Ministry of Foreign Affairs and United Nations jointly held Towards a Greener Future: Thailand’s Zero Waste Practices

On 29 March 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office in Thailand (UNRC), hosted the "Towards a Greener Future: Thailand's Zero Waste Practices" seminar at Vithes Samosorn. Ms. Busadee Santipitaks, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, delivered the opening remarks, while representatives from UNEP and UN-Habitat welcomed participants with video messages.

The Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs reiterated Thailand's commitment to achieving the SDGs, in which zero waste management can contribute to the realization of many goals and promote Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy Model. The seminar also aimed to raise awareness of the importance of reducing the amount of waste to landfills to a minimum or zero and provided an opportunity for Thailand to exchange its experiences with other countries on managing waste and adding value to used materials.

The first half of the seminar included a panel discussion on "Thailand's Path to Zero Waste" with representatives from Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Pollution Control Department, Thailand International Cooperation Agency, the Australian Embassy in Thailand, and UNEP. The discussion centered on the waste situation in Thailand and Thailand's policies on effective waste management. The second panel discussion, titled "The Path to Zero Waste: 5Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Rot, Recycle)", was joined by Abbot Thammatorn Anon Katanaweero from Thong Temple, Charansanitwong 46, from the Buddha Zero Waste Project, as well as representatives from Chula Zero Waste, the Network for Sustainable Development Association, Betterfly, Reviv Community, Refun, and PTTGC. The panelists discussed experiences on effective waste separation and management.

"Towards a Greener Future: Thailand's Zero Waste Practices" also included exhibition booths demonstrating waste separation and management as well as clothing and shoes repair booths for participants to fix their damaged items in line with the "Reuse" approach. In addition, participants also offered recyclable items to Abbot Thammatorn Anon Katanaweero, with proceeds going to Thong Temple to support the restoration of an ancient chapel. The seminar also collected waste weighing 2,127.8 kg. in total and worth 5,033 baht in value, equivalent o the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of 7,011.56 kgCO2eq or 738 trees planted.