Warawan Tippawanich, Senior Vice President – Corporate Affairs at GC, attended the “UPCYCLING FOR A BETTER WORLD 2019” event which included an exhibition of innovative designs through the upcycling process in which unwanted materials are recycled to produce value-added products for daily use. The event was organized by Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC)’s Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC) on 13 September 2019 at Helix Garden, EmQuartier in Bangkok.

A highlight of the event was the introduction of the world’s first handmade carpet made from plastic bottles found in the ocean together with the “Upcycling for a Better World” seminar which included representatives from several key sectors. They discussed the best approach to addressing the waste problem and environmental issues, and ways to promote the use of upcycled products. Distinguished guests who joined the seminar included Warawan Tippawanich, Senior Vice President – Corporate Affairs; Visit Malaisirirat, CEO of Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Limited (MQDC); Associate Prof. Singh Intrachooto (PhD), Chief Advisor of Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC); Suntorn Kraitrakul, CEO of Carpet Maker (Thailand) Limited; and Alex Rendell, Environmental Education Center Thailand (EEC Thailand).

Warawan said, “The company operates its business practices in compliance with the principles of the Circular Economy, which promotes the efficient use of resources ensuring their maximum benefits, and the need to preserve our environment. We are working to achieve these goals by increasing cooperation, and initiating waste management systems with proper waste sorting as we believe this plays an integral role in driving global sustainability. We have successfully implemented several projects including the ‘Upcycling the Oceans, Thailand’ project in which plastic waste from the ocean and coastlines are recycled into a fashionable collection of clothing and bags, the ‘ThinkCycle’ Bank which aims to increase knowledge and provide a better understanding about waste management among children and youth, and the ‘PPP Rayong’ project, a collaboration with the public and private sectors to address waste management.”

The partnership between GC, RISC and MQDC is an important step forward for GC in tapping into an important segment of the real estate market. An increased amount of upcycled materials being used more widely is helping to inspire people and build public awareness thanks to their robust, durable and eco-friendly properties. Therefore, GC initiated the ‘Upcycling Plastic Waste’ project to turn plastic waste into value-added materials through an innovative transformation process, demonstrating another effective way to give new life to plastic waste. Through this project, GC is responsible for the development of upcycled materials for the production of furniture, decorative items and construction supplies to meet demand in the real estate business. The upcycled products include carpets made from recycled fibers (derived from PET bottles), concrete edging blocks for curbs and walkways, and landscape elements such as synthetic concrete and wood.