electrical or electronic devices): Repair.

Food waste: Reduce and reuse. Do not over purchase food and do not have leftovers. If there are leftovers, convert them into compost.

Glass: Reuse.

Paper: Recycle. After reuse and repurpose, paper can be sold to waste pickers, but paper must be cleaned and dried first.

Paper boxes: Reuse. Turn the box inside out and reuse it.

Plastic bottles: Recycle. The PET To PPE project offers drop-off points for people to drop their used water bottles made of Polyethylene Terephthalate or PET to convert them into reusable PPE suits. Visit facebook.com/ lessplasticthailand for drop-off points. If the drop-off points are too far away, people can just sell their water bottles to waste pickers in their neighbourhood.

Plastic bags: Reduce and reuse. Pichmol warned that biodegradable plastic bags do not decompose like organic products. It takes a very long time to decompose and can break down into microplastics. Even though some biodegradable plastic bags are made from potatoes or sugar cane, their chemical structures are similar to plastic.

Styrofoam: Reduce. Styrofoam food container contains the hazardous chemical styrene that can be detrimental to people’s health. This kind of container also cannot be recycled, so it is best to avoid using it.

Non-recyclable waste: Some waste is non-recyclable, but if the waste can be cut, torn and burned, it can be turned into renewable fuels to replace fossil fuels. Examples of non-recyclable waste are milk cartons, foam, straws and chopsticks. Schedules and locations to pick up waste can be viewed at facebook.com/ n15technology.