About 2 million tons of plastic waste were generated every year in Thailand over the past decade, but only a quarter was properly retrieved and recycled. Thailand is known for its beautiful nature, but plastic waste has now clogged many of its oceans and beaches. Ocean waste is a critical issue for marine life and biodiversity and that’s why it is urgent to recover and recycle the waste that ends up there.

Launched in 2020, Second Life is a social enterprise based in Southern Thailand that teams up with coastal and vulnerable communities to collect plastic waste from the sea. The project provides these communities with additional income, while creating a circular economy model that recycles the waste and upcycles it into new products.

Second Life invests in processing tools, such as bailing machines. They also provide education and income opportunities to local precarious minorities, such as the Moken, an ethnic group of semi-nomadic fishing people who collect plastic waste in the Andaman Sea. Read more about where the recovery of plastics end up