Environmental Stewardship

Solid and Industrial Waste Management

Over 1,000 industrial plants are located in AMATA Industrial Estates in Thailand.

Together, they are running their operations with a combined workforce of more than 300,000 employees and generating a large amount of solid waste and industrial waste each year. Therefore, effective waste disposal from factory production process including solid waste management from offices and employees is matter to the Company and all stakeholders as always.

Risk

If the management of solid wastes and industrial wastes from the factories in the industrial estate does not comply with the law, it will negatively affect health and sanitation of waste operators, environment and surrounding communities both in a short and long run. It may also affect business license application for future expansion of the Company.

Opportunity

Efficient waste management and value addition to waste using circular economy principles provide business opportunity for the Company to develop new products and services which lower its cost and increase revenue while building confidence to the stakeholders and being recognized by local community.

Solid and Industrial Waste Management Approach

The Company is well aware of the responsibility for waste management as an industrial estate developer.

The Company has therefore set a Waste Management Policy to minimize the environmental impact which may be caused by operations within its industrial estates by strictly complying with applicable laws related to waste management, environmental standards and academic principles as well as encouraging all factories in the industrial estates to recycle and reuse their waste and apply innovation and modern technology to reduce solid waste and industrial waste.

The Company has assigned AMATA Facility Services Company Limited (AFS) to manage different types of waste from the factories in the industrial estates in accordance with the relevant laws under the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act, B.E.2522 (1979), the Factory Act, B.E.2535 (1992), and the Public Health Act, B.E.2535 (1992), and according to the scope of responsibility in waste management. Recently, 553 factories in AMATA City Chonburi and 198 factories in AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estates, 80% and 58%, respectively, have hired the Company to manage their solid waste and non-hazardous waste. The factories are responsible for managing their own hazardous waste themselves in keeping with the the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand Act, B.E.2522 (1979), the Factory Act, B.E.2535 (1992), and the Public Health Act, B.E.2535 (1992).

Zero Waste to Landfill

The Company is aware of the impact of waste disposal by landfill method because it produces greenhouse gases which is the main cause of climate change.

Then the Company has set its target to reduce solid waste to landfill as much as possible by using circular economy concept that aimed to achieve zero waste to landfill. The Company has implemented this concept to its waste management services which are waste collecting, sorting, and disposing solid waste in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate since 2011 and plans to expand its operations to AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate

The solid waste separation process at the waste separation plant operated by the Company’s contractors according to the 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) principle. The sorted solid waste was sent out and disposed by various methods by skilled and licensed contractors. Moreover, the Company encouraged the factories to sort and classify their solid waste before sending them to the waste separation plant. Then the Company received better quality waste for RDF production and waste recycling and minimized the non-usable waste to be disposed by landfill method. (Disclosure 306-2)

Performance

Solid Waste Management in AMATA City Industrial Estates

In 2021, the Company provided solid waste management services to factories in both industrial estates, totally 26,806.29 tons of waste. It was divided into 20,648.76 tons generated by factories in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate and 6,157.53 tons generated by factories in AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate. In order to achieve the Company's goal of reducing waste disposal by landfill method, the Company therefore focused on increasing the efficiency of waste separation staff, improving the waste disposal methods from sending waste to landfill to turning waste to an alternative fuel in form of Refuse-derived fuel or RDF which will be sent to the cement plant kilns.

Solid waste generated by factories in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate was separated in the Company’s waste separation plant. In 2021, there were 10.29% of recyclable waste and 89.65% of solid waste turned to alternative fuel or Refuse-derived fuel (RDF). This allowed the Company to reduce the amount of waste disposal by landfill method to 0.06% of the total solid waste generated by factories in AMATA City Chonburi. However, some types of solid waste still required disposal by landfill method, viz. non-combustible waste such as bricks, stones, cement, sand, food waste, etc.

