In an attempt to help clean up the city and change Thai attitudes towards plastic pollution, Precious Plastic Bangkok, a community-based recycling initiative, has launched a plastic drop-off network across Bangkok. 

Focusing on Type 2 and Type 5 plastics such as bottle caps, milk cartons and food containers, the Precious Plastic team collects these plastic items at the drop-off points, before upcycling them into useful new products using their shredder machine. The flakes will then be melted in a second machine—the extruder—turning them into long threads which can be molded to make a whole range of different lifestyle products such as colorful bowls, lampshades and plant pots that will be sold at events and fairs. Every purchase will go towards helping the team set up machines in various Bangkok communities to help tackle plastic waste. 

To help, you can now drop off your used plastic items (remember to clean them first) at these six participating locations: Better Moon Cafe x Refill Station (Sukhumvit Soi 77/1, 086-375-3269), Broccoli Revolution (Sukhumvit Soi 49, 02-662-5001), Chakrabongse Villas (396 Maharaj Rd., 089-810-0498), Dice Cafe (Ari Soi 2), My Pilates (Sukhumvit Soi 49, 091-576-9006) and RBIS Rasami British International School (48/2 Ratchawithi Soi 2, 02-644-5291-2). 

Precious Plastic Bangkok was founded in 2017 as part of a global movement that originated in the Netherlands by designer Dave Hakkens. By using simple-to-build machines to turn plastic waste into new products, the initiative’s goal is to try and change society’s attitudes towards plastic pollution and for people to start seeing plastic as a valuable resource that is too precious to throw away or discard on the street. 

For more information on the plastic drop-off, see the group’s Facebook page. 

See also: Can Thailand ever turn the tide on single-use plastic waste?