YOLO’s mission is to create a zero-waste future by implementing Circular Economy solutions, promoting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and empowering communities through waste segregation, recycling, and upcycling initiatives.

Getthip Hannarong_Zero Waste YOLO 

YOLO’s mission is to create a zero-waste future by implementing Circular Economy solutions, promoting Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), and empowering communities through waste segregation, recycling, and upcycling initiatives. 

""‘YOLO’ operates a Circular Economy-driven waste management system, focusing on Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), plastic waste recovery, and upcycling. ‘YOLO’ runs 60+ drop-off points, processes hard-to-recycle plastics through our Material Recovery Center (MRC), and manufactures recycling machines for schools and businesses. ‘YOLO’’s solutions help corporations meet sustainability goals, empower marginalized communities through employment, and promote waste segregation education to drive long-term behavioral change." "

To learn more about Asia Beautiful Fellow, including its business background, selection criteria, and support offerings, please click the link below!

What scenery comes to mind when you think about Thailand?

Thailand, the Koreans’ most beloved country, with its brilliant beaches and lively night markets! However, there are unimaginable problems behind the splendid scenery. The sky over Bangkok is shrouded in smog, and the hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic waste are left scattered across the streets and flow into the sea every year. This poses a threat to people's lives and health while also worsening the climate crisis.

Thailand generates about 2.76 million tons of plastic waste annually(UNEP, 2024), which is about 74 kilograms per person, more than double the global average(World Bank, 2020). 30% of this waste isn't even collected, and more than half of what is collected is incinerated or sent to landfills without being recycled(Lifecycle Initiative, 2020). The dioxin, fine dust, and methane gas produced in the process have made Thailand's cities more and more vulnerable to the climate crisis.

In particular, in large cities such as Bangkok, the risk of flooding has increased due to blocked drainage pipes caused by plastic waste. Additionally, unsanitary treatment and poor working conditions for informal workers are also emerging as pressing issues that require attention.

Let me introduce Kate, the first fellow of the 4th cohort of Asian Beautiful Fellows, who is working on social innovation to address this situation.

What is Zero Waste YOLO? 

Zero Waste YOLO is a social enterprise founded in 2018 by Kate and her husband to address serious waste management issues in Thailand.

Kate refuses to accept the reality that children cannot help but grow up in this fine dust and has started Zero Waste YOLO as a way to make changes on her own, with a desperate heart. Thailand today has become a place where children cannot enjoy nature due to an inefficient waste segregation system and improper waste disposal, unlike herself, who grew up surrounded by nature with clean air.

Zero Waste YOLO implements a circular economy-driven waste management system, integrating waste recovery and upcycling solutions against these structural challenges. It also operates more than 60 collection points in Bangkok, sorts and processes waste plastics at the Material Recovery Center(MRC), and manufactures small-scale recycling machines to enable schools and businesses to participate in recycling independently.

Above all, it also creates a "zero-waste future" in Thailand by changing citizens' behavior through education and creating sustainable jobs in the community, not just reducing waste.

The problems that Zero Waste YOLO is eager to tackle 

ⓒEnvironmental Investigation Agency 

Thailand generates approximately 2.76 million tons of plastic waste annually, but only 500,000 tons of it are officially recycled(UNEP, 2024) (Lifecycle Initiative, 2020). The remaining more than 2 million tons are reclaimed or flow into rivers and oceans, accelerating soil and water pollution, as well as the climate crisis and ecosystem destruction.

The landfill situation is even more severe. Many Thai landfills are open dumpsites that emit vast amounts of greenhouse gases, including methane gas, leading to soil and water pollution(World Bank, 2022).

ⓒUN Environment 

Additionally, incinerated domestic and agricultural waste generates ultrafine dust (PM2.5) and negatively impacts the air quality of surrounding countries, including Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia. There is a research result that this air pollution causes the premature death of over 29,000 people in Bangkok each year(Greenpeace, 2021).

In addition to environmental hazards, the financial risks are also significant.

Plastic waste puts the travel, fishing, and shipping industries in the APEC region—including Thailand—at risk of losing approximately $1.3 billion annually

(UNESCAP, 2022).

Despite the Thai government's political efforts to address the plastic waste problem, there is still a lack of substantial change in many areas. Above all, there is an urgent need for practical, field-based action, active participation from local communities, and a change in public awareness about waste.

To address these issues, Zero Waste YOLO is implementing multilateral solutions, such as waste collection, recycling, and upcycling, to establish a sustainable resource circulation structure throughout Thai society. Especially, Zero Waste YOLO has a unique characteristic of focusing on the collection, selection, and recycling of difficult-to-recycle plastics to utilize waste more diversely in Thailand.

