The project, which is the first time a service of this kind has been used within shopping centres, oversees the installation of high tech drive-thru garbage collection and sorting points first at Central East Ville, followed by Central Si Racha. Customers will receive The1 points and discounts from various partners and stores in exchange for using the Drive & Drop Recycle Station.
Furthermore, Central Pattana is joining hands with Recycle Day and SCG to include a ‘Smart Wall’ innovation that uses environmentally friendly materials and minimises construction waste. This is to highlight the goal of being an 'Eco-Friendly & Zero Waste Shopping Mall'. Central WestGate will reduce the amount of waste from its restaurants with the latest innovation and technology called the 'NOW Digester' from Now End of Waste Co. These machines are used at the airport in Singapore to process food waste into organic fertiliser. Central Pattana will roll out the project to all of its branches nationwide.
Dr. Nattakit Tangpoonsinthana, Executive Vice President of Marketing for Central Pattana plc, said: “The trend of ‘From Waste to Worth’ is one of the global megatrends that aims to change the habits of waste disposal – transforming waste to something of value, creating jobs and generating income. Central Pattana places waste management as our top priority in our sustainable business operations to create a 'sustainable community' in Thailand. Calculation and projections show the shopping centre business in Thailand produces more than 500,000 tons of waste per year in total and if this is not processed or handled properly, this waste will affect the environment. We, therefore, aim to reduce landfill waste by 50% within five years through proper sorting and processing in our shopping centres.
We are also asking for cooperation from stores in our shopping centres to process waste and to campaign for changing the behaviours of customers by encouraging them to finish their dishes in order to reduce the amount of food waste. This helps to highlight Central Pattana as a real estate leader in terms of sustainability in Thailand and the world.
Mr. Chanam Chawanich, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Recycle Day Co., Ltd., said: “Recycle Day is a new generation of startup, with a business model that aims to turn waste into something of value. Cooperating with Central Pattana, which shares the same values and beliefs, is an important step that will help expand our customer base. Central EastVille and Central Si Racha have a high-quality group of customers and the average customer traffic is between 30,000-50,000 people per day. These shoppers prefer to use their personal vehicles, have the habit of sorting garbage at home, and are always on the lookout for a garbage sorting point in shopping centres. We also have a group of existing customers who have joined the waste sorting programme in Bangkok and are preparing to expand to Chonburi province. It is expected that this cooperation will increase the number of people who care about the environment. Joining our waste-sorting programme will help us reach the goal of 20,000 people in three years and also create a society of good waste-management habits.”
Mr. Porpong Shinawatra, Co-Founder of End of Waste Co., Ltd., said: “Central WestGate is a large shopping centre in the form of a super-regional mall with a large customer base of family customers visiting the numerous restaurants in both the Tops and Food Park zones. A large amount of organic waste is generated by the restaurants daily. Therefore, we have cooperated with Central Pattana to bring 'NOW Digester' to a Thai shopping centre for the first time. This tool operates with the same technology used to manage waste at airports, leading hotels and world-class shopping centres in Singapore and Norway which are considered model countries in terms of waste management. The NOW Digester is able to decompose food waste with microorganisms into liquid form within 24 hours. It is expected to reduce the amount of landfill waste by 180,000kg in six months. This is a strong business collaboration between End of Waste and Central Pattana and we welcome companies, shops and agencies that are interested in this innovation to see how it works free of charge for a chance to push forward sustainable environmental solutions in Thailand together.”
