SUEZ to help Thailand tackle mounting post COVID-19 plastic waste
Located in Bang Phli, near Bangkok, a new SUEZ recycling plant is already under trial run in this post-COVID era, with a capacity of 30,000 tons of plastic packaging waste per year, enabling Thailand to reduce its annual CO2 emissions by 50,000 tons.
As revealed by a series of reports and statistics, Thailand is one of the world’s major contributors to plastic waste. Moreover, the amount of plastic waste increased further during the COVID-19 crisis, going nationwide from 5,000 tons to 6,300 tons a day.
In Bangkok only, the daily average amount of single-use plastics waste due to food-delivery services and online shopping rose from 2,115 tons in March to more than 3,400 tons in April.
Representing an investment of US$ 80 million, the SUEZ Bang Phli plant will convert 30,000 tons per year of locally collected low-density polyethylene (LDPE) and linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) plastic film waste into high-quality post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR). This PCR will then be reused to manufacture other products, promoting a circular economy. Mainly generated by shopping malls, express logistics companies, beverage producers and electronics manufacturers, the collected plastic waste would have otherwise ended up in the environment.
Meeting the highest local environmental compliance standards, the 14,000 sqm plant will be equipped with an advanced water treatment system and rooftop solar panels that will help save 1.2 million m3 of water and prevent 50,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
SUEZ’s first plastic recycling plant in Asia, it will be a model for the rest of Southeast Asian countries. It will contribute to Thailand’s ambitious 2030 target to achieve 100% plastic recycling, helping ease the global plastic waste crisis.
Plastic recycling is a key market for SUEZ. Each year, the Group processes nearly 400,000 tons of plastic waste in nine specialist facilities in Europe and produces 150,000 tons of circular polymers. SUEZ is among the founding members of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, an international initiative launched in January 2019 to end plastic waste in the environment, especially in oceans.
SUEZ is also a member of Thailand PPP Plastics, an unprecedented collaboration of 61 members to address Thailand’s plastic marine debris.
SUEZ entered Thailand in the 1990s with several water projects with the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority (MWA) in Bangkok. Currently, it is operating the Chonburi Clean Energy waste-to-energy plant together with WHA Utilities & Power and GLOW Energy.
This new plant is part of the Group's development strategy in Southeast Asia, where it has been supporting regional countries in improving their drinking water, sanitation and waste management services in response to a rapidly growing population.