The activities Zero Waste YOLO does 

Kate and Zero Waste YOLO are building a sustainable circular economy system through diverse activities that integrate technology, education, employment, and policy, working together with local governments, research institutes, and local communities to address Thailand's serious plastic waste problem.

① Plastic waste collection and Material Recovery Center (MRC) operation

Zero Waste YOLO waste collection process
ⓒ BeautifulStore, Zero Waste YOLO  

Zero Waste YOLO is encouraging the introduction of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) in Thailand. This system obligates product producers to take environmental responsibility throughout their entire life cycle, from production to disposal, collection, and recycling. By demonstrating voluntary and proactive waste management for difficult-to-recycle plastics, Zero Waste YOLO is working to legitimize this system.

Zero Waste YOLO collects hard-to-recycle plastic waste from households, schools, and businesses, and operates over 60 drop-off points for the collection of plastic waste.

The collected plastic waste moves to the MRC in the Nong Khaem area, outside of Bangkok, where local residents sort and process it.

The difficult-to-recycle plastic waste among it shifts to the upcycling community, where it can be reborn as new products. Therefore, a circulation system that does not rely on landfill and incineration has emerged.

Zero Waste YOLO’s actions highlight plastic waste issues and recycling system problems, motivating people to take environmental attention and responsibility seriously. Elderly women who face difficulties finding employment participate in MRC’s selection process, making the work even more meaningful as it provides elderly women with a stable income and opportunities for social engagement.

Zero Waste YOLO upcycled products

ⓒBeautifulStore, Zero Waste YOLO 

Low-value materials—plastics that are difficult to recycle after the MRC sorting process—are sent to the upcycling community, where they are transformed into well-designed and functional products.

Zero Waste YOLO produces a variety of goods, ranging from business essentials, such as pens, coasters, and keyrings, to medals, souvenirs, and educational tools like a recycled plastic tangrams set designed for cognitive development in children with ADHD. These products combine environmental value and practicality while also conveying important social messages.

Furthermore, it provides employment opportunities for marginalized social groups in the manufacturing process.

③ Recycling machine manufacturing

Zero Waste YOLO upcycling machine ⓒZero Waste YOLO 

Zero Waste YOLO designs and manufactures small-scale recycling machines by itself. These machines are designed to break down, dissolve, and shape plastics into new products. Notably, these machines are based on Precious Plastic's global open-source design but are also localized and improved to suit Thailand’s specific waste conditions and energy needs(Precious Plastic Official Website).

Zero Waste YOLO sells machines to universities and small businesses that require small-scale production, as well as to local communities that attempt to recycle waste independently, just like Zero Waste YOLO does. In addition, it supports local small business groups by operating upcycling startup tutoring programs, enabling them to start their own small resource-cycle businesses with Zero Waste YOLO’s recycling machines.

Through this, the foundation for an independent circular economy is well established, even in a region with no large factories.

④ Environmental education campaign and consulting project 

Zero Waste YOLO ‘Magic Hands on Tour’ Campaign ⓒZero Waste YOLO,〈Campaign for forbidding mixed waste discharge in household〉

Zero Waste YOLO offers citizens a waste disposal education and experience program with Bangkok City Hall, through the ‘Magic Hands on Tour(มือวิเศษสัญจร / Meu Wí-sèt Săn-jon)’ campaign. All collected waste is managed correctly within the city, and Zero Waste YOLO helps citizens understand the importance of waste disposal and take action themselves.

Zero Waste YOLO ‘CJ Express Project’ ⓒZero Waste YOLO, Waste management consulting in Chachoengsao district 

Additionally, it offers consulting programs to help local communities construct sustainable waste management systems, thereby creating a sustainable community environment. As part of this effort, ‘CJ Express Project - Market with good opportunity(ตลาดโอกาสดี / dtà-làat oh-gàat dee)’ is designing a comprehensive waste management system in Chachoengsao. The agricultural district of Chachoengsao, east of Bangkok, suffers from environmental issues. E-waste, illegally dumped by foreign companies, is destroying cassava farms and polluting the main water source(ABC News, 2019).

‘CJ Express Project’ finds and collects illegally dumped waste in Chacheongsao district, and makes them recyclable by rendering them into Refuse-derived fuel(RDF). This process significantly reduces waste in Chachoengsao and helps preserve resources for a sustainable ecosystem.