COVID-19 pandemic in Thailand in 2020-2021 significantly causes an increase in infectious waste due to self-protection measures in the Company’s offices and the customers’ factories such as face mask and ATK (Rapid Antigen Test Kit). Although the proportion of such infectious waste is small compared with the total amount of solid wastes the Company manages for customers, the Company still needs certified and licensed contractors for infectious waste disposal services. While self-managed waste disposal in the factories causes them higher operational cost, so that. the demand of infectious waste disposal, a new waste management service, has increased significantly recently. The Company, therefore, has developed its infectious waste disposal services by selecting qualified and authorized contractors to serve its customers in both AMATA City Industrial Estates. The Company oversees and monitors infectious waste disposal by using GPS tracker in garbage trucks from departure to infectious waste incinerator as well as providing real-time transportation route report to the customers to build their trust. In 2021, 9.26 tons of infectious wastes, accounting for less than 0.05% of total wastes the Company managed in 2021, were disposed.

Waste management according to Zero Waste to Landfill concept allowed the Company to save waste management costs by 2.4 million baht in 2021 and 80% of factory operators who use Company's waste management service expressed satisfaction in the Company’s waste management service and expressed confidence that the waste was properly handled according to laws and regulations. The communities surrounding AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate were more confident in the waste management of the factories located in industrial estates. In addition, using circular economy concepts aiming to achieve zero waste to landfill improves resource utilization on optimization and efficiency and helps reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from the landfill as well.

Promoting customers’ awareness of industrial waste management

The Company realized that the participation of factories in its industrial estates can help reduce negative social and environmental impact. The Company therefore intends to promote knowledge and understanding inside factories in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate and AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate regarding solid waste management and industrial waste so its factories shall be in line with the law as set. The Company has organized the project "AMATA Best Waste Management Awards" for industrial waste and solid waste management which is an annual event starting from 2014 and continuing to the present. The project promotes and supports factories in increasing the efficiency of industrial waste management in the category of non-hazardous solid waste and sewage in the factory by applying the 3Rs (Reduce-Reuse-Recycle) principle to waste management, which results in the factories’ being able to reduce their production cost. The Company aimed to enhance the capability of the factories in solid waste and industrial waste management before sending their waste to the waste separation plant. Then the Company could have more quality waste for RDF production and waste recycling.

In 2021, there were 72 factories voluntarily joined the project. The number of factories from AMATA City Chonburi and AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate decreased from 2020. Due to COVID-19 crisis, the Company had to change the audit and assessment method from site visit to documentation. However, the Company continued to promote the importance of industrial waste management and enhance the capability in waste management of the factory, and their participation in reducing the negative impact on the environment and society.

In 2021 due to the pandemic, the Company have changed the channel for application and explanation of criteria and conditions to online meetings. A submission of application forms and references was made through electronic filing system. Evaluation consultation and interview were taken online instead of onsite process.

Waste Management Using Technology & Innovation

The Company promotes and supports value creation of plastic wastes according to circular economy principle.

Sorted plastic waste are reused as a “plastic road” construction component in AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate. At present, three plastic roads were constructed with a total distance of 1,990 meters using 16.89 tons of plastic waste.

In collaboration with SCG Chemicals business, the Company has developed “KoomKah Smart Manifest” system

a smart waste recording system that enhances capability in waste collection data management within the industrial estates by using technology, helps upgrade the transportation service providers and provides customers real-time data of waste collected for transparency and trust in the Company’s waste management, leading to smart environment city. Additionally, with COVID-19 pandemic, online approval system helps reduce document contact between the transporters and customers. In 2021, 100% of AMATA City Chonburi Industrial Estate’s customers adopts the system. It will expand this service to AMATA City Rayong Industrial Estate in the near future.

According to the circular economy concept, the Company promotes paper waste recycling

The Company cooperated with SCG Packaging Public Company Limited to develop the "Paper X Project" to promote recycling paper. To reduce the environmental impact and create a circular economy for the organization for sustainability.

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