MA-RE-DESIGN Project Closing Event brings together government, industry, academia, and civil society to mark years of work advancing circular economy solutions for plastic packaging management and marine litter prevention in Thailand.
Bangkok, 25 June 2026 – More than 150 representatives from government agencies, the private sector, international organisations, academia, and civil society gathered today at the Pullman Bangkok King Power Hotel, for the closing event of the Marine Litter Prevention through reduction, sustainable design, and recycling of plastic packaging (MA-RE-DESIGN) project – a German-Thai cooperation effort to prevent marine litter through sustainable plastic packaging management, eco-design, and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), pilot implementation in Trang and Koh Tao, and regional knowledge exchange. The event, titled “Creating the Plastic Future: Scaling Circular Economy with Collaborative Action”, served as both a celebration of what has been built and a platform for the partnerships that must carry it forward.
Thailand generates more than 25 million tonnes of municipal solid waste each year, approximately 12 per cent of which is plastic (Pollution Control Department, 2020) that contributes to the ocean plastic leakage. The country faces the dual challenge of managing existing waste streams while building systems that prevent leakage in the first place. Globally, UNEP estimates that 11 million tonnes of plastic enter the ocean annually – a figure that could nearly triple by 2040 without effective intervention.
Launched in 2023 and implemented by GIZ, the World Wildlife Fund WWF, and the United Nations Environment Programme – Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (UNEP-COBSEA), in close partnership with Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) under the Pollution Control Department (PCD) as the main implementing partner, and the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) as a key project partner, the MA-RE-DESIGN project has worked across three levels – local, national, and regional – to build a practical, replicable model for circular plastic management. Financed by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), the project applies circular economy principles across the entire plastic product lifecycle, from design to collection, sorting, and regenerative recycling.
The event was moderated by Alexander Simon Rendell, UNEP National Goodwill Ambassador for Thailand and Dr Punjaporn Weschayanwiwat, GIZ Thailand and included distinguished guests whose presence reflected the cross-sectoral commitment the project has cultivated over the years.
Ebba Scholl, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangkok, and Chirapong Kuhakanchana, Deputy Director-General of the Pollution Control Department (PCD). Keynote speeches were delivered by Sumana Kajonwattanakul, Director of Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Institute of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), and Taweechai Jiaranaikhajorn, Director of Waste Minimisation Subdivision, Pollution Control Department. The project summary was presented jointly by Alvaro Zurita, Project Director of MA-RE-DESIGN at GIZ, Eknarin Ariyavongvivat, Marine Conservation Lead and MA-RE-DESIGN Project Manager at WWF Thailand, and Mahesh Pradhan, COBSEA Coordinator.
Under the circular economy approach, the event also featured Flash Talks: “From Now to Beyond” by project beneficiaries spanning various topics
- Eco-design packaging by Associate Professor Dr Tatiya Trongsatitkul, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakhon Ratchasima Province
- Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) by Nophadol Siwabutr, Vice President, Thailand Institute of Packaging and Recycling Management for Sustainable Environment (TIPMSE)
- Turning Waste into Resources: Circular Waste Management in pilot site by Sarayut Thanasotorn, President of Trash Treasure Tao Community Enterprise, Koh Tao, Suratthani Province
- Regional Knowledge Exchange and Dissemination by Dr Ana Kumarasamy, Associate Programme Officer, UNEP- COBSEA
- National Policy Perspective on Circular Economy by Saravanee Singtong, Director of the Sustainability Policy Division, Office of National Higher Education Science Research and Innovation Policy Council (NXPO)
From Concept to Circular System
At the national level, GIZ supported the development of eco-design capacity across the private sector, working with SMEs, start-ups, and educational institutions to apply Design for Recycling (D4R) principles and life cycle assessment in packaging innovation. Key outputs include a revised D4R guideline, legal recommendations to support Thailand’s forthcoming Sustainable Packaging Management Act, international knowledge exchange seminars with Germany, and three company strategies to shift packaging toward greater recyclability and material efficiency. An annual packaging innovation award has helped mobilise young innovators and SMEs to see sustainable design not as a constraint, but as a competitive advantage.
On EPR, the project has provided critical technical inputs to support Thailand’s readiness for a formal producer responsibility system, including an EPR fee calculation guideline, a Producer Responsibility Organisation (PRO) proposal tailored to the Thai context, and legal recommendations aligned with international standards. These tools directly support PCD’s work to develop the policy and regulatory infrastructure needed for a mandatory EPR framework.
Communities as the Proof of Concept
In Koh Tao, Surat Thani Province, and Trang Province – two coastal municipalities near marine biodiversity hotspots – WWF Thailand worked with local communities, tourism businesses, and municipal authorities to build circular waste management models under the Plastic Smart Cities initiative. This included establishing a Deposit Return System, expanding water refill stations to reduce single-use plastic bottle consumption, creating reverse logistics systems for low-value recyclable waste, and setting up community waste banks. The Trash Treasure Tao Community Enterprise, a local social enterprise born from the project, now leads waste management operations on the island – a living example of community-owned circular economy in practice.
At the regional level, UNEP-COBSEA facilitated knowledge exchange through the 5th and 6th SEA of Solutions Forums, connecting Thailand’s experience with the other eight participating East Asian Seas countries. Good practice case studies on eco-design, waste banks, refill systems, and marine litter monitoring are being disseminated for replication across the region. A new web platform – the East Asian Seas Regional Node of the Global Partnership on Plastic Pollution and Marine Litter (GPML) – supports continued knowledge access beyond the project’s duration.
“The ocean is a shared responsibility. Protecting it means protecting our future economy and quality of life. MA-RE-DESIGN is a starting point, not an endpoint,” said Sumana Kajonwattanakul, Director of Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Institute, Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).
The closing event took place at a significant moment for global plastics governance. Countries are actively addressing a legally binding international instrument to end plastic pollution through the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) process, while the European Union advances the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) and the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) – frameworks with direct relevance for Thai exporters and manufacturers.
Chirapong Kuhakanchana, Deputy Director-General of the Pollution Control Department (PCD), emphasised that moving from a linear to a circular economy demands coordinated action across every sector: “The knowledge and tools developed through MA-RE-DESIGN will directly strengthen Thailand’s EPR framework, eco-design standards, and plastic waste management systems – building the foundation for a future where Thailand produces and consumes plastic responsibly.”
Ebba Scholl, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bangkok noted that the results of MA-RE-DESIGN go beyond Thailand, offering insights and practical solutions that can inform collaboration between Thai and European partners on circular economy and sustainable business models.
Gallery
The Marine Litter Prevention through Reduction, Sustainable Design and Recycling of Plastic Packaging (MA-RE-DESIGN) project aims to avoid plastic waste and improve the prevention of plastic waste leakage. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and the United Nations Environment Programme – Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (UNEP-COBSEA), in partnership with the Pollution Control Department (PCD) as project partner, and relevant agencies from both public and private sectors.
For more information, visit: https://www.thai-german-cooperation.info/marine-litter-prevention-through-reduction-sustainable-design-and-recycling-of-plastic-packaging-ma-re-design/
