Engineering Faculty at RMUTT Initiates Waste Return to the Community Program

The Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering at Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) has initiated a commendable project titled “Bottle Caps in Your Hands…May We?” which focuses on recycling plastic bottle caps. Led by Asst. Prof. Dr. Suchalinee Mathurosemontri, this initiative aims to reduce waste issues by transforming these caps into useful products for community use. The project leverages the department’s knowledge in waste management and plastic recycling. Recycling plastic waste is a crucial activity to mitigate environmental problems. Starting with bottle caps, the department implements an effective way of promoting waste separation and fostering community involvement. The endeavor instills environmental responsibility and educates the community about recycling processes, encouraging their active participation in environmental conservation. Aligned with the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy principles, the project emphasizes sustainable national development. It supports innovations in circular economy, product and process design aimed at minimizing waste (Eco-design & Zero-Waste), and promotes reuse, refurbishing, sharing, and proper waste management resulting from production and consumption (Recycle, Upcycle). This approach diverges from the traditional linear economy, which focuses on resource usage, production, and waste generation. By strengthening and promoting proper recycling of plastic waste, a sustainable environment and economy can be achieved in the long run.

The project instills waste separation habits and fosters creative thinking among the youth, which will serve as an important foundation for developing products from waste and a pathway to future careers for the community in the long term. A collection point for bottle cap donations has been set up for students and staff within the faculty at the 9th floor and in front of the Department of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering. Through project promotions on social media, interested individuals and organizations have sent bottle caps via mail to the department, such as Ban Arunothai School in Chiang Dao District, Chiang Mai Province, Komatsu (Thailand) Co., Ltd., TISCO Bank (Head Office), and Pandora Production Co., Ltd., which have collectively donated over 1 ton of caps to the department. Four kilograms of plastic bottles can be recycled into one stylish and lightweight plastic chair through the Rotational molding process. To check if bottle caps can be recycled in this project, flip the cap to look for the recycling symbol number 2. The recycled plastic chairs will be donated to Ban Arunothai School in Chiang Mai and Ban Mai Thung Din Kho School (Rueang Chai Uppathum) in Saraburi Province.
Photos and coverage by: Public Relations Division, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi.