Allianz is a global company committed to operating a business that supports sustainability. From the 17 Sustainable Development Goals created by the UN, Allianz emphasises three -- climate action, decent work and economic growth, and partnerships.
As a branch of Allianz, Allianz Ayudhya has adopted these three goals to reinforce its environmental policy. Five years ago, Allianz Ayudhya launched a policy to promote waste sorting in the company.
Patchara Taveechaiwattana, chief customer officer and chief of sustainability at Allianz Ayudhya, explained that the company aims to encourage its employees to understand waste sorting.
"Allianz Ayudhya has 1,200 employees and we believe if we can get people into a habit of sorting waste correctly at the office, they will naturally do the same at home. We aim to cultivate a new habit among our employees by providing an area for waste sorting. Although we cannot force everyone to sort waste, we have consistently provided waste sorting information for five to six years. This includes internal activities such as competitions between different floors and awards to those who cooperate and perform well at waste sorting," said Patchara. "Between 2022 and 2024, Allianz Ayudhya significantly reduced the amount of waste sent to landfills. We are proud of this achievement and grateful for the significant contribution of our housekeeping staff who play a crucial role, since not all employees care to sort waste. Our next goal is to achieve zero waste for landfills. We are proud to say that Allianz Ayudhya does not need garbage collectors from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration to collect trash at the company any more."
Sureeporn Jantaraprasart of the Soi Phrajen Community. Allianz Ayudhya
After the success of the company's internal waste sorting project, Allianz Ayudhya collaborated with Mahamitr (Alliance for Sustainability) Group to create events such as the "Pathumwan Zero Waste" project and "Think Throw... Life" exhibition to promote responsible waste sorting among the public.
This year, Allianz Ayudhya extended its cooperation with waste management partners to create a model for reducing and sorting waste at the community level, starting with a pilot project in Soi Phrajen. Located close to Allianz Ayudhya, the Soi Phrajen Community covers over 22 rai of land and consists of around 1,000 residents from over 373 households.
The Soi Phrajen Community Waste Sorting Station is part of Mahamitr Group's efforts. It is the result of collaboration of four key organisations, namely Allianz Ayudhya, Wastebuy Delivery (by Wongpanit Suvarnabhumi Recycle Station), Champion Garbage Bags (by Danudet Industry) and Khaya (by Jak Reward Technology). These organisations share a common goal of reducing waste sent to landfills while promoting income generated through waste sorting.
While Allianz Ayudhya established a waste sorting station to serve as a hub for storing and collecting sorted waste in the Soi Phrajen Community, Wastebuy Delivery supports income generation from waste purchase; Champion Garbage Bags provide trash bags and equipment for waste sorting; and Wastebuy Delivery and Khaya provide waste sorting education to the community as well as collecting waste sorting data.
Itthikon Srichanban of Wongpanit Suvarnabhumi Recycle Station and Wastebuy Delivery. Penggym
Within three months, the Soi Phrajen Community Waste Sorting Station reduced the amount of recyclable waste sent to the landfill by more than 6.4 tonnes, which is equivalent to reducing over 12,400kg of carbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the community has generated more than 26,000 baht in revenue from selling recyclable waste.
Sureeporn Jantaraprasart, chairperson of the Soi Phrajen Community, said that she had been interested in waste sorting for years. Many years ago, an effort to encourage community waste sorting failed due to the absence of a sheltered public space for storing the waste.
"We had no covered space to keep the waste out of the rain and sunlight. Moreover, garbage collectors from the district office did not come to the community consistently to collect the waste. This meant residents ran out of places to dispose of waste, which led the community to eventually abandon the project. When employees from Allianz Ayudhya approached me about a waste sorting project, I asked if it would be possible to find a covered area to store the waste," said Sureeporn.
An income of 26,000 baht may not seem much for some communities, but Sureeporn is satisfied with the result.
"The project helps unemployed people or those unable to work to earn some money. As part of this project, ML Jiratip Devakula, chief operating officer of Jak Reward Technology and founder of Khaya, helps educate children about waste sorting and exploring the environment in the community," she said.
Kris Danudejsakul of Champion Bags. Penggym
At the Soi Phrajen Community Station, waste is sorted and piled according to its category. This includes clear PET plastic bottles, green or brown plastic bottles, clear or green glass bottles, cardboard boxes, milk cartons, juice cartons and used clothing. The price of each type of waste is listed on a cardboard sign.
Sing, a community resident who is informed about waste sorting, explained that crushed plastic bottles and aluminium cans have a higher piece than those not crushed. The reason why crushed plastic bottles have a higher price is because they reduce labour involved in the recycling process.
"Residents who separate their waste will earn more money than those who simply dump all their trash together. Milk cartons and juice cartons can either be washed or left unwashed. If they are not washed, simply place them in plastic bags and tie them tightly to prevent air from getting in, so the cartons won't give off bad odours," said Sing.
"PET plastic bottles earn 10.50 baht per kilo, but crushed PET plastic bottles fetch 11.50 baht a kilo. Soda cans earn 31.70 baht, but crushed soda cans are 32.70 baht."
Besides the Soi Phrajen Community, other people can sort waste and contact Wastebuy Delivery through its application to pick up rubbish at their homes. Itthikon Srichanban, chairman of the executive committee of Wongpanit Suvarnabhumi Recycle Station and Wastebuy Delivery, explained that the company came up with Wastebuy Delivery to help people to rid of their waste.
ML Jiratip Devakula, founder of Khaya, educates children about waste sorting. Allianz Ayudhya
"Our company, Wongpanit Suvarnabhumi, does not have a pick-up service. At Wongpanit Suvarnabhumi, many customers line up to sell their waste, but we realised that there are other customers who cannot come to the company. Many Bangkokians understand waste sorting, but do not know where to dispose their sorted waste. They find it inconvenient, time-consuming and not worth the effort," explained Itthikon.
"Therefore, we came up with Wastebuy Delivery which provides a pick-up service. The Wastebuy Delivery app also provides information about selling prices of waste. In addition to earning money, customers will also get points from selling their waste and can use these points to redeem various items, such as bags and mugs."
After three months of the Soi Phrajen Community Waste Sorting Station, 10% of the community participated in the project. Patchara hopes that the project can expand to 20%, 30% and 40% in the future.
"We are proud of this first step and grateful to our partners. We hope that the Soi Phrajen Community will be a waste sorting model for other communities. In the future, we may manage wet waste from the community since there are food scraps which cause bad odours and attract diseased animals. At Allianz Ayudhya, we have a 200kg waste composting machine, but we aren't sure how to handle wet waste properly. We have to discuss more about it."
Patchara Taveechaiwattana of Allianz Ayudhya. Allianz Ayudhya
Sing at the Soi Phrajen Community Waste Sorting Station. Allianz Ayudhya
