The Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide has recently been translated into Thai, making it the tenth translation now available through the World Packaging Organisation (WPO) website.
The Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide is a starting point to understand best practice examples using state-of-the-art technology that can then be applied and tailored to suit the recovery and recyclability capabilities and infrastructure on a regional and local level.
The formal launch of the Thai translation was undertaken at ProPak Asia in Bangkok with the President of the WPO, Pierre Pienaar; VP Sustainability & Save Food, Nerida Kelton; members of the Thai Packaging Association (TPA); and the translators of the guide from the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University all in attendance.
Jeeranuch Buddeejeen, lecturer in Packaging Technology and Product Management, School of Science and Technology at the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, formally launched the Thai guide and thanked the WPO for its support in making this translation possible.
“Thank you very much to the WPO for allowing us the opportunity to not only translate this important global packaging design for recycling guide, but also to enable the University to be able to use the guide in their curriculum,” Buddeejeen said.
"I hope that all of the young packaging designers at universities and entrepreneurs in the packaging industry globally can gain knowledge and understanding of the standard for circular packaging design that is set out in this guide. I believe that good packaging design will help Thai people to have a better quality of life and make our planet better," she said.
Nerida Kelton, vice president Sustainability & Save Food for the WPO added that the opportunity for members of the WPO to be in physical attendance at this launch was "very special".
“During ProPak Asia we had the opportunity to meet many of the members of the translating team and also many students who are using the Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide in their degrees. We need to see more academic institutes like the Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University training students to design out waste at the start and teaching them to better understand the end of life for packaging materials through collection, sorting, recycling and reprocessing capabilities. It is so important that all students across the globe are trained in designing with recyclability in mind so that they design out all unnecessary materials, packs and waste at the start,” Kelton said.
“Design for recycling is part of circular product design and represents an important basis for holistic sustainability assessment. Accordingly, circularity means that the packaging is designed in such a way that the highest possible recycling of the materials in use can be achieved. The goals here are resource conservation, the longest possible service life, material-identical recycling (closed-loop recycling) or the use of renewable materials. Circular packaging should therefore be designed and manufactured in such a way that it can be reused (reusable solution) and/or that the raw materials used can be reused to a large extent as secondary raw materials after the use phase (recycling) and/or consist of renewable raw materials,” she said.
In conclusion, WPO President Pierre Pienaar added that he believes that an exciting future awaits Thai colleagues and everyone else now able to reference this WPO Global Packaging Design for Recycling Guide.
“I am confident that this guide will make the student’s lives easier as they work towards more sustainable packaging design and development in Thailand. I would encourage everyone in Thailand to use it and tell all of your colleagues about how they can access the guide through the WPO website at no charge. I would also like to thank those from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University and the TPA for all of their hard work and efforts that they put into translating this guideline so that all of Thailand can now use it freely and intentionally. Acknowledgement must also be extended to Patra Khunawat from the TPA who led this project with the University. We wish all of the students much success in their packaging careers,” Pienaar said.
The Thai translation is available to download and access for free via the WPO website here.
