Type
Environment
Budget
Evaluation in progress
Status
In Progress
Year
2019
Ranong-Kho Lao
Our social enterprise Ranong Recycle for Environment (RRE)
The main purpose of this project is to create jobs and generate new sources of income for disadvantaged communities in Thailand, particularly the Moken people and Burmese migrants, while providing practical ways to tackle plastic pollution in the ocean.
In 2019, our Foundation established the social enterprise Ranong Recycle for Environment (RRE) to collect and recycle ocean plastic waste in southern Thailand. The plastics are purchased at a fair price from collectors and fishermen living on the coasts and islands of the Andaman Sea. The collectors transport the recyclable waste from their villages or islands to our center in Ranong, which is accessible by sea.
Since 2023, commercial activity related to the purchase and recycling of plastics has been handled by the Swiss start-up Tide Ocean Material
A collection network in southern Thailand
Our Foundation’s collaboration with RRE and Tide Ocean Material has resulted in the establishment of an extensive network for collecting plastic from the islands of the Andaman Sea, including Phayam, Chang, Saidam, Lao, Sinhaï and the Surin archipelago, as well as the coast of Ranong. From 2022 to 2024, as part of a collaboration with WWF, RRE has used its expertise to improve recycling and reduce plastic pollution in the city of Surat Thani and on the touristic island of Samui.
Our network supports collectors and recyclers, particularly those from the Moken community (lien Moken gardians of the sea). By raising awareness of the economic value of plastics in these communities, we encourage residents to collect them and help protect their environment.
Since 2020, more than 750 tons of plastic have been kept out of natural areas thanks to over 200 independent collectors. This plastic is collected from beaches or within a 50-kilometer radius of the coastline and certified as Ocean Bound Plastic by the Zero Plastic Ocean organization.
Social impact and local employment
In 2025, the RRE and Tide Ocean Material ecosystem employs 17 local workers:
- 65% of them are women,
- 11 of them are from the Moken and Burmese minority communities,
- All of the workers enjoy stable employment, social protection, and safe working conditions.
Our partners:
Wongpanit Krabi Nua Klong . The Wongpanit Krabi team shares their experience and actively participates in collecting plastic in the southern part of the country.
Environmental Justice Foundation is a British NGO. As part of the Net Free Seas program, we collaborate with EJF Thailand to combat marine pollution caused by fishing nets and ropes.
Tide Ocean Material is a Swiss startup that transforms ocean plastic into 100% recycled pellets and yarns used to manufacture high-quality, sustainable products.
EcoAlf : with its Upcycling the Oceans project, the Spanish brand transforms marine plastic waste into clothing and fashion accessories, and supports waste collectors in partnership with the Jan & Oscar Foundation.
Since 2023, the Sukano Foundation has been supporting our educational program to raise awareness among children in schools. Link
National Geographic film “Full Circle”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JROUiLf6a_Y&t=1s
EJF film “Net Free Seas”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXuS48m5ZGQ&t=1s
Article on the project published in the Bangkok Post: bangkokpost.com
Article about the project published in Swiss info: https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/recycling-in-thailand_swiss-foundation-helps-lift-the-moken-out-of-poverty/44982330
Link to the Foundation’s YouTube video
Funding
The Jan & Oscar Foundation has invested CHF 400,000 since the project began in 2016.
In 2020, the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) supported the project with USD 50,000. Our Moken: Guardians of the Sea initiative was selected as a winning project under the MARPLASTICCs program, funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).
Wongpanit Krabi Nua Klong
Through their “Ocean bound plastics” programme at Krabi, our partners transform our bales of PEP and PP into flakes.
Environmental Justice Foundation
Internationally
Tide Ocean Material
The Swiss company has developed a new procedure for transforming PET plastic flakes into granules and yarn, which can be used to make sustainable new products. Tide Ocean Material supports the environmental and social impact of our project by purchasing our raw material at a price above the traditional market price.
EcoAlf
The Spanish clothing label, through its project Upcycling the Oceans Thailand, has been turning plastic waste from the sea into fashionable clothes and accessories for several years now. Today the company is associated with the Fondation Jan & Oscar in combatting marine pollution in Thailand.
