WWF-Thailand, Hilton Worldwide and Local Communities in Thailand Joined Forces to Reduce WasteWWF-Thailand, and the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion (DEQP) , in collaboration with eight Hilton Worldwide hotels in Thailand, recently held an event to announce the winners of the Eco Community Challenge, a program that involved seven partnering local communities across the nation in a competition to create a healthier environment through better waste management. Since its takeoff in late 2014, the initiative reduced a total of 16 tons of solid waste, saving an equivalent of 6,380 liters of fuel consumption.It is estimated that an individual produces approximately 1.2 kg of waste daily, and this accumulates to a global figure of 1,300 million tons of waste each year. In the Thai context, Thai people today produce about 1.5 kg of waste per person , The World Bank has forecasted that by 2025 when world population reaches 4,300 million, up to 2,200 million tons of waste will be produced each year, and that is an equivalent of 1.42 kg per person each day. These massive figures are one of the key drivers for organizing the Eco Community Challenge. As of July 2015, an estimate of over 8,100 people participated in the Eco Community Challenge which resulted in a reduction of more than 14 tons of carbon emissions through the 3R of better waste management principles, namely, Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. These 3R activities include, selling recyclable items, recycling for charity for children in the local communities, producing fertilizer from degradable waste, using bio-extract in farming, and organizing a no plastic bag campaign. “As a global company operating in more than 100 countries and regions, we are acutely aware of the effect that the hospitality industry has on the health of this planet, and are just as mindful of the potential we hold to make a real difference for future generations of our guests, Team Members and communities. Through the Eco Community Challenge, we were privileged to partner our local communities and WWF-Thailand to extend our commitment to preserving the environment, and positively impact places where we live, work and travel. It is indeed through the efforts at each and every one of our hotels that Hilton is able to reduce its environmental footprint. Our hotels across Thailand offer the Clean Air Program to lessen the environmental impact of meetings and events. Through LightStay, our proprietary Corporate Responsibility measurement platform, we have also been able to track usage, identify major opportunities for improvement, and reduce energy use, water use, waste output and carbon output through our operations,” said Sylvia Low, Senior Manager, Corporate Responsibility, Asia Pacific, Hilton Worldwide. “The world has been rapidly changing more than it has ever been witnessed in the entire history, with natural resources being consumed at unsustainable rates, meaning we currently do not have enough resources to support the world’s population. According to related research, in order to have sufficient natural resources to meet the demand of the existing world’s population, we will need an equivalent of 1.5 planets to provide the resources we use, and to absorb our waste. As a result, all parties should start paying more attention to environment protection. Waste reduction is another great way to help sustain our environments. In the past 3 years, WWF has already had similar waste management programs launched, but they are all at provincial levels. So this time around, we realize the importance of having local communities taking part in such action as not only it helps create healthier environment in local communities, it also helps lighten the workloads of the authority as well. Moreover, taking care of our environment is also our responsibility as citizens of Thailand,” said Miss Yaowaluk Thiarachow, Country Director, WWF-Thailand. “Waste management is considered as one of the country’s national agendas and the government has already initiated 4 waste management measures aimed to deal with such issue. One of the four measures emphasizes on the discipline development of the Thai people regarding waste management knowledge and understanding, in which it can be adapted to their way of life on a daily basis. Upon realization of the importance of such matter, the department provided technical and academic assistance to the project during its early initiation, with personnel deployment to participating local communities to educate the local people and provide them with needed information regarding waste management, including waste segregation, recycling as well as waste reduction before reaching landfills for solid waste. This project is a great community based initiative that has resulted in pronounced success,” said Mr. Worakorn Taetamchai, Dissemination Technical Officer, Operational level, Promotion and Dissemination Unit, DEQP At the event, activity booths were set up to demonstrate waste segregation, and bio-fertilizer production from degradable waste. Winners of the Eco Community Challenge were also announced: First Prize: Ban NoenThangRotfai Community in collaboration with Hilton Pattaya Second Prize: Suvarnabhumi Mosque Community in collaboration with Millennium Hilton Bangkok Third Prize: Khlongtoey Nai 1 Community in collaboration with Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok and DoubleTree by Hilton Sukhumvit Bangkok Honorable Mention award: Ban Saiyuan Community in collaboration with Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa To learn the correct way of waste segregation, the general public can participate in the online waste segregation activity free of charge, please visit www.wastechallenge.com
Post Date: Thu, 19 May 2016 17:24:59 +0700 |
| Contact Information | |
| Contact Person: | Hilton Pattaya |
|---|---|
| Position: | Marketing Communications |
| E-Mail Address: | bkkhp_mkt@hilton.com |
| Tel.: | 038 253 000 |
| Fax.: | 038 253 001 |
| Hilton Pattaya 333/101 Moo 9, Nong Prue, Banglamung, Pattaya, Chonburi 20260. |
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