Koh Phangan receives 60 tonnes of waste per day.
How do you motivate people to recycle? You put a value on it. This is the idea behind PIP (Phangan Island Project). Those that want to participate are given two mesh bags, for free. Put plastic bottles in one bag and aluminum cans in the other. We will collect your recyclables once a week. You will receive payment depending on the weight of each bag.
Where does the money come from? PIP will be welcoming new machinery on the island to help with processing the bottles and cans to increase its value. Once the plastic components from the bottles have been separated (the bottle, the label, and the lid) and shredded, the value increases. We send the processed raw materials to a recycling company in Bangkok, who offers us money for it. As we get paid, so do you. We will use our profit to sustain the project, and to fund machinery for future recycling projects (to be able to recycle more than just bottles and cans!) This is the key to success in this project- it is self sustaining.
We start with the recycling of bottles and cans because this offers the most revenue. Our goal for next year is to start collecting compost to use for community gardens. Eventually, we hope to recycle 100% of waste. Yes, it's possible, but only with the commitment of our community as a whole!