Zero Waste YOLO’s environmental education ⓒZero Waste YOLO

Zero Waste YOLO collaborates with a research institute affiliated with the University of Chulalongkorn and conducts environmental education for schools, and operates a ‘Train to Trainer’ program for businesses. This program provides executive members with waste management education in the business field, as well as consulting services to establish a system.

In the long run, Zero Waste YOLO will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills and create a tangible movement that empowers local residents to improve their environment themselves.

⑤ Sustainable packing and Policy advocacy activities 

Last but not least, Zero Waste YOLO conducts policy campaigns to reduce waste at the production stage, while promoting the legislation of a sustainable packaging law, a legal basis to implement EPR in Thailand.

By collaborating with government parties, businesses, and environmental groups, it presents alternatives and policy proposals to reduce disposable plastic usage. These policy advocacy activities laid a crucial foundation for Thailand's transition to a circular economy.

People working with Kate 

① Employee, Ketsarin Paratipcharoencha 

ⓒBeautifulStore 

I joined in September 2024, and I'll soon be celebrating my first year working at Zero Waste YOLO. Thanks to Kate, my college friend, I came across Zero Waste YOLO spontaneously, and now I'm responsible for marketing and events, which include conducting exhibitions, workshops, educational programs, and more. I feel worthwhile when participants say, "Wow, I’ve never known there was such a cool recyclable product!" after I introduce Zero Waste YOLO's upcycled products. I feel very proud of myself that I'm doing something that helps my community. Kate is a great leader who has a deep understanding of plastics, despite it not being her major, and is always encouraging her colleagues.

② Waste sorting community representative, Banjong Sae-Ung 

I have served as a community leader for over 20 years and am currently responsible for connecting the community and government, as well as coordinating necessary matters at MRC, Zero Waste YOLO’s material recovery center. The people here usually make a living by collecting trash, so their living standard is not generally high. As Zero Waste YOLO runs MRC in our village and suggests workplace for the community, elderly women who have difficulty finding employment can earn a more stable income while making positive environmental changes.

③ Upcycling community representative, Suchittra Phoomnoi 

④ Cooperative researcher, Sujitra Vassanadumrongdee 

I am a policy researcher at the Sustainable Environmental Research Institute under the University of Chulalongkorn, researching policies and legislation related to the circular economy, waste management, and EPR. Kate provides waste reduction consulting services to schools, communities, and businesses, and I often accompany her in the field to support her work and connect her with external stakeholders. Zero Waste YOLO has an excellent strength because it serves as a bridge between citizens, businesses, and governments in the field. I hope Zero Waste YOLO will develop its business model in the long term and evolve into a sustainable platform that drives changes in citizens' behavior.

Future Plan of Zero Waste YOLO 

✅100,000kg of plastic waste reduction per year 

Zero Waste YOLO could save plastic waste from being thrown into the landfill, reducing approximately 50~80 tons of waste annually from 2021 to 2023, and 130 tons of low-cost plastic in 2024, by virtue of the active partnership.

It aims to reduce at least 100 tons of plastic waste annually by 2040, thereby decreasing the environmental burden and enabling more local communities to benefit from the circular resource system.

✅Spread of integrated waste management solutions 

Kate runs with Zero Waste YOLO to introduce the national standard waste management system to Thailand’s four main cities (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Pattaya), which can manage even the most difficult-to-recycle plastic waste within a decade.

As Bangkok accounts for 20% of the country's waste, Kate has primarily worked in the Bangkok area. From now on, she aims to expand her efforts to other regions, sharing her skills and experiences so that future generations can live in a better environment.

Kate would never stop until the structure became a system led by a public institution, not by a small social enterprise, with total integration into the local government and national systems.

How did you like the story of Kate, the first participant of the 4th Asian Beautiful Fellowship?

Kate is determined to continue listening to various voices in the field and finding solutions so that lots of people and communities can experience a stable and sustainable waste management system. Kate will make a positive impact in the community and city through activities that cover education/policy/employment, as well as improvements in collection and recycling technology.

Beyond addressing the plastic problem, Zero Waste YOLO continues to innovate and grow as a reliable partner in the circular economy.

BeautifulStore walks alongside social entrepreneurs in Asia, such as Kate, who are dedicated to addressing environmental issues. We look forward to seeing the incredible work social entrepreneurs will accomplish during their two-year journey with BeautifulStore! 😊

Support Kate and Zero Waste YOLO in their efforts to address waste problems in cities and communities at their root.

Look forward to the story of the second participant in the Asia Beautiful Fellowship before long!