Thai Union joins marine debris cleanup program with Samut Sakhon City Development to help protect local environment

Volunteers collected 1,004 kilograms of trash at the mangrove area around Ban Laem Railway Station and Ban Laem Suwannaram Tample,Tha Chalom Sub-district, Samut Sakhon province in support of the Company’s commitment to Healthy Oceans

Samut Sakhon – April 24, 2023 – Volunteers from Thai Union Group PCL and its subsidiaries, i-Tail Corporation PCL., Pakfood PCL., and Okeanos Food Co., Ltd. joined a program to clean up marine debris with Samut Sakhon City Development (Social Enterprise) Co. Ltd. as a part of its commitment to improving the health of the world’s oceans. The activity also supported a global campaign by the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) and Ocean Conservancy to protect the marine environment.

The cleanup event, held on 19 April 2023 at Tha Chalom Sub-district, aimed to raise awareness about the importance of curbing marine waste and creating a partnership between the public and private sectors and community groups to achieve positive outcomes.

Approximately 95 volunteers from Thai Union Group and its subsidiaries, Samut Sakhon City Development, the Samut Sakhon Provincial Administrative Organization, the Provincial Cultural Office Samut Sakhon, the Marine and Coastal Resources Office 8, the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Provincial Office Samut Sakhon, Wongphanit (Ban Phaeo branch), village health volunteers, and other community groups participated in the cleanup.

Prad Kerdpairoj, Director of Sustainability, Asia at Thai Union said, “At Thai Union, we have a corporate goal of Healthy Living, Healthy Oceans with a focus on health and wellbeing and working to protect the marine environment. The oceans are the foundation of our business, and we recognize that protecting them is not only important for our Company, but for the long-term health of the planet. Through our global sustainability strategy, SeaChange® Thai Union has a range of initiatives that are helping to nurture the health of the oceans, including an annual international coastal cleanup, mangrove restoration programs and food waste management.

“Everyone can be part of the solution to reduce and stop marine debris, with our collective efforts making a significant difference. Together, we can make a change in protecting the environment for the long term.”

Suwanchai Sangsuk-lam, Ph.D., President at Samut Sakhon City Development said, “I am pleased and very grateful to the volunteers for helping to collect trash in this area. The area where we conducted the cleanup activity used to be a muddy area with no trees. In 2018 – 2019, the Samut Sakhon City Development (SKCD), Tha Chalom community and various sectors joined hands to plant mangrove trees in this area and it has now become a mangrove forest. But the area also attracts a lot of trash that floats in from the Tha Chin river and becomes trapped, which prompted the SKCD to develop plans to coordinate with other sectors for volunteers to help collect trash every three months. There are now also plans to extend this program to other areas in Samut Sakhon province.”

A total of 1,004 kilograms (1 ton) of trash was collected by volunteers during the cleanup including plastic bags, foam, glass bottles, plastic bottles and other trash.

The trash collected was separated, with the recyclable items taken by a local recycling company, Wongphanit Ban Phaeo branch in Sumut Sakhon and some non-recyclable items taken by a local waste management organization and will be disposed of in a way that does not harm the environment.

Thai Union will join several more cleanup activities during 2023 including on World Oceans Day on June 8 and two events in the second half of this year. Since joining the campaign with SeaBOS in 2021, Thai Union volunteers have collected 3,115 kilograms of trash, including 1,809 kilograms in Thailand, Italy and Ghana last year.

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For more information please contact
Wiriyaporn Posayanonda 099-154-1254
Kanyarat Kiatchairin 064-949-6594