CITY: Koh Samui
COUNTRY: Thailand
POPULATION: 69,820
SIGNED DECLARATION: March 13, 2023
OFFICIAL WEBSITE: Koh Samui
CONNECT: 

1. Koh Samui is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Thailand, attracting visitors with its natural beauty and cultural diversity.
2. Koh Samui has abundant natural resources, such as beaches, sea, forests, and wildlife, that need to be protected and conserved.
3. Koh Samui has a dynamic and diverse economy that relies on both traditional and modern sectors, such as fishing, agriculture, tourism, and services.

Koh Samui Municipality signed DOI under the Plastic Smart Cities initiative on March 13, 2023, and established the Koh Samui municipality-PSC Working Committee on May 11, 2023. The project is implementing waste banks in three pilot communities, with support from a key partner, Ranong Recycle for Environment Social Enterprise. The activity shows significant progress as follows:

1. Hua Thanon Community: This is a local fishing community with a population of about 2,000 people. Mr. Asman and Ms. Fah lead the waste banking activities in the community. They have encouraged the villagers to sort waste at source (from households). Mr. Asman and Ms. Fah pick up waste from households and collect/store it at the community waste bank. The recyclables include plastic waste, fishing nets, glass bottles, and paper. Porncharoen Recycle Junkshop picks up the recyclables from this community waste bank every month. The total plastic waste sold per month is more than 1 ton.
2. Maenam Community: The population is approximately 1,700 people. The community waste bank operation is led by Ms. Jintana, who is a leader of the community volunteer group. She and the group members teach the community members about sorting household waste and bringing it to the village waste bank. Maenam Community Waste Bank receives a variety of waste, such as mixed plastic, and large liquid detergent buckets (about 10-15 liters each). The total amount of plastic waste is about 700-800 kilograms per month. Ms. Jintana also extends the pick-up distance to the Ban Tai community, which is about 2 kilometers away, and has been very cooperative.
3. Nathon Community (Ban Phru Kam): This community has Ms. Sureeluck as the community leader. The population is approximately 1,500 people. The community is a large economic hub of Koh Samui and is located near a ferry port. Ms. Sureeluck has a campaign to promote waste separation to create value for waste. After sorting, community waste is collected and stored it at the community waste bank. This community has two warehouses to store waste. The community has a variety of waste, such as plastic bottles in various sizes, glass bottles, and paper. The total volume of plastic waste each month is approximately 500-700 kilograms.