Why Waste Potential Wealth?

“Waste to Wealth”

The Department of Export Promotion (DEP) in cooperation with the Furniture Industry Club, the Federation of Thai Industries, and the Thai Furniture Industries Association, presented the Thailand International Furniture Fair (TIFF) 2010, under the concept of “Living A Green Life”, which included admirable initiatives such as “Waste to Wealth”.

The “Waste to Wealth” project enlists consultants to diagnose issues and ways of using the factory scraps to create value, while addressing the problem of Thailand’s growing waste challenge. Common scraps are wood cut-offs, plastic and resin remnants, fabric and leather pieces, as well as metal and alloy odds and ends; many of which end up in landfills. Did you know that in the Bangkok metropolitan area alone, 9,000 tons of solid waste is disposed of each day?!?!

The “Waste to Wealth” project recruits entrepreneurs to emphasize recycling and waste management in their businesses to lead to a solution for sustainable growth, as well as to match the demands of green-minded customers.

The Industrial Technology Assistance Program (ITAP) under National Science & Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) has launched this project with the aims of (1) to create awareness about environmental problems from solid wastes; (2) to exchange design solutions and strategies; (3) to disseminate knowledge about scraps categorization, reclamation techniques, as well as production processes. Among small-medium size enterprises (SMEs).

In an interview with Dr. Singh Intrachooto, a strong supporter of the initiative, he noted that not only are companies now able to find use for their scraps, they are also profiting from this innovative manner of responsible manufacturing.

This selection of images showcases some of the new products, presented at TIFF 2010, that have come out of the “Waste to Wealth” project, utilizing factory scraps.