Environmental partnership in Thailand continues: education drive for schools

The program complements the cleanup activities of the Environmental Partnership launched in 2023. The aim is to reduce the amount of waste flowing into the Chao Phraya River through the side channels and establish a stable waste management infrastructure around the Thai capital.

“Education is an important key in life,” says Sebastian Rudolph, chairman of the board of the Ferry Porsche Foundation. “Through this program, students closely deal with the environmental consequences of carelessly disposed of waste. They also learn about the value of recyclable materials. This helps strengthen their environmental awareness for a sustainably cleaner future.”

To learn by practise

The approach to this education strategy? To learn by practise. Right from the start of the project, school classes take part in a clean-up campaign along the Phasi Charoen canal. The canal flows into the Chao Phraya, which in turn flows into the Gulf of Thailand 35 kilometers west of Bangkok. About 385 tons of waste ends up in the ocean via the river every year.

Back in the classroom, the students then set up their own recycling system for their school. In this playful way, young people learn about the waste cycle and the dangers of thrown away plastic. This not only stimulates entrepreneurial thinking, but also makes the school environment a cleaner place. The local non-governmental organization TerraCycle Global Foundation will support this process for a year and coach student teams and teachers.

Now on board: Bentley Environmental Foundation

Since last year, the Ferry Porsche Foundation, together with the Audi Environmental Foundation and everwave, has been committed to sustainable structures for waste prevention and recycling in Bangkok. The trio will be strengthened this year by the newly established Bentley Environmental Foundation. With their initiative, the project partners want to draw attention to the fact that rivers act as ‘plastic highways’: carelessly discarded waste is blown into the water and ends up in the open sea.

In addition to the program for schools, the environmental partnership also continues to support the deployment of the smart waste collection boat CollectiX and the construction of new sorting and processing facilities. Using drones, cameras and artificial intelligence, everwave detects and collects concentrations of waste. With the aim of removing up to 20 tons of waste from the water every month. Employees of the TerraCycle Global Foundation sort and process the waste.

“Last year, 66,000 kilograms of waste were fished out of the water,” reports Clemens Feigl, CEO of everwave. In addition, four full-time jobs have been created locally and six barriers have been placed in the canal to prevent the waste flow. Feigl: “If all goes well, the Chao Phraya and its side channels could be waste-free in ten to twenty years.”

About Everwave

everwave cleans up the environment: waste collection boats prevent waste from ending up in the oceans. Artificial intelligence helps in these clean-up missions to detect and analyze waste. The collected material is then disposed of through environmentally friendly procedures, while also raising public awareness of environmental issues. The start-up is active in Bosnia, Thailand and Cambodia and promotes clean water in these and other countries. To date, everwave has collected more than 1.4 million kg of waste from rivers.

About the Audi Environmental Foundation

The Audi Environmental Foundation GmbH is an active supporter of new technology and scientific methods for a livable future. The aim of the foundation is to contribute to the protection of the environment and to create and promote ways to act sustainably. The Foundation focuses in particular on the promotion and development of environmentally friendly technology, environmental education measures and the protection of the natural resources of humans, animals and plants. It was founded in 2009 by AUDI AG as a 100 percent subsidiary and is part of its commitment to social and environmental issues.

About the Bentley Environmental Foundation

Founded in 2023, the Bentley Environmental Foundation is committed to one of humanity’s most important challenges: preserving and restoring the planet for future generations. The Foundation works with globally recognized non-governmental organizations and charities to drive environmental change through collaborative and transformative environmental projects.

About the Ferry Porsche Foundation

Founded in 2018, the Ferry Porsche Foundation promotes and initiates charitable projects in the areas of social welfare, environment, education and science, culture and sports. Through its social commitment, the Foundation especially wants to support young people at Dr. Ing. hc F. Porsche AG. It is named after Ferry Porsche, who founded the Porsche sports car brand in 1948.