When I passed the high school exam, I did not know what I wanted to do. Now, I have a desire to protect the environment as much as I can. This journey started during my university days at Mandalay Technological University, Myanmar.
As a former chemical engineering student, I studied waste management, treatment, and recycling during my previous university years in Myanmar. I became more interested in zero waste, waste recycling, and waste-to-fuel while on a field trip studying at Mr. U Thant Zin Htun's Incinerator Project in the Matara landfill. At that time, I had a dream to build wastewater treatment plants like my senior students. I really admired the senior students who worked with environmental organizations to build wastewater treatment plant projects for the factories in Myanmar. This is my first journey with waste.
In 2018, I was a young boy and expected the most perfect solution for environmental problems. I was a person who believed that environmental protection should be the best thing to do. After actually getting an internship in the waste management industry and learning from what teachers and workers said, I started to see that I had to create a solution that is convenient with available finance for the project. This may be a difference between the perspectives of engineers and environmentalists. Business, natural environment, long-term operation and occupational health are considered in the perspective of an engineer. They have to create waste management projects with the existing funding situation.
In 2021, the military coup happened in Myanmar. I left my engineering school and moved to Thailand to study at Thammasat University. I would like to make social impacts and change the community to be a better society. That is why I changed from Chemical Engineering to Global Studies and Social Entrepreneurship major. It is an interesting specialization that can show me how to improve myself and society. I studied Critical Thinking, Communication, Sustainable Development Goals, Network Analysis, Research Methods, and Academic Writing in the first year. While studying in GSSE, I also started with my next journey with waste again.
In the second semester, we have to do a research project with the supporting funds of our faculty. My group chose the topic “Waste Pollution in Pattaya Beaches”. Before we went on actual field study, we read about the pollution in Pattaya as literature review, interviewed local organizations as a pilot interview, and made a research proposal presentation to professors. And then we made a travel plan and went to Pattaya to meet with local environmental groups, research actual fields and survey people on the beach, and learned a lot again.
When we went to Pattaya, we also visited a waste-recycling factory. It recycles bottle caps, plastic bags and ropes into more beautiful tiles, cups and handbags. The people who established this factory have a goal that one day they will close this factory when Pattaya beaches are clean. They are doing this waste recycling factory as environmental protection, not for profit. They also got a lot of awards for waste recycling and management. They were so kind and generous to us and explained everything they are doing. We also participated in waste recycling and got knowledge about recycling. I learned transforming wastes into more useful products.
After discussing and interviewing local people and visitors, we found differences between them. Most of the travelers think Pattaya beaches are clean and do not concern themselves with waste management. On the other hand, local people think waste management in Pattaya Beaches still needs to improve. When we go to Jonathan Beach, the staff from the nearby hotels have to collect the waste everyday. According to our literature review, the population in Pattaya is not stable and depends on the numbers of visitors and unregistered population. If local people only understand the regional situation of waste pollution in Pattaya, it is hard to solve these pollutions.
We also collected the waste on the beaches. The type of waste that we found mostly on the beaches is cigarette waste. We also found glass, rope, plastics, and rubber bands on the beaches. Most areas on the beaches looked like clean spaces, but we found wastes under the sand. We realized that the beaches of Pattaya have been improved a lot compared with the old days in waste disposal, management and recycling by comparing our literature review to actual condition. However, it still needs to improve more because we find improper waste disposal in some areas.
I also want to share another story of my journey with waste. I took part in a competition organized by Thammasat University called TU Start-up with my classmates, with an idea of BSF farming for food waste management in the University Canteen. Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is a type of flies which can eat the food waste. When BSFs grow up, they can be sold as animal feed. Food waste can also be turned into natural fertilizer. That was the idea of Tonkoon, the leader of our team. I learned about waste management and insects from this project.
We went to actual working places and factories to understand more about BSF. One of the BSF farms that we visited is Suan TongKao. Normally we feel disgusted with insects and flies. However, when we visited this farm, we went into a BSF cultivation house where there were many flies. I was really surprised that we did not feel disgusted with flies and waste. The farm transforms the fruit waste from supermarkets into more useful products with the help of BSFs. The farms produce BSF larvaes, natural fertilizer, and BSF eggs. At that farm, I realized and learned that wastes and insects can be changed into more valuable products.
Finally, we won the competition as the first-runner up. Currently, we research, think and discuss with professors and experts to change BSFs into more useful products.
In both cases, I am just a seeker of knowledge and only a follower. My classmates, Thai students, lead most of the things. I got my education by following their lead. I am an international student, so I do not understand Thai Language. If I ask something I don't know while visiting the field, they translate it for me. From their first year of university, they are so intelligent and well-performed with a full sense of organization and teamwork.
In sharing my journey, I am fueled by my passion to continue my involvement in projects related to waste management. When I said a joke “Had I become a Garbage Man because I always do the projects related to waste”, my teammates liked the joke and laughed. I have to thank them for everything. I believe protecting the environment is protecting the next generations.