Knock on wood, it's a relief to enter 2022 in one piece after a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride that the last few years have been. You may already be working on your "New Year, New Me" motto and planning which New Year's resolution box to tick first. You can also have a fresh start at home by donating stuff you no longer want to public and private organisations that turn your pre-loved items, or even trash, into treasures for people in need. Plus, it's a win-win situation where you can declutter your home while making the beginning of the new year better for others, as well.
Old Lottery
Chuti Sukhawadi
Who says lottery tickets aren't lucky? The old lottery tickets are turned into recycled sandalwood flowers to give condolences to the poor and homeless at their funerals. Kalasin-based voluntary association, Chuti Sukhawadi runs an upcycling project, which accepts old lottery tickets as donations for sandalwood flower-making. With a meaningful name, which translates as "the advent to the pure paradise of Buddhists", the foundation brightens the souls of underprivileged people by offering free sandalwood flowers at their funerals, as well as accepting donations for those in need. You can either deliver a pre-made version of a sandalwood flower or a stack of lottery tickets via the mailing address below.
Address: Kalasin Municipality (lottery donations), 70/21, Teenanon Road, Muang District, Kalasin 46000. Contributions via Krungthai Bank account number 392-0-43695-4, under the name of Chuti Sukhawadi.
Wat Huai Mu Orphanage
The Wat Huai Mu orphanage also accepts lottery tickets as donations via mail. They are used as workshop materials for kids with disabilities in their care. Located in the Muang District of Ratchaburi, the orphanage offers career opportunities for disabled children to make sandalwood flowers, wreaths and knick-knacks out of old lottery tickets. All the upcycled handicrafts are sold at Huai Mu temple's souvenir shop generating income for the childcare centre.
(Photo: FB.com/prakasidech)
Address: Wat Huai Mu, 39, Moo 9, Muang Ratchaburi District, Ratchaburi, 70000.
Packaging waste
Green Road: cat block
Don't throw away empty kibble packages of your precious four-legged child because Green Road's creative reuse project receives them with open arms and uses them as the main source for their upcycled building bricks. The sustainable social enterprise in Lamphun, whose goal is to promote waste management and the circular economy, accepts pet food packages for donation, specifically plastic-coated and aluminum foil packages, to create a plastic brick in the shape of a cat. Each rock-hard kitty saves 4.4kg of plastic waste, equal to 44 sacks per block, and is available to be made to order for B100.
(Photo: FB.com/greenroad.enterprise)
Address: Green Road, 148/3, Moo 19, Muang District, Lamphun 51000. Contact Line ID: g2110r or call 088-193-8866 to order.
Won
Won gives shoppers who went on online shipping sprees during the auspicious-date sales a chance to clear out their delivery packages through a reuse project. They require you to peel or cut off any of the stickers or tape on the packages. Clean and dry them out, then pack them tightly into a bag for delivery or drop them off at a "Won box". Apart from packaging waste, namely parcel boxes and bubble wrap, they also accept any kind of stretchable plastics, such as handle bags, shopping bags and film for water bottle packs. Above all, a kilogramme of your waste sent to the reuse project is equal to B5, which will also be donated to local environmental organisations.
(Photo: FB.com/wontogether)
Address: TPBI Public Co., Ltd. (Project Won), 42/174, Moo 5, Sampran District, Nakhon Pathom 73210.
Paper waste
Green Way
Don Mueang Tollway launched the "Green Way" project, which recycles all kinds of used paper into a notebook that will be distributed to schools across Thailand. You can deliver tollway receipts, single-sided used paper or all publications by mail or drop them off at 20 donation points. Check here for your closet locations: bit.ly/3sQpFQM.
(Photo: FB.com/tollway.csr)
Address: Don Mueang Tollway Public Co Ltd (Corporate Communications Department), 40/40, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Don Mueang, Bangkok 10210.
Paper Ranger
The Paper Ranger project, which was initiated by the Foundation for Rural Restoration of Thailand under Royal Patronage, accepts one-sided used A4 paper to make notebooks for children in need. They also recruit volunteers to be part of an online notebook workshop. They will send you a crafting kit and grant you access to online lessons teaching you how to make a notebook. Students can collect volunteer hours and get a volunteer honour certificate for their portfolio after completing the project.
(Photo: FB.com/wearepaperranger)
Address: Baan Jit Asa (Paper Ranger Project), 2044/21, New Petchaburi Road, Huai Khwang, Bangkok 10310.
Old Calendar For Blinds
You could probably find a bunch of old stand calendars of last year after decluttering your home during the New Year's cleaning session. Well, you can hand in those outdated paper waste at the "Old Calendar For Blinds" project, where they reuse them as Braille teaching materials for the blind students who study there.
Address: Foundation For The Blind in Thailand under the Royal Patronage of HM The Queen, 420, Ratchawithi Road, Ratchathewi, Bangkok 10400.
Plastic waste
Precious Plastic Bangkok
Precious Plastic Bangkok is in charge of the conversion of single-use plastic waste into miscellaneous pieces of furniture, jewellery and construction materials for online sale. You can send milk gallons, plastic cups and food packages with the HDPE No.2 and PP No.5 plastic signs by mail, while the plastic caps can be deposited at donation sites. Plus, the selling profit will fund their waste separation project for communities and environmental workshops for students.
(Photo: FB.com/PreciousPlasticBKK)
Address: Precious Plastic Bangkok @FREC Bangkok, 7, Nakhon Sawan Road, Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok 10100.
Tayla
Unused plastic straws from your countless online-drink orders and takeaway meals during the WFH season are seen as a diamond in the rough by Ban Khai locals. Rayong's community enterprise, Tayla of Ban Phai Community Waste Management Learning Center, accepts leftover plastic straws as craft materials for local workshops. They will make pillows and cushioned seats stuffed with thousands of tiny-cut straws to be sold at a souvenir shop.
(Photo: FB.com/TAYLABYBP)
Address: Ban Phai Community Waste Management Learning Center, 2/1, Moo 1, Ban Khai District, Rayong 21120.
Greenroof
It's just a few simple steps for you to prep up a used box of milk or juice or any drink containers for the recycled roof tile by the "Greenroof" project. Rip those beverage boxes wide-open to clean them inside and out, then stack them all up for delivery after folding and pressing into a thin layer. However, recycled roof tiles aren't for sale but will be reserved at the Friends In Need of "PA" Volunteers Foundation of the Thai Red Cross Society to be used to build houses for natural disaster victims and underprivileged communities. You can either drop them off at a donation box at any of the 130 branches of Big C across Thailand or mail them via the address below.
(Photo: FB.com/Thaigreenroof)
Address: Fiberpat Co Ltd (write on the front of the box saying Join the Green Roof Project) 30/11, Debaratana Road, Bang Sao Thong District, Samut Prakan 10570.
