Circular and Beyond..

Every year, over 15 million tons of plastic waste end up in our oceans, 90% of which in Asia. Second Life is a pioneering social enterprise in the field of ocean plastic collection and recycling.

We financially support informal collectors on remote islands and coastal areas in Thailand to collect, transport and recycle marine debris. Our focus is to support these grass-root communities in developing efficient circular supply chains, by subsidizing them until they reach sufficient economies of scale to make the collection process profitable. These activities are funded by companies voluntarily extending their producer responsibility and taking action to reduce their plastic footprint, in the same way they may engage for the reduction of their carbon footprint.

The priority for these companies is firstly to evaluate their total plastic footprint, secondly to adopt a roadmap to reduce plastic use, and thirdly to contribute to plastic waste collection, in regions where plastic waste is a major threat, as in the oceans. The following are steps that a somewhat comprehensive approach, a company can take to achieve a lower plastic footprint:

Redesigning products to reduce the amount of plastic needed Substituting plastic with other materials with higher recyclability properties and lower environmental footprint Improving the recyclability of their plastic-based products and components Increasing the percentage of recycled materials in their products Encouraging consumers to recycle the products at end-of-life Contributing to local and global efforts in collection and recycling of plastic waste

In Europe or the US, there is already an Extended Producer Responsibility mechanism, called “green- point” that collects contributions from brands selling products on a specific market to fund collection and recycling efforts. This is not the case in countries like Thailand, which is then considered as a deficient country, with less than 25% of all waste appropriately recycled on a national level. About 1 million tons of plastic waste end up in the ocean coming from Thailand as a result of this deficiency. This marine debris heavily affects and harms not only marine life and the marine ecosystem, but also us humans as a direct result.

Our goal at Second Life , beyond ensuring that ocean plastic waste is properly collected, transported and recycled, is creating a strong call for action to reconsider our relation to plastic use, in particular single-use plastics, and more globally our relation to consumption and consumerism. Our ways of production and consumption are incompatible with nature preservation and regeneration today, and we have to shift. Collecting plastic waste that has been mismanaged upstream from the oceans is a last resort. We have to work upstream as well, at the origin of the problem, by raising awareness on plastic use and consumerism in general, which threatens us and future generations.

We invite companies, partners and stakeholders to reflect on their own footprint globally and how they can voluntarily engage in reduction while continuing to perform. Beyond that, we believe reduction strategies are opportunities to innovate, to generate more positive impact and differentiate oneself. Taking the global plastics crisis as an opportunity to change and grow, both in material terms as well as internally, at a personal level and collectively, that’s our ultimate goal.

#Circularity for us is clearly about supporting the development of circular supply chains in the field, recycling all materials to reuse them, and reducing the amount of virgin materials. But it is as much something that happens in our minds and in our hearts. A call to action for each and every one of us to reconsider our relation to consumption, and what it means to live a circular life. Being fully conscious of the interdependence between what we produce and consume, and the impact on other forms of Life.

Beyond collecting and recycling plastics, we call for each of us to question our choices, and “enter a Second Life” where we find a way out of plastics and non-recyclable materials and fully engage in circularity. Not just for our own benefit, but as well for generations to come.

Big thanks to our partners in the field Wongpanit Krabi CO., LTD. Fondation Jan et Oscar , Asia Green Roads and our sponsors Groupe Clarins , Caudalie , Mars , Symrise AG , Societe Generale , ClimeCo , South Pole , Greenprint Partners , PCX , Oceanworks® ..