Road to recovery
Pavements made from plastic waste are one of many solutions proposed for dealing with one of the world’s biggest pollution problems. By
Plastics offer many advances that improve everyday life — from packaging that helps reduce food waste to life-saving innovations in the medical field. At the same time, plastics are seen as a key contributor to a global environmental catastrophe because not all plastic waste ends up where it should.
The recent discovery in Songkhla province of a pilot whale with eight kilogrammes of plastic in its stomach was a dramatic wake-up call to Thailand and the world that more needs to be done.
Thailand ranks sixth out of 192 countries as a major contributor of plastic ocean debris, according to US-based Dow Chemical. Of the 11.5 million tonnes of waste in the waters off 23 coastal provinces, more than 1.5 million contained plastics, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources reported recently.
“Plastics have superior advantages compared to other materials due to several reasons including cheaper logistics cost. Despite their benefits, plastics also trigger global controversies which have led to a series of protests against single-use plastics,” acknowledges Jeff Wooster, global sustainability director of Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics.
Dow recently teamed up with its Thai partner, Siam Cement Group (SCG), to develop a better end-of-life solution to ensure that plastic waste does not end up as marine debris. The companies are using plastic in new road development in Thailand, similar to what Dow has done in India and Indonesia.
The project helps further Dow’s 2025 Sustainability Goals to advance a circular economy by addressing environmental issues, raising awareness of recycling and reuse of plastics, and creating a sustainable business environment for plastic producers and consumers alike.
“Dow’s 2025 sustainability goals can only be achieved by partnering with like-minded organisations who share our mission in the communities where we live and work,” Mr Wooster said.
“The collaboration with SCG … brings us one step closer to realising that goal, as well as minimising the environmental footprint of plastics.”
In India, Dow and local partners used over 100 tonnes of recycled plastics on 40 kilometres of roads in Pune and Bengaluru. In Depok, Indonesia, 3.5 tonnes of plastic waste have been used on a 2km stretch of road in a pilot project.
“This technology has helped create a new value to plastic waste that otherwise would be landfilled or left in the environment as land or ocean litter,” said Mr Wooster.
Dow and SCG are also part of a public-private partnership (PPP) that aims at halving plastic ocean waste in Thailand by 2027. Other participants include the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the Interior, Industry and Natural Resources and Environment ministries, and the retail giants Central Group and Siam Piwat.
The 10-year collaboration is aimed at building a “plastic circular economy” through more efficient waste segregation and management to increase plastic recycling rates and reduce plastic waste in landfills.
As well, the general public will be educated on how to manage waste and use plastic in a sustainable way. A Thailand Plastic Material Flows database will be developed in collaboration with academic experts.
Proper selection of waste and other materials is the first step for countries to pursue the development of a circular economy, Mr Wooster told Asia Focus.
“Today, we have to admit that we have limited resources and they are not enough to meet the global demand. This topic is really important and we all need to be made aware of it, not only for society or companies but the global community.”
The concept of the circular economy has taken hold in Europe and is starting to attract more interest in Asia, he said.
“Because economic growth is so high and that creates a lot of waste, (countries in Asia) need to learn ways to manage the waste properly to take care of the environment,” he said.
“A lot of people in the governments, businesses, NGOs and waste recycling associations in different countries are showing strong interest in how the circular economy can help contribute to that.
“Government recognition of the problem is very recent so the solutions have not been implemented. Now I can hear people that represent governments in Southeast Asia saying we need to work for waste management to make sure that we are not polluting the environment.”
Recently, the World Bank announced its intention to invest billions of dollars in waste management solutions in the region. “So certainly there is a lot more interest there but there has to be implementation,” stressed Mr Wooster.
To shift to a circular economy, he said, companies can start with small projects to prove that they work, then find people or partners to work with them.
“The circular economy is really about the system, not just one product or one service, so we need to have the right group of companies working together to create the system. We need companies from different fields and experts to work together to improve the system and have the right framework of government support,” he added.
At Dow, the circular economy has become a significant part of its sustainability work over the last six years, said Mr Wooster, who has held his current position for seven years.
“Companies like Dow, which operate around the world, we have to make sure the solutions that we bring to the marketplace are consistent and uniform around the world,” he said.
“We bring the same technology for products that serve the circular economy to Asia as well as South and North America, like technology that improves the recyclability of packaging, with materials that make our products and those of others more recyclable.”
Apart from Thailand, Dow has projects to promote plastic waste management in Malaysia and Japan. In Malaysia, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics (P&SP) Asia Pacific and the Malaysian Plastic Manufacturers Association (MPMA) support the School Environmental Challenge, now in its fourth year.
In Japan, a partnership with the Tokyo University of Science (TUS) and the Japan Plastic Industry Federation (JPIF) is addressing global marine debris and litter. The research project is monitoring the waste volume passing through the Edogawa River as it flows toward Tokyo Bay.
Dow Chemical also aims to launch six major projects by 2025 to recycle used packages from consumers.
“The circular economy is really about the system, not just one product or one service, so we need to have the right group of companies working together to create the system” JEFF WOOSTER Global sustainability director, Dow Packaging and Specialty Plastics