Bangkok Recycling Chain and the Sustainable Development Goals

The Sustainable Development Goals are seventeen goals that have been established by the United Nations in 2015, as a call of global action to end poverty and inequality, protect the environment and ensure peace and prosperity. The goals are set for 2030, but it is currently not looking up in regards to achieving these goals by 2030. In the image below all seventeen SDGs are mentioned, as you can see they all have their own category, but they still intertwine with each other. 

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by the United Nations.

https://sisschools.org/sis-kg/blog/the-united-nations-sustainable-development-goals-explained/ 

Bangkok Recycling Chain

Bangkok recycling Chain is a sustainable organisation that focuses on improving the planet and cares for the environment. Our network promotes sustainable waste management and recycling in Bangkok, and therefore it aligns with some of the Sustainable Development Goals. Through our focus on environmental sustainability, community engagement and economic development, BRC aligns with some specific goals namely; SDG 11, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 17, but there are more goals that can be linked to BRC. We will explain in detail why each of these goals align with our purpose and way of working. 

SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities

Our organisation is committed to sustainable waste management, which improves the quality of Bangkok and the communities as the city is getting more sustainable. BRC helps to reduce urban waste through recycling programs and community-driven waste management initiatives, which contributes to cleaner, more sustainable and liveable cities. BRC tries to achieve this goal by encouraging waste segregation,  supporting the recycling infrastructure and by giving community education on sustainable practices. With these informative programs BRC wants to educate people on how to engage in sustainable waste management and encourage them to be more aware of the recycling infrastructure in Bangkok. 

SDG 12 : Responsible Consumption and Production

The Bangkok Recycling Chain contributes to SDG 12 by addressing unsustainable consumption and waste production patterns, which are significant issues in urban environments like Bangkok. By putting the focus on recycling, reusing, and waste reduction, BRC creates a circular economy where products are reused and the value is being kept instead of thrown away. BRC encourages individuals, households and businesses to be more engaged in recycling, by providing them accessible systems for sorting and collecting recyclable materials. The impact of this is that it reduces waste in landfills, cuts down pollution, and saves natural resources by reusing materials like plastic, metal, and paper in new products.

 BRC advocacy for reusing products also aligns with responsible consumption and production, as they run awareness campaigns and workshops to show how items like glass, packaging and fabrics can be reused instead of just thrown away. This helps to decrease the mass consumption as people make products last longer and it lowers the carbon footprint, which is very important for improving the environment. 

BRC also runs hand-on workshops teaching creative ways to turn waste into useful or decorative items for example, making shopping bags out of old clothes. These workshops encourage the community to live more sustainable, reduce waste and think creatively about using resources. These workshops align with this SDG as well as the SDG on sustainable Communities, which shows that the SDGs intertwine with each other. 

By supporting SDG 12, BRC helps protect the environment, promotes thoughtful consumption, and encourages creative, sustainable production for a better future

SDG 13: Climate Action

Bangkok Recycling Chain aligns with the SDG on Climate Action, as they address the link between waste management and the greenhouse gas emissions. When recycling is done in an effective way, it reduces the emissions from waste disposal methods, such as dumping grounds and incinerations, which contribute largely to climate change. BRC also promotes public engagement and awareness to inspire collective action for climate mitigation.

But how does Recycling reduce greenhouse gas emissions? By recycling materials such as paper, plastics, and metals, they don’t end up in landfills which lowers these emissions. Secondly, recycling materials like aluminium, plastics, and glass uses significantly less energy compared to producing these materials from raw resources. Thirdly, burning waste happens a lot when waste is just dumped somewhere, burning waste produces carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other harmful gases. Recycling reduces the amount of waste that needs to be burned, which helps lower these emissions. 

SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

This SDG goal focuses on the collaboration between organisations and networks to achieve the overall goals, Bangkok Recycling Chain collaborates with local communities and businesses to achieve shared sustainability goals. Through networking at events, BRC tries to broaden their partnerships, because cooperation increases the impact as the community grows. Networking initiatives and cross-sector partnerships help to scale up the recycling programs that are already set in place. 

There are two additional SDGs that align with Bangkok Recycling Chain namely; Life below water and life on land. The goal on life below water benefits indirectly, because of the initiatives of BRC on reducing plastic waste, which would otherwise end up in bodies of water and disrupt the aquatic ecosystems. The goal life on land benefits indirectly, for the same reasons as the previous SDG, as the reducing of waste prevents soil and land degradation, which is important for the environment on land. 

In conclusion, the Bangkok Recycling Chain is aligning their own goals with the ones that are adopted by the United Nations known as the Sustainable Development Goals. The Goals that have the most in common with BRC are particularly related to environmental sustainability and community development. By focusing on SDG 11, which is all about sustainable cities and communities, BRC helps reduce urban waste, supports cleaner and more sustainable cities, and fosters community engagement in waste management. Through its initiatives promoting SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production, BRC encourages recycling, upcycling, and reducing single-use plastics, encouraging individuals and businesses to adopt more sustainable consumption habits. Lastly, BRC’s alignment to SDG 13: Climate Action ensures that the recycling activities not only reduce waste but also help climate change by cutting down greenhouse gas emissions that are associated with landfills and incineration. By continuing to expand our efforts and partnerships, Bangkok recycling Chain will contribute to a greener, more sustainable future for Bangkok and hopefully beyond.